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Biography: Glenn Gould

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He successfully debuted on television with Lehundi Menuhin in 1965, but the radio's airwaves continued to beckon Gould. He relished in the idea that he could work by himself late at night giving him full control over the final product. He would change the music's balance and use bits and pieces of different takes to reach his artistic goals.

Glen began to make radio programs that focused on various musical ideas and techniques. Some of these included the Moog Synthesizer, the ins and outs of recording, broadcasting concepts, as well as theories of improvisation and spontaneous music.

Gould liked the idea of hearing many voices at the same time, called contrapuntal. One of his famous contrapuntal radio programs was the "Solitude Trilogy." It includes "The Quiet in the Land" (focusing on Manitoba's Mennonites), "The Idea of the North" (looked at the culture, people, and land of Canada's North), and "The Latecomers" (looked at Newfoundland's people and culture.)

Glen Gould was well known for his written words as well. Along with many papers dissecting common music philosophies, he also created "liner notes" and interviews in which he would write both the questions and the answers. These would appear between and after recording sessions. Alter egos such as "Theodore Slutz" and "Karl Klopweisser" were created by Glen to analyze his own work.

Glen passed away on October 4, 1982 after suffering a stroke. He is buried in Toronto's Mount Pleasant Cemetery. His Chair is now preserved in a glass case at the National Library of Canada.

When it was Over

Gould was inducted into the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame and into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1983.

The CBC also honoured the musical prodigy with the opening of the "Glen Gould Studio," while the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto opened the "Glen Gould School of Music" in 1997.

The "Glen Gould Foundation" awards a musician who utilizes a communication technology to enhance music internationally. This student receives fifty thousand dollars and an original Canadian artwork.

Just prior to Queen Elizabeth's 2002 Jubilee Tour, a missing recording of Gould's was recovered. The footage had originally been seen after the Queen's address in 1957 from Rideau Hall.

Director Francois Girard also honoured the music great. His collection of short films focusing on the various aspects of Gould's life earned three award nominations and seven awards. The movie was simply entitled "32 Short Films about Glen Gould."

Recently, in September of 2007, the Canadian Museum of Civilization opened a new exhibit named "Glen Gould: The Sounds of a Genius."



The musical genius was always conscious of his anxieties, idiosyncrasies, and differences. He forced classical music to open and explore its boundaries. The entire world was given a unique glimpse into the mind of a genius through every word of his mouth and note of his piano. His gifts to the world were as revolutionary as the man himself. The only regret Glen Gould ever voiced was not finishing his radio work on Wagner and Bach, which he was putting into spoken word.

Sources:
http://en.wikiped ia.org/wiki/Glenn_Gould
http:// www.glenngould.com/
glenngoulds tudio.cbc.ca/
www.glenngould.ca /
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0 108328/
www.rcmusic.ca/ggs
http: //aix1.uottawa.ca/~weinberg/go uld.html

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