Glenn Gould

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Lore & Background

Gould was born at home at 32 Southwood Drive in The Beaches, Toronto, on September 25, 1932, the only child of Russell Herbert Gold and Florence Emma Gold. The family's surname was informally changed to Gould around 1939 to avoid being mistaken for Jewish, given the prevailing antisemitism of prewar Toronto. Gould had no Jewish ancestry, though he sometimes joked about it, saying, 'When people ask me if I'm Jewish, I always tell them that I was Jewish during the war.' His mother taught him the piano and encouraged his musical development from infancy. He learned to read music before he could read words, and it was observed that he had perfect pitch at age three. At age 10, he began attending the Toronto Conservatory of Music, studying music theory with Leo Smith, organ with Frederick C. Silvester, and piano with Alberto Guerrero. Gould passed his final Conservatory examination in piano at age 12, achieving the highest marks of any candidate, and thus attaining professional standing as a pianist. One year later he passed the written theory exams, qualifying for an Associate of the Toronto Conservatory of Music (ATCM) diploma. Gould rejected most of the Romantic piano literature—Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and others—in favour of Bach and Beethoven mainly, along with some late-Romantic and modernist composers. He also recorded pre-Baroque composers such as Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, William Byrd, and Orlando Gibbons; Classical composers such as Haydn, Mozart, and Brahms; and 20th-century composers including Paul Hindemith, Arnold Schoenberg, Alexander Scriabin, and Richard Strauss. He championed Gibbons, whom he called his favorite composer. Gould disliked public performance, and stopped giving concerts at age 31 to concentrate on studio recording and media. He produced television programmes about classical music, in which he spoke, performed, and interacted with interviewers in a scripted manner. He made three musique concrète radio documentaries, the Solitude Trilogy, about isolated areas of Canada. He was a prolific contributor to music journals, in which he discussed music theory. Gould was known for his eccentricities, ranging from his unorthodox musical interpretations and mannerisms at the keyboard to aspects of his lifestyle and behaviour.

Reader's Guide

Glenn Gould's significance lies in his transformative approach to Bach's keyboard works, which he articulated with extraordinary clarity and contrapuntal precision. By rejecting the Romantic performance tradition and focusing on studio recording, he helped redefine the role of the concert pianist in the 20th century. His decision to abandon live performance at age 31 allowed him to explore the possibilities of recorded sound and media, producing innovative radio documentaries and television programs. Gould's legacy includes his recording of the Prelude and Fugue in C major (BWV 870) from The Well Tempered Clavier, Book 2, which is on the Voyager Golden Record, a sample of the sights and sounds of Earth sent into space with the Voyager spacecraft. He is the subject of Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993) and Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould (2009). His eccentricities—such as using a low, adjustable chair built by his father after a back injury from a fall from a boat ramp on the shore of Lake Simcoe—became part of his public persona, but his technical mastery and intellectual rigor remain central to his reputation. He was also a prolific writer and broadcaster, contributing to music journals and discussing music theory.

Did You Know?

• Gould's recording of the Prelude and Fugue in C major (BWV 870) from The Well Tempered Clavier, Book 2 is on the Voyager Golden Record, sent into space with the Voyager spacecraft.
• He stopped giving concerts at age 31 to concentrate on studio recording and media.
• Gould used an adjustable-height chair his father made after a back injury from a fall from a boat ramp on Lake Simcoe; he used this chair for the rest of his life.
• He learned to read music before he could read words and had perfect pitch at age three.
• Gould championed Orlando Gibbons, whom he called his favorite composer.