How Glenn Gould Broke Classical Music

If classical music does not get more interpreters with Gould’s audacity, the audience will continue to wither.

As a 72-year-old, lifelong admirer of Gould, Bernstein, and Horowitz, I sat here the whole half hour in rapt attention and appreciation for the careful, incisive, broad, thorough and generous analysis offered - thank you! That said, the '55 Goldberg recording has always remained my platinum standard for ecstasy in motion. :goodvibes:

Gould's most important contribution in my opinion isn't just his Bach, but the way he unabashedly approached radical reinterpretations of pieces. This is more important now than ever as so many pianists sound exactly the same. I recall Gould saying something along the lines of "Why would I play a piece exactly how someone else played it. The conventional interpretations have been recorded and are perfect in their own right."

The critical response to Gould reminds me of this quotation from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. "Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius."

I admit I have held a pretty snarky attitude about Glenn Gould’s musical interpretations and eccentricity. Thank you for introducing me to Glenn Gould in a different way - as someone who took time to examine the music he was playing, as someone who made people listen in an active way.

That was my best 34 minutes spent on YouTube for a while. Thanks Ben!

Before I heard Glenn Gould, I liked Bach. After hearing Glenn Gould, I loved Bach more than any other composer. And mind you, not just Gould’s recordings. Glenn’s recordings gave me a framework on how to view Bach’s music, the counterpoint, the separate voices and so on. I feel the same way about his treatment of Brahms. Rhapsody in Bm anyone?

One thing a director told us as an ensemble once: As we are at the top of our game, it is easy for us to play the fast stuff - we love to show off as you have said. However, it is another thing to take that "slow" piece and make it sound incredible, and not ruin it by playing it fast. In a way, that is exactly what he was doing. He was taking his time to really show how wonderful that music was, without trying to rush it, because that is the way to hide those technicalities in how a chord sounds, or even showing off those wonderful inner lines that otherwise would have been overlooked.

I love how Gould elevates the musical form (on the timescale of an hour) to the status it deserves. There's nothing quite like a piece of music that actually manages to build on itself for that amount of time.

I know close to nothing about classical music and you brought it to life so deftly. I picked up Gould’s Goldberg Variations Bach recording by chance from the public library. It brought me to my knees. I was flabbergasted and then to top it all off , I heard humming. I was like: who is humming along ? I loved it when I realized Gould himself hummed along. It made me more confident to listen to more classical music somehow. It brought it to me: a commoner with no knowledge or training in classical music. I love Gould for that.

I love Glenn Gould. After years of learning piano as a kid, I was able to listen to his recordings and it was the experience that finally unlocked truly my love of classical music. We are so lucky that not only did he make so many piano recordings, he WROTE so many essays about music and did so many programs and interviews that one could almost feel like they know him as person, even though he has passed on decades ago. It feels to me like if I met Mr. Gould, there would be many things to ask him and he is always on my mind as a musician. He is so relevant still today that I can almost imagine him writing a response to this video!

I cannot put into words how thrilling this was to watch, as a trained pianist, a lover of the courageous Gould to stand up to convention and explore music with a freedon the music institutions, critics frown upon.

YouTube at its best. Deep, thorough and fascinating. Well done.

this was amazing please please please keep making videos like this, classical music needs more content like yours

this video healed my soul. i feel as though i was opened to such a different perspective than the one i was rigidly taught as a child. it brings me back to the times when i played moonlight sonata privately in a way i could emotionally connect to, but when forced to play in front of the teacher, it became forced and truly "machine-like." i haven't practiced the piano in a while, i've moved on to singing instead, but perhaps my old, strict regimen is what leads me to seek freedom in my voice today. gould's statement about music not being a momentary ejection of adrenaline but rather a beautiful state of serenity and wonder blew my mind.  thank you for this video. it was educational, thought provoking, and i've earned a deep respect for Glenn Gould. it didn't occur to me that it was 30 minutes long and i was absorbed the whole way through.

Gould stood up for what he believed in and in so doing, dared to challenge Bernstein, which was rarely done. Bravo Gould!

The best thing about this video is that you didn't strawman those of us who don't love Gould. I tentatively clicked on this video and enjoyed it from the beginning to the end. Well done!

I have absolutely no music experience, never learned to read music or even play a musical instrument. All I have is my ears and that’s why I am here. I am just a regular guy who after reaching 40 plus years old I fell in the love with classical Piano. It started with Beethovens “Emperor” concerto. Then came the Goldberg Variations and much more followed. Much appreciate the greatness of Glenn Gould. Thanks Ben, I appreciate this video. .

Every critic in the audience after Gould‘s New York Phil performance: “This man is defiling the spirit of Brahms and destroying classical music!” Every normal person in the audience after the New York, Phil performance: “Wow that was kind of cool, I’ve never heard that before. What do you want for dinner?”

Hearing Horowitz next to Gould, it's just... stunning how much more evocative Gould's performance is. There's this emotional complexity to the way he interprets. It's so memorable and beautiful. I never understand the people who hear his versions and say such negative things. Gould really turns the music into a collaboration between himself and the original composer, and he's right—that is so much what separates a performance from a great recording. Anyone can play the music the way it's written and has been played before. It takes a true artist to turn the familiar new again, allowing the piece to almost be heard again for the first time, for new discoveries to be made in existing music.