Glenn Gould Plays Beethoven

Glenn Gould (1932-1982) was one of the most fascinating and idiosyncratic pianists of the 20th Century.

You can read more about him here.

And here.

The Eccentric Glenn Gould

Among his most famous eccentricities:

Gould claimed he almost never practiced on the piano, preferring to study music by reading it rather than playing it.

He usually hummed while he played the piano, and the result can be clearly heard on many of his recordings.

When it came to recording, the temperature of the recording studio had to be exactly regulated. He always wanted the studio to be very warm.

Any piano he played had to be set at a certain height, and if it wasn’t right then the instrument was set on wooden blocks of various sizes until the correct height was achieved.

He had to sit fourteen inches above the floor and would play only while sitting on the old chair his father had made. He took the chair with him wherever he went. He continued to use this chair even when the seat was completely worn through.

No matter the weather, he always wore a heavy coat and gloves.

He harbored a severe dislike for social functions, and hated being touched.

He disliked the concert hall. He gave his final public performance in 1964, thereafter devoting his career solely to the studio. He recorded albums, radio shows and documentaries.

Gould Plays Beethoven

Gould was most famous for his interpretations of Bach. This video, however is of Gould giving a sterling performance of one of the most famous piano concertos of all time, Beethoven’s Concerto No.5 in E-flat Major, also known as The Emperor Concerto.

This video has an interesting story behind it. Here it is, taken from the notes on YouTube:

Gould’s memory capacity was legendary. Both his mental and finger memory made it possible for him to reproduce and play music literature many years after his last practice and performance of the same. A famous illustration of this statement would be an event that occurred in 1970, when the renowned Italian pianist, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, was unable to go through with his performance of Beethoven’s Concerto No.5, Emperor, in Toronto. Gould was given a telephone call on Thursday evening. The problem was explained, and he was asked to substitute for Michelangeli the next morning, on Friday, when the Toronto Symphony and the conductor, Karel Ancerl, were scheduled to work with Michelangeli. Gould’s answer was affirmative and good-spirited. In the space of the next few night hours, Gould rehearsed the Concerto he had not touched in four years. The program was televised and, subsequently, aired on September 12, 1970. To everyone’s amazement, Gould played Beethoven’s Concerto in front of the camera flawlessly and by heart.

Note: I must apologize in advance for the rather rude commercial interruptions that have been inserted into this video.

At least they were kind enough to avoid putting them in the middle of a movement.