On September 25, 1932, Gould was born in Toronto, Canada. Like most musicians, little Gould was fortunate to be born in a family with a strong musical atmosphere: his mother Florence was a musician. Teacher, he plays the piano well; his father is also a good amateur violinist.
With his mother’s careful care and guidance, little Gould quickly found his ideal on the keyboard. One day when he was 5 years old, he said to his father: "I will be a concert pianist." Music has a mysterious affinity for him, so learning music is not a chore, but a natural need.
At the age of 10, Gould had completely mastered the first volume of Bach's "Well-Tempered Clavier". His parents felt that they were unable to continue educating their son. After searching, they sent him to Professor Guerrero at the Toronto Conservatory of Music.
In addition to piano, Gould also systematically studied organ, harmony, counterpoint and music analysis.
1945, Eaton Hall, Toronto. At the age of 13, Gould gave his first public performance. This is an organ solo concert, and Bach's "Fugue in G Minor" is one of the repertoire. His outstanding performance attracted rave reviews from the media. Gould's acting career took off immediately.
At the age of 19, Gould began a career as a concert pianist. Starting from his hometown of Toronto, he traveled to Vancouver, Calgary, Stratford...the young pianist traveled thousands of miles across Canada. What he brought with him were unique concerts, leaving behind a The film received applause and praise.
The young Gould lost no time in entering the United States and held two recitals in Washington and New York. He also relied on his impeccable performance to quickly reach the top of the music circle. In addition, the performance in New York brought him an unexpected gain: Oppenheim, the director of the classical music department of Columbia Records in the audience, recognized talents and signed a contract with Gould, starting a 28-year cooperation with him. , this is something to talk about later.
Detroit, Pittsburgh, Dallas... Gould, who became famous, traveled from east to west, north and south of the North American continent. Bach, Beethoven, Hindemith... Gould is like a tireless preacher, preaching to millions of listeners through his own performances and conveying the revelations of the masters.
Gould's fame quickly spread from North America to the entire world. In 1957, the Soviet Union invited Gould to perform in the Soviet Union. As one of the first musical envoys between the East and the West, he brought Bach's "The Art of Fugue", "Gothenburg Variations", Beethoven's Piano Sonatas and other classics, and even performed a special performance that was denounced by the Soviet authorities as "reactionary" at the time. "Western 20th century atonal music. Since then, he has conquered the two musical capitals of Berlin and Vienna.
After 1962, the number of concerts held by Gould decreased significantly. On April 10, 1964, when Gould bowed farewell in Los Angeles, no one would have thought that he would never return to the public stage - Gould gave up concerts completely. After the 1955 New York concert, Gould officially signed with Columbia Records and prepared to release his first album. Gould's choice surprised the company: he planned to select Bach's "Goldberg Variations" as his first recording.
The basis of the variations in the "Gothenburg Variations" is not the melody of the theme, but the bass line of the theme. Bach built a towering sound building on such an extremely narrow foundation, which included almost all styles of the Baroque period, including canons, fugues, dances, arias, meditations, overtures, etc. All kinds of complex emotions deep in the human heart are also included. The complexity of the texture of this work is definitely not something that a budding young pianist can handle. Gould is undoubtedly risking his own future by wanting to use this work as the beginning of his recording career.
But Gould defied all odds and still recorded the "Goldberg Variations" as his first album. Gould's recording of the Goldberg Variations turned out to be one of the best-selling classical music recordings of all time.
Its success is uncompromising.
The recording studio completely freed Gould from the constraints of time and space, and he could consider recording complete sets of piano works. After the "Gothenburg Variations" became an instant hit, his recording of Bach's Fifth and Sixth Partitas also gained a high reputation. By 1963, he had recorded all six Bach Partitas. In 1969, he completed the recording of all Bach's piano concertos.
Apparently, Gould attempted to record Bach's entire piano works. He was also the first pianist ever to do so. Like Bach, he had a strong rational mind and planning. Therefore, Gould inevitably encountered the challenge of the most representative work of Bach's keyboard music - "The Well-Tempered Clavier".
When Bach originally composed this work, he did not indicate tempo or dynamics. This just gave Gould a chance to show off his personality. As one would expect, the first volume of his Well-Tempered Clavier, which he recorded between 1962 and 1965, has a very prominent personal touch. People have mixed reviews. For example, some people think that C-sharp major and C-sharp minor are full of dynamics and tension, showing the most glorious side of Gould; however, some people think that the famous C major Prelude weakened its lyricism and became very picturesque in his hands. .
Bach completed the first volume of "Well-Tempered Clavier" in 1722. Nearly twenty years later, he used the same systematic method and followed the chromatic order of all twenty-four major and minor keys to write the second volume of the "Well-Tempered Keyboard Music Collection" with more complex musical ideas and denser counterpoint. He abandoned fashion, turned his back on the trend of history, and was only responsible to God and his own heart. Therefore, the second volume of the Well-Tempered Clavier is more abstract and difficult to understand than the first volume. Gould began recording this work in 1966. He worked intermittently, stopping from time to time to engage in other work. It was not until the early 1970s that he completed it all.
How similar Gould himself is to Bach at this point! He maintains his talent, but continues to surpass himself. His ability of rational perspective under the control of passion gave him a sharp eye, able to see the internal organizational mysteries and structural relationships of music that few other musicians could notice. This highly rational way of understanding music, in turn, gives Gould's interpretation a rare perceptual persuasiveness. He sometimes goes astray and may be biased, but his mind is always very clear. He knew what he was doing and why he was doing it. Perhaps it is this unconfused spirit based on solid sensibility that makes Gould's interpretation of Bach's music reach an unparalleled level.
No one knows what prompted Gould to re-record the Goldberg Variations. The "Goldberg Variations" he recorded in 1955 has been a best-seller for several years. In the eyes of many people, this record has almost become a symbol of Gould's career. Twenty-six years after he first recorded this work, Gould once again returned to his recording studio on East 30th Street in New York, and once again placed the "Goldberg Variations" on his music stand.
It took seven periods of time to re-record the "Goldberg Variations", from April 22 to 25 and May 15, 19, and 29 of 1981. Each time Basically it is from 4pm to early morning of the next day. In 1982, this album met a wide audience.
However, no one expected that a week later, Gould suddenly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and passed away. Almost everyone who is familiar with Gould is surprised to note that the two recordings of "Goldberg Variations" are not only the first recordings of this piano geek during his lifetime, but also arguably his last official recordings. record. Although Gould also recorded a number of other works between February and August 1982, these recordings were not released until after Gould's death. Superstitious people believe that this must be God's arrangement. This same work represents the beginning and end of Gould's career. Gould set out from here, and seemed to have returned to his hometown before dying.
From Gould’s two recordings, many people heard the performer’s two completely opposite attitudes to life behind the music. His high spirits and heroic demeanor in his early years. Old age gives way to the transcendent calm of the old man in the face of death.
Let's take a look at the documentary shot on the spot: In the TV footage, Gould was wearing a dark blue cloth shirt, with his cuffs forgotten to button, and his face looked tired and old. He almost curled up on the piano, staring at the keys with his reading glasses, as if he wanted to see through the entire mystery of the piano. Those who are familiar with the heroic appearance of the young Gould will not only lament the loss of time and the ruthlessness of time as they watch Gould step by step towards his old age. However, as the music sounds, the audience will gradually forget everything and begin to be moved by Gould's devotion to music. Gould on the screen is still vaguely the same as he was in his youth, dancing and shaking his head while playing. I saw him humming music non-stop, and as long as he could free his hands, he would make various self-directed movements.
Recall that Bach also wrote this work in his twilight years. At fifty you will know your destiny. It was Gould who was also in his twilight years, and only this Gould who was also in his twilight years, understood this last spell of fate. If you hear the Tao in the morning, you will die in the evening. Gould's death after his enlightenment was perhaps the most perfect ending to his artistic career. The long and tiring music life, the lonely and depressing living environment, malnutrition and abuse of drugs... all of these seriously damaged Gould's health and caused his body to age prematurely. On October 4, 1982, Gould died of cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 50 years and 9 days.
In Toronto's Mount Mount Cemetery, a piano-shaped granite tombstone is engraved with: Glenn Gould 1932-1982