A Glenn Gould Update

My teaching and freelance work includes weekly music programs for seniors, and in addition to providing a variety of flute music, I have recently been featuring a wonderful new biography about Glenn Gould, a film by Bruno Monsaingeon entititled ‘HEREAFTER’.

Below you will find more about Glenn Gould in an article from today’s National Post which describes an upcoming exhibition at the Museum of Civilization in Hull celebrating this great Canadian iconoclast, and set to open in September.

Mr. Monsaingeon, the film-maker and long-time collaborator of Gould’s, suggests that Glenn Gould was more than simply a great pianist, and the film serves as “…a fantastic window opened to the world of one of music’s true geniuses, whose magic touches us from beyond the grave.”

I highly recommend this DVD to anyone who wants gain further insight and a very personal glimpse into the many facets that comprise this intriguing Canadian who died an incredible 25 years ago, as he was poised to embark on a new phase of his career: on the podium as a conductor…one can only begin to imagine.

For those who might underestimate the continued reverance for Glenn Gould, I recently learned that the North America-wide Music Teachers conference scheduled for later in March has offered a special GG pilgrimmage of sorts through Toronto, culminating in a wreath-laying in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.And as a recognized pioneer in media arts, one can only wonder what Glenn Gould would have made of the technology that we now have at our very fingertips!

Here’s the article…

There’s Gould in them Gatineau hills

Iconic pianist gets exhibition at Canadian museum of civilization

Steven Mazey, CanWest News Service

Fans of Canadian pianist Glenn Gould will be able to walk through the musician’s life at the Canadian Museum of Civilization this September.

Sound recordings, taped interviews, the pianist’s beloved Steinway and a specially modified folding chair on which he sat while playing will all be part of Glenn Gould: The Sounds of Genius, an exhibition to open at the museum in Gatineau, Que., across the Ottawa River from Canada’s capital, Sept. 28 in honour of the 75th anniversary of Gould’s birth. It will continue to Aug. 10, 2008.

Presented in partnership with Library and Archives Canada, the exhibition will examine the pianist’s development from child prodigy to concert artist and recording and media pioneer, the museum says.

The exhibition will look at Gould’s early departure from the concert scene, and the idiosyncrasies that helped make him one of the world’s best-known pianists.

The museum says about 75% of the objects to be displayed will be on loanfrom Library and Archives Canada, including rare manuscripts, letters and photographs related to the career of Gould, who died from a stroke in 1982.

“Glenn Gould was an extraordinary Canadian whose creative work as a musician, writer and media producer was shaped by his northern vision,” said museum president Victor Rabinovitch in a statement.

“This exhibition will reveal his unique genius to a new generation. It will also delight and inform his most ardent fans.”

Ian Wilson, librarian and archivist of Canada, said the show “is a great opportunity to share with Canadians documentation from our vast music collection that highlights interesting aspects about the career of this extraordinary musician.”

Curator Sam Cronk said the primary purpose of the exhibition “is to remind Canadians of the many facets of Gould’s musical genius. But we also examine his trail-blazing work in studio production, and in radio and television programming. He was a multimedia artist decades before that term came into vogue.”

From Sept. 28 to 30, the Glenn Gould Foundation will host a conference at the museum that will bring together musicians and scholars to discuss Gould’s ideas and their relevance in today’s digital musical world.

© National Post 2007

As a Photo Credit, here is a link to the site where I have borrowed this image: www.rjgeib.com/music/Top-Ten/gould.html