Who was Glenn Gould?

Glenn Herbert Gould (September 25, 1932 to October 4, 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist renowned worldwide for his interpretations of J.S. Bach and his eccentric performance style. Gould's recordings of the Bach Goldberg Variations (1955 and 1981) are among the most celebrated classical music recordings of the 20th century. Gould was a major figure in Canadian cultural life and is sometimes called the most original Canadian pianist of the 20th century. His recorded catalogue of about 80 albums has been in continuous distribution since his 1955 debut.

Gould was born in Toronto and displayed musical prodigy from an early age. He could read music before he could read text. He studied piano from age 3 and was admitted to the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto at age 10. His teacher Alberto Guerrero (an Argentine émigré) developed Gould's distinctive low-seated, hunched playing posture and his emphasis on contrapuntal clarity. Gould passed his Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Music exam at age 13 and his Licentiate of the Royal Conservatory at age 14. He made his professional debut at age 14 with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Gould's international career launched with his 1955 New York debut and his first Goldberg Variations recording (June 10 to 16, 1955, released in January 1956 by Columbia Records). The recording sold about 40,000 copies in its first year and is widely regarded as having transformed the modern reception of Bach's keyboard music. Gould toured internationally from 1956 to 1964, performing in major concert halls of the United States, Soviet Union, Germany, France, and Israel. His 1957 Soviet tour was the first major Western tour of the USSR by a North American classical musician. Gould's 1957 Sviatoslav Richter encounter, the 1959 Yehudi Menuhin film 'On the Twentieth Century', and many other contacts established his international stature.

Gould abruptly retired from concert performance on April 10, 1964 (his last concert was at the Wilshire-Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles), choosing instead to focus on recording, broadcasting, and writing. He had argued that the recorded medium was musically superior to the concert. From 1964 to 1982 he made about 80 additional recordings, focused largely on Bach but also including works by Beethoven, Mozart, Schoenberg, Sibelius, Hindemith, and others. His 1981 second Goldberg Variations recording (released 1981, the year before his death) deliberately contrasted with his 1955 first recording. Gould was also an innovative radio documentary producer, with works including 'The Idea of North' (1967), 'The Latecomers' (1969), and 'The Quiet in the Land' (1977). He died in Toronto on October 4, 1982 of a stroke at age 50, just nine days after his 50th birthday. The Glenn Gould Foundation (founded 1983) administers the Glenn Gould Prize, awarded every two years to a 'master of distinction' in the performing arts. Gould was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1983 and onto Canada's Walk of Fame in 2003.