I sometimes imagine Gould creating multiple KZitem channels -- one for himself, and others for some of the alter-egos that popped up in several of his radio programs....
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
Haha that’s right. He would have had a whole network of KZitem to be channels produced by himself and his alter egos/characters, and they’d all be trashing each other every day
@funkymonks8333
Ай бұрын
goddd rip glenn you would've loved modern technology.. well some of it for sure.
@gloud_genn
Ай бұрын
Glenn Gould breaths, Seymour: " W h y i s y o u r w h o l e e x i s t e n s s u c h a t r a v e s t y t o m u s i c"
@AttitudeIndicator
Ай бұрын
i didnt like him that much until i listened to his bach preludes fughettas and fugues album
@gloud_genn
Ай бұрын
@@AttitudeIndicatorhis Bach is amazing. Especially the well tempered clavier. But I can't listen to his Beethoven
@cadriver2570
Ай бұрын
It’s nice to hear an opposing view on his interpretations.
@MarilynCrosbie
Ай бұрын
What is wrong with his Beethoven Piano Concerto known as The Emperor?
@ik6non712
Ай бұрын
@@MarilynCrosbie idk, I love it personally, and I do enjoy his Beethoven from time to time
@robinthomsoncomposer
Ай бұрын
I had not known of the Glenn Gould Foundation until now so thanks for the heads up. Can’t believe all the magazine issues are freely downloadable!
@jordifaxon2515
Ай бұрын
So endlessly inspired by your work. The video essay genre is already so dear to me, and you seem to carry it with the full awareness of its capacities, with the uninhibited intellectual curiosity the video essay as a format allows you to entertain. AND you choose as your subject matter an interrogation into the guiding philosophy of one of my favorite artists and thinkers of all time. Thank you so, so much for this.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
I appreciate this! I agree about video essays and am inspired by others who’ve done it so well in other subject areas. And it’s because there’s few to none that explore topics in the world of classical music/piano that I’m happy to be contributing to fill the void (now if only I can make a few ~10 minute videos instead of the usual half hour, I could produce on a wider array of topics).
@Viktorvelat95
Ай бұрын
@@benlawdyso basically the same thing Schumann did back then with Florestan, Eusebius and Raro
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@Viktorvelat95 I think you meant to reply to the other comment about imagining Gould’s alter egos having their own KZitem channels, but yes! Just like that.
@mrsunshine151
Ай бұрын
12:20 Why yes, Mr. Laude. We do indeed have wonderful comments in this channel because we're listening to a wonderful human ❤
@Mofos_of_Metal
Ай бұрын
The most remarkable thing about Gould is that his mind, his spirit, his legacy - all continue to be a fountain of wonder and inspiration for us to this day. He was taken from us far too soon but he still gives us food for thought, and nourishment for the soul. It's hard to say whether the speculation that he had Asperger Syndrome was accurate or not as he had no formal diagnosis - but either way he is an inspiration for me and many others who have AS.
@jacquelinebaxter4750
Ай бұрын
Thank you for championing the wonderful Glenn Gould's genious.
@hurricane_hazel
Ай бұрын
What an absolutely brilliant discussion about Gould by people who understand what he was doing. Bravo, Ben. Your work is exciting and refreshing. Please keep them coming! I have hope for future Gouldians that they will better understand and appreciate Glenn because of content like this.
@paulban889
Ай бұрын
He was the absolute best of the best. He understood so much and wanted to share it all. I'm glad he managed to share as much as he did.
@dczvxi6634
Ай бұрын
Hey Ben, one pianist that I particularly adore is Richter, he hasnt really been mentioned on your channel (or tonebase) and I would love to see you make a video about him. Great video!
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
Absolutely - on the tonebase premium app there’s a segment where I talk with manny ax about richter. But it’s past time that I spotlight him in a YT vid.
@Mbonic
Ай бұрын
another great video about gould! keep it up ben, your videos make the classical world of piano that much more fun to learn about.
@davisatdavis1
Ай бұрын
Please dont take this wrongly- I'm actually glad you left tonebase. Looking back, the only tonebase episodes I really looked forward to and episodes I keep coming back to, are with you in it. And since you started posting here more frequently, I only have been watching this channel and not tonebase. My top favorites are with you and Bernstein and McDermott. I look forward to seeing more from you.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
Thank you for your comment. By the way, I've got videos in the pipeline of that feature both Bernstein and McDermott - stay tuned!
@en-blanc-et-noir
Ай бұрын
Best video so far... congrats!
@timofeygolev
Ай бұрын
THE T-SHIRT!!!!
@scottrader6411
Ай бұрын
26:18 What Mr Gould really would have loved are DAW's (digital audio workstation), I can only imagine he'd be over the moon at the endless, almost instant editing capabilities.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@scottrader6411 oh yeah, he would have been a kid in a candy store with a DAW
@timpage54
Ай бұрын
Thanks so much for this, Ben!
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
Thanks for being part of it!! Wish we could all listen to the other ~24 hours of phone calls you had with Glenn following this one.
@nandovancreij
Ай бұрын
14:36 i just love how much fun you're having with these videos, please never stop making these
@bifeldman
14 күн бұрын
I was friends with one of Gould’s psychiatrist/musical friends. I would go to his place to feed the cats when he was out, and often Gould would phone at those times. This was pre-answering machine days, so I’d take the call. Thus I had the repeated redoubtable pleasure to talk to him. I never told him that I was not a fan of his playing, not then, not now.
@MarcPlaysPiano
Ай бұрын
That Turkish March recording in the background at the beginning... 😂
@mcbuuiop
Ай бұрын
It sounded like a Turkish Walk lol
@marcorval
Ай бұрын
Wim Winters tempo
@achenarmyst2156
Ай бұрын
@@marcorvalIdea of the North? 😉
@bortbort1
Ай бұрын
That's not the Turkish March. This is the first movement of the sonata whose third movement is the Turkish March. Well, either way, the part his is playing...he plays it ridiculously.
@MarcPlaysPiano
Ай бұрын
@@bortbort1 ha, thank you for the clarification!
@micahglesener3978
Ай бұрын
Damn this is a good video. I do think that while knowing the composer influences your assessment of the piece, I think it makes it more meaningful knowing something about the what the person who wrote this piece of music is like. I also very much enjoy hearing how a certain pieces detach from a composers typical style and flair, showing development of the artist.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
That’s totally fair. Presumably, we become interested in a composer’s life and development only AFTER their music has independently impressed us, and of course then it’s very interesting in its own right to trace their development and the variety of music they create. I think the issue Gould is responding to is that part of us that says *because Bach or Mozart or Beethoven composed this, it must be the highest masterpiece and I’m automatically wrong to think otherwise* (which I know I’ve felt before). And the reverse is true, and maybe worse: we write off composers we haven’t heard of because we assume history didn’t select them for good reason.
@brozors
Ай бұрын
If I can tell Glenn Gould just one thing, I'd tell him that I love his unique interpretation of the Chopin b-minor sonata and think it's amazing.
@gabyoctave
Ай бұрын
To learn that about his personnality makes him way more sympathetic to me !
@TheRobyMann
Ай бұрын
Definitely starting to have more appreciation and understanding of Gould thanks to your videos. Very well put together piece Ben! ❤
@VirtualPathfinder
Ай бұрын
GG ventured into the musical world in a way no one else had done. Apart from his musical interpretations, he should be admired for his brilliance and confidence.
@MrCinemuso
Ай бұрын
Appreciate Ben's 'Gouldian' approach to planning and framing the melodies and counter melodies of his argument here. A very suitable tribute!
@scarbo2229
Ай бұрын
All very interesting, although one has to be puzzled by the background recordings of Gould playing badly. For all of his intellectual prowess, his playing often demonstrates that the essence of music is something other than intelligence.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
yeah his mozart is deliberately "bad." Although I think the Turkish March actually works at his tempo. The K. 333, which he actually adores, sure doesn't sound like he adores it. Some of the other background recording though are pretty great, no? I'm thinking of the Bach Chromatic Fantasy and Art of Fugue, and the Beethoven Concerto and Sonata at the end.
@scarbo2229
Ай бұрын
@@benlawdy No complaint about the Turkish March tempo. It’s marked Allegretto, and nearly everyone ignores that and plays it way too fast. Yes, K. 333 sounds like a rigid student, but Beethoven op. 110 seems better, at least what I could hear if it. Perhaps he took it more seriously because the third movement contains two fugues.
@gabbleratchet1890
Ай бұрын
@@benlawdythe Turkish March at that tempo actually feels like mental sorbet after so many versions at breakneck speed.
@danielvillagomez8069
Ай бұрын
Nice episode on Gould, Ben. I recently been listening to Ivo Pogorelic, specifically his rendition on Brahms Op 118. Would love to hear your thoughts on him.
@lumieres369
Ай бұрын
As a clairvoyant 😉, I have a comment of Glenn Gould au bout du fil, about your video : « Thank you, thank you, and thank you (speaking contrapuntally, of course). Mr. Laude, you are undoubtedly the first person I've heard express themselves so clearly and eruditely about Glenn Gould. It's quite remarkable, really. To hear Mr. Gould's voice is indeed an enrichment. Though I must say, I've always found my own voice to be rather grating - a sort of nasally drone, wouldn't you agree? But then again, perhaps that's precisely why it's so captivating. It's the imperfections, you see, that make a performance truly human. I do hope you'll forgive my somewhat circuitous manner of speech. You'll find that my thoughts, much like my interpretations of Bach, tend to weave in and out, creating a tapestry of ideas that may seem disparate at first, but ultimately converge into a cohesive whole. It's all about the counterpoint, you understand - in music, in speech, in life itself. But I digress. Your astute observations about my work are truly appreciated. It's refreshing to encounter someone who can penetrate the layers of complexity and emerge with such clarity. Bravo, Mr. Laude. Bravo indeed. ».
@milkenjoyer14
Ай бұрын
Glenn would have certainly loved the internet of the early 90s, say. I've always imagined him having one of those old-fashioned self-made websites to upload recordings and writings, it's a perfect fit. But I'm almost certain he would detest today's internet, including most of KZitem.
@jackcurley1591
Ай бұрын
This is awesome, thank you so much for sharing!!
@aurelienparent-koenig4125
Ай бұрын
Amazing video once again, thanks so much. Glenn has always been a huge part of my life, first time I went to Toronto I didn't ask the cab driver to drop me off at my hotel but at Mount Pleasant Cemetary. There I spent half an hour looking for Gould's tombstone with his Partitas in my ears, when I found him I sat there for an hour listening to his music and thinking of him. Trivial question but when do I get those cool t-shirts ?? Thanks and hi from Paris :)
@user-yd6ef1yo9d
Ай бұрын
A friend with a 1200-acre ranch said she would be buried there. I ask her what the tombstone would say. She said, "it's going to say, 'I'm not here!''"
@ZuckermannTV
Ай бұрын
In a way I hate Glenn, he was that last straw that made want to be a pianist (without his or any genius). But that's also why I love him. It enriched my life to a degree that I would not have had otherwise. So, eternal thanks Mr. Gould. And thanks Ben for this great show!
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@ZuckermannTV I can relate!
@faqenz3902
Ай бұрын
you should do pogorelich next! great video as always. thank you
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@faqenz3902 I will get to him! Doing a lot around the Chopin competition over the next year and planning on a video about the 1980 competition
@jackburgess8579
Ай бұрын
25 minutes of Gould as background music. Unbelievable and outrageous.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@jackburgess8579 and yet you made it all the way through? You must have noticed then that the focus of this video wasn’t on analyzing any particular Gould recording, but on analyzing the ideas expressed in the private phone call. If you’d like to listen to Gould all of his recordings are right here on KZitem. There are better things to save your outrage for ;)
@jackburgess8579
Ай бұрын
@@benlawdy I don't understand how you can think that using serious music as background music is ever ok. It is hugely distracting and it condones, or even encourages, poor listening habits and superficial attitudes.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@jackburgess8579 interesting point. I guess I wouldn’t entirely agree that it’s just background music - yes it’s partly that, but the music was in every case directly relevant to the ideas being discussed in the foreground. It’s not like I just pulled random Gould recordings and slapped them down. As for encouraging poor habits and superficial attitudes towards listening to serious music, the world we live in is already infinitely more responsible for that than this channel, which is dedicated to getting people to listen more critically - these aren’t only my own intentions but seem corroborated by many listeners in the comments section. I can’t please everyone though, and I respect your opinion. I’m someone who hates when films try to manipulate my emotions with a score in lieu of a decent script, and who hates when classical music is what’s played in kitschy upscale cafes. But, in contrast, I would hope and even expect that many who listen to - say - the dialogue about Bach or Strauss’s late music will now have reason to go listen to it after watching this video, which is not the same as when music is just used as decorative wallpaper.
@royjohansen3730
Ай бұрын
Isn't that, especially in this context, kind of like saying "I wish the alto voice wasn't there; it obscures the tenor."?
@simonzhao2154
27 күн бұрын
Awesome video as always Ben, please keep them coming!
@2silkworm
Ай бұрын
Oh my gouldness! What an awesome video!
@ChamMansour
Ай бұрын
Never once have I fancied, that the interpreter of the multitudes of Bach’s preludes and fugues which cross courses occasionally within my Spotify playlist could have so beguiling and abstract a view of the idea of musical composition. Such content as is this shall always be highly appreciated on my part at least - portraying within such brevity one of the most fascinating (and erectly perverse) artists of the previous century!
@douglasjurs1775
Ай бұрын
Nice Gouldian counterpoint with the Mozart playing at same time as your open.
@bartikoks
Ай бұрын
nice tshirt by the way😂
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@bartikoks if Gould were still alive, he might try to sit on me
@evanwyatt2862
29 күн бұрын
Just brilliant, Ben.
@user-tx3fh1oe1y
Ай бұрын
insightful video about Gould that considers aspects of his personality in more depth and nuanced way. Very interesting opinions of him even if one disagrees. For example for me improvisation should have a stronger emphasis in the education, especially for becoming composers. All of the greats were capable improvisers Bach Beethoven Mozart, Schumann Chopin Liszt etc.. In contrast Gould only wrote his String quartett, maybe some "preformulated" Improvisation would have helped him to losen up and compose more. He to me seems a bit to controlled and wanting to control to many things, which i think stands in the way of creativity and composition.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
I agree about improvisation, and I’ve produced videos for tonebase with some really phenomenal historical improvisers like Noam Sivan who really make the case for the liberating aspects of improvisation. And I don’t think Gould would have disagreed that composers especially of the 18th century failed their skill for premeditated composition by first learning how to improvise within a given tonal language. Gould here is reacting to what happens when improvisation ends up thoroughly defining your musical practice, which is what he thinks happened to late Mozart - where what’s written down tends to follow more formulaic sequences derived from improvisatory techniques rather than responding to the inner development of the melodic and harmonic material in the music itself. Another way of thinking of it is this: imagine someone who learned how to improvise in the style of Shakespeare (I’ve seen this done before, and it’s pretty amazing actually). Even if they’re incredibly skilled, would you expect what comes out of their mouths to be equal to what Shakespeare achieved in his composed sonnets?
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
(Having said that, thank you for your comment and I do agree Gould could have stood to loosen up a bit and just “jam” at the piano… although I can’t imagine it haha)
@user-tx3fh1oe1y
Ай бұрын
@@benlawdy thank you for explaining it more in depth. I wasnt so sure about how to understand it in the video. Your explanation makes sense also by considering Goulds personality and way of communicating, which can be easily misunderstood. When he states he doesnt prefer romantic composers, he is still capable of playing Richard Strauss, Wagner Brahms etc. which he enjoys a lot. It seems his somtimes "provocative" statements shouldnt be taken to literally. In that sense he might enjoy some improvisation, but for him it maybe would come after carefully planning and structuring the composition. Are there any tapes of him improvising on themes ? maybe he even played some Jazz like Friedrich Gulda another contradictory figure =)
@user-pj1cg5qy3n
Ай бұрын
One would think that the improvisation throne has now long enough been passed over to and occupied by jazz players that realisation of this fact might have penetrated the rarefied bubble of snobbery of the "serious" music world. Apparently not...
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@user-pj1cg5qy3n to be fair, Gould’s comments on that front are 60 years old. I think that snobbery has been largely transcended. But it’s still worth considering the more interesting critiques of improvisation like Gould’s, which I feel are less about rank snobbery than about asserting a particular vision of human freedom.
@jgl1919
Ай бұрын
Great video!
@corvanha1
29 күн бұрын
The guy was completely nuts on Bach
@tombombadyl4535
Ай бұрын
Gould tried something different, which I admire. It didn’t work, but kudos for trying.
@StanleyGrill
Ай бұрын
Thanks for this not only informative but delightful video. I confess to feeling envious of Tim Page and any other recipients of middle of the night calls from Glenn Gould! Your video accurately describes exactly what I always loved about Gould’s artistry and approach to “thinking” about music. His many vitriolic detractors just don’t get it. And I don’t get them!
@hellothere9327
Ай бұрын
Masterpiece video
@jesseth9419
Ай бұрын
It would be absolute amazing if you could get Humphrey Burton for an interview.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
Any idea about his health?
@jesseth9419
Ай бұрын
@@benlawdy No idea. He wrote an autobiography in 2021 `Humphrey Burton: In My Own Time: An Autobiography`. Maybe through the publisher Boydell and Brewer we could learn more?
@dylanzwering2255
Ай бұрын
What Gould said would make schumann catch fire
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@dylanzwering2255 I love me some Schumann, but I think it’s true that he didn’t write well for the piano. Also I think Gould undervalues Schumann’s polyphony, which is often nuanced and beautiful. But hey - everyone plays the composers Gould dislikes, so I’m glad he has the weird tastes that he does.
@5kyfall2017
Ай бұрын
At 19:17, in the recording of the third movement to Beethoven's 3rd Concerto, were those coins falling on the ground? lol, I remember hearing this in the recording previously.
@arryaxx263
Ай бұрын
I strongly disagree with the points about improvisation. Improvisation is not a collection of cliches thrown together in sound and fury signifying nothing. It's the end result of countless hours of preparation, deep insight into the nature of a piece, and then the ability to let all of that go in favor of expression in the moment. Gould is rather like the recent AI chatbots that have sprung up. He speaks with great confidence and facility, but with a lack of substance beyond his own preferences and opinions. While I don't agree with Seymour Bernstein's opinion of him, I do think that a good deal of the mystique revolving around Gould comes from a cult of personality more than anything else. He's a smart, talented guy, but he's often simply wrong.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@arryaxx263 I agree that’s the ideal of improvisation. And also improvisation is/should be an important part of any musician’s foundation. It’s unfortunate that it was lost from classical training, and I support the new wave of advocates to resurrect it (Noam Sivan being the most impressive). Gould was partly reacting to developments in the 60s/70s where indeterminacy and chance procedures were being incorporated into composition. That’s not the same as improvisation, but he saw it as part of a general threat to actually making sense. Also, I mentioned you articulated an ideal - wouldn’t you say that the actual practice of improvisation often ends in recycled cliches? Even when you’re “letting it all go,” that doesn’t guarantee you’re speaking originally or coherently for others to appreciate. My critique of Gould would be more about his lack of concern with music education more broadly (although I remind myself it relatively healthy and better funded at the time). Developing musical fluency - ie improvisation - should be at the heart of it, as I mentioned. But at the same time, there is a distinction most performing artists/musicians accept between improvised and planned performance. Both can be done at a high level, but the best improv troupe could not spontaneously come up with a drama on par with a skilled playwright. As for a cult of personality, I’m of two minds. On the one hand, it’s true: Gould has a lot of followers who buy into the persona. But ironically, many Gould fans are unaware of his beliefs and are instead just buying into his mystique. I think the point to be made is one Gould makes himself, and I discuss in the video: his identity shouldn’t matter so much as his ideas and his work. And on that front, I think there was plenty of substance and coherence to Gould’s aesthetic practice - he’s certainly much more thoughtful than most performing musicians. And his being wrong about lots of things, well: show me a complex, world-historical artist or thinker who wasn’t.
@bw2082
Ай бұрын
Glenn Gould is the most interesting man in the classical world. ❤
@salmonsandwich3183
Ай бұрын
He's the Bobby Fischer of piano players
@user-qn6gl9zb3m
Ай бұрын
I want your shirt ahahah
@margarethansen7480
Ай бұрын
Very Nice vídeo!!👏👏👏
@timothyhayes8128
Ай бұрын
That was very eye-opening when you had your script on screen.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@timothyhayes8128 in a good way or a bad way?
@timothyhayes8128
Ай бұрын
@@benlawdy Oh definitely not in a bad way. It was really cool and made me realize just how much thought goes into interviews and videos like this. by the way I love what you do on this channel and with tonebase. Thanks for the wonderful content.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@timothyhayes8128 thank you! These are a lot of work, and tbh I’m a bit too prone to long scripted essays. This vid was originally supposed to be 10 minutes. The channel (and my health!) would benefit from more videos of shorter length!
@timothyhayes8128
Ай бұрын
@@benlawdy haha well either way, we really appreciate the hard work you put in to them. I personally take any free time I have to practice the piano. Which by the way You're still better at Pathetique than me. (I'm working on it though.) Thanks again
@SimonParker-hv6uu
Ай бұрын
I don't much care for Liszt, but the fact it's I've never written anything at all. Likewise, I haven't written 58 mazurkas.
@437composer
Ай бұрын
26:36 i dIDnT kNow GlEnn gOUlD HAs yoUTuBe ChAnNel btw this is awesome work, i never seen video like this that 'explain' the man Glenn gould. thank you for sharing
@ingeniero00007
5 күн бұрын
Poor Seymour, he would like to have 1 percent of the talent that the immortal Gould had.
@mendax1773
Ай бұрын
A great show and I thoroughly enjoyed. it. However, for future reference "ducats" is pronounced "DUCK-ets". "due-KHAT" is a villain in the Star Trek universe.
@militaryandemergencyservic3286
Ай бұрын
I don't agree with Gould's outrageous accusation that Chopin and Rachmaninoff were not good composers. My Tchaikovsky and Beethoven-linage piano teacher rom Kissin's old school (she is a student of Liberman, who was a student of Nikolaev who had both Beethoven and Tchaikovsky in his lineage) certainly doesn't think Chopin or Rachmaninoff were 'not good composers'. I'd prefer also to go with what Horowitz says about Rachmaninoff: 'I think he was one of the great composers'. And about Chopin: 'each of his mazurkas is better then the last one'. or indeed what Rachmaninoff says about Chopin 'he is much more modern than even today's most contemporary composers'.But, hang on, is it even right to compare Chopin and Rachmaninoff with that titan of composers - Mr Gould? Why the Pole and the Russian simply shrivel beneath the glaring genius of Gould's (completely worthless and forgotten) compositions.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
Don’t worry, almost nobody agrees with Gould that Chopin was a bad composer. But we can agree with Gould that, you shouldn’t care what Gould thinks about Chopin - or anyone in the lineage you cite for that matter. You should decide what you think of Chopin’s works through your own deep engagement with them. That’s the point.
@enriquesanchez2001
Ай бұрын
@@benlawdy I stopped listening to ANY GLENN GOULD many years ago when I discovered the unlimited richness of dozens of others. In fact, I came to say exactly that.
@militaryandemergencyservic3286
Ай бұрын
@@benlawdy Yes -Although I do frankly take seriously what he has to say. I like the fact that he apparently liked a Strauss piece more than any other. Because that obviously suggests he wasn't just despising any music after, say, Beethoven. I have never been able to play Chopin - much the most difficult composer (maybe after Mozart). Here for instance is my best butchering of his Polonaise 'Heroic': kzitem.info/news/bejne/qIZjvp9sj51lrHo and here is my own attempt at a the composition of a 'Polonaise': kzitem.info/news/bejne/r3qksIKhammia3o
@RonDavisMusic
Ай бұрын
Thanks!
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
Thank you!
@obyvatel
Ай бұрын
I told you he was a genius talker.
@berlinzerberus4279
Күн бұрын
He doesn't like Mozart and Chopin too - Das deutet auch Glenn's Grenzen an!
@FingersKungfu
28 күн бұрын
“Hedonistic pursuit of improvisation as a way of life.” I need to memorize this quote. Gould probably hated American music and American way of thinking.
@lettersquash
24 күн бұрын
I just smashed the dislike button. In the same way Gould would have objected to someone wittering in his ear about Bach and Mozart and Schumann while he's trying to enjoy half an hour's concert, I found pretty well all the spoken content of this impenetrable because of the wallpapering of music from end to end. I'm apparently rather unusual in this, but I'm applying one idea I did manage to pick up, of not caring what anyone else thinks. And yes, of course, I tried silencing my speakers and putting subtitles on, which works to a degree, a bit like dealing with the wittering fool behind me by putting headphones on with deafening white noise and just watching the pianist's fingers. I look forward to listening to the phonecall, though, assuming one of them isn't in a nightclub at the time.
@4mebach
14 күн бұрын
Hahaha - 99.9M subscribers and that bell - and securing solitude via being locked in one’s own closet -
@Tbop3
Ай бұрын
Where the heck do you get those awesome t-shirts? :D
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
The internet! Sites like redbubble or tee public. Just google “glenn Gould chair t shirt” and it should come up
@Tbop3
Ай бұрын
@@benlawdy awesome. Thanks Ben!
@rg3388
Ай бұрын
Psychoanalytically, it’s normal to speak of “finding interpretive possibilities not wholly realized even by the composer.” Great art is interpretively inexhaustible. And a Rorschach test is meant to probe the psyche of the viewer, not of the guy who made the inkblots.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@rg3388 right, and I think most forks at artistic interpretation have had this moment of enlightenment. Except classical music, which still lags behind in superstition
@mhermarckarakouzian8899
Ай бұрын
I like Glenn Gould for many reasons and dislike him for many reasons (mostly musical, because I don’t really know that much about him as a person). But imagine the level of narcissism you have to have to inconvenience someone by waking them up in the middle of their sleep for your own pleasure (and do this habitually). Either that, or he was “on the spectrum,” as they say nowadays. It’s the only way I can explain this. It’s like something Sheldon (from the Big Bang Theory) would do.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@mhermarckarakouzian8899 I believe he was on the spectrum, yes. Definitely no ill intent. And most people were flattered to receive the calls - but also I don’t imagine he knew this and was taking advantage of his celebrity. Like Tim Page said, he was like a child at a slumber party wanting to stay up all night with his friends. Hard to separate that side of him from his incredible artistic nonconformity, so I guess it’s a trade off. Artists can be much bigger selfish divas than Gould, who was actually quite modest and unassuming - maybe *too* unassuming.
@auggiemarsh8682
Ай бұрын
Mate, if you see the Buddha on the road, kill him. If you don’t know the reference, look it up.
@milkenjoyer14
Ай бұрын
@@benlawdy Tim Page said Glenn probably was on the spectrum, and Tim Page himself is, so he would probably recognize it
@likbezpapuasov4888
11 күн бұрын
Everything is ugly in GG, his play, his fake improvised speech, his look
@joshuasmith8507
27 күн бұрын
Where do we get the shirt? 😂
@dennischiapello7243
Ай бұрын
Hmm. Sounds like lots of fun for Glenn Gould and not so much at the other end of the line.
@valerio51987
Ай бұрын
One can dislike Chopin, but I can't agree with the statement that he is a bad composer. I didn't know the meaning of "homophonic" and I just found a definition on Google, so I might be wrong on the technical side. My thought is that the piano is objectively neither strictly contrapuntal nor homophonic; it's actually both. It should depend on the composer's or pianist's feelings, taste, and culture how the piano is used. And I am not sure that the statement "for Chopin, the piano is a homophonic instrument" is 100% correct. It sounds too absolute, as if there were no changes or differences between Chopin's compositions, and as if they were always the product of a static vision about the piano and music (which is impossible, given that people's perspectives change over time). As far as I remember, there is a contrapuntal side in Chopin. Even though it is not as prominent as in Bach, it is still an important side that gives the music depth. Gould's statement sounds like an oversimplification. In front of the rigid statement of Gould, Chopin looks like a much more versatile and "free" composer.
I would like to add the text under it “The delusion the piano is a homophonic instrument!”😂😂😂
@Ali_badi4
Ай бұрын
من عاشق گلن گولد هستم . فقط باخ
@mhermarckarakouzian8899
Ай бұрын
I think someone can be modest and be a narcissist too (but again, I’m not trying to push the narrative that he was). The main reason I commented was that I also (very often) get a strong “appetite” at, say, 1am and start to listen to certain pieces or play or compose. The passion and energy I get turns into an urge to want share my thoughts with someone. So I found that midnight urge very relatable. But I would never wake someone up for this. I get that it’s unbearable, because (and this is gonna sound weird, but) I “talk to myself” instead (in my own head.. pretending there’s another person there). Like who do I think I am that someone would be so interested in what I have to say that they wouldn’t mind being woken up to hear it? Anyways. That’s why I commented lol
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@mhermarckarakouzian8899 I feel you. Glenn kept odd hours, which is not that strange for musicians, although maybe a bit extreme (waking up mid afternoon, going to sleep after dawn). And most of his interlocutors were people in music/the arts. Midnight ain’t THAT late for us. I wonder what poor Glenn would have done in today’s age when people keep their phones silent at night
@mhermarckarakouzian8899
Ай бұрын
Lol he would’ve shown up at their doorstep. Thanks for replying btw. Big fan. I’m happy I found your channel (after noticing your absence on tonebase, I saw a comment there saying that you got your own channel). Wishing you many many more followers!
@ericsabourin7661
Ай бұрын
Undisputed geniuses? Who is undisputed in our world?
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@ericsabourin7661 it’s a figure of speech. But I was thinking, for example, how maybe Gould’s biggest critic today - Seymour Bernstein - still refers to Gould as “a genius, there’s no doubt about it.”
@Crenom
Ай бұрын
If the improvisation sucks, you're just not a good improviser. This is my only disparagement of Gould, he certainly could have had more breadth. The pursuit of anything beckons improvement. His improvisations in romance clearly show his weakness.
@disinformationworld9378
29 күн бұрын
Gould is wrong on improvisation on many levels. I agree that he is superficially correct but it’s also missing a deeper level. For example, what in fact do we see in a fugue? Improvised counterpoint. A true master of improvisation like Bach, could improvise counterpoint against his “fixed ideas” like subjects and countersubjects. While improvisation can rely on cliches, and bad improvisation does indeed rely on cliches, a compositional master who also masters improvisation is literally improvising out composition. What Gould fears here is creative spontaneity which in theory is simply not only possible, but magical under the hands of a true master of improvisation like Chopin or Bach. Chopin in fact, used improvisation as a significant basis for his actual compositions. There can also be structured and free improvisation. To make an absolute statement just reveals a lack of true understanding. For example the F minor prelude by Chopin is a chaotic improvisation. There are no themes. Instead scales, and dramatic runs show what a non structured improvisation would sound like. No formed ideas, but at the same time some cohesion and development. It is also possible to improvise a theme or melody. This is the very opposite of a “cliche” device. A composer can use improvisation to come up with fragments of ideas to develop. But a master could even spin out an entire composition. And yes, with enough skill, just as good as a real composition. But alas, this art of classical improvisation-practiced by the greatest of the greats is mostly lost. Nadia Boulanger also did not consider improvisation to be composition. I know this because I knew a student of hers who attempted to impress her with his improvisational skill. She was unmoved and said it wasn’t real music. I think if people knew what the true masters of improvisation could achieve they would be floored and forced to admit there is something incredible about true mastery of improvisation. I am talking about classical true “compositional” approach to improvisation. If you doubt what I am saying, Chopin’s compositions were described as mere “distillations” of his improvisation. In other words Chopin’s improvisations were simply incredible music making, beyond even what we get to hear in his written out compositions. And no one would ever doubt the same of Bach. Beethoven of course there are many tales of his prowess as well.
@kpunkt.klaviermusik
Ай бұрын
On one side I strangely sympathize with Gould's preference to play music he doesn't like - and playing it in a way you notice how much he dislikes it. On the other side I wonder why his genius recordings of Scriabin Sonatas and Haydn Sonatas are not mentioned anywhere. What if Gould just played the music he liked and people were amazed of THESE recordings...
@iampracticingpiano
Ай бұрын
Have a seat, Ben.
@user-wn1jf7pg6x
Ай бұрын
Who the hell is seymour…
@samueltaylor9935
Ай бұрын
Watching Gould play. I’m not sure he would even be able to play some of the Liszt and Chopin works. His technique looks horrible
@sdorr
Ай бұрын
If classical music lovers/aficionados seek intellect, instruction, edification, and sometimes, intellectual curiosity, they turn to Charles Rosen, Arthur Rubinstein, Alfred Brendel, or Nicolas Slonimsky. Never glibness for its own sake, nor marred by antisemitism...
@michaeldeloatch7461
Ай бұрын
Speaking of meaningful comments -- where can I acquire a Ludwig van Beethoven action figure?
@bortbort1
Ай бұрын
Where in this video does Gould discuss not playing Chopin again?
@gabbleratchet1890
Ай бұрын
4:45
@zugzwang2007
Ай бұрын
Interesting. But this pantheon with only one resident deity seems rather emptier than the other one.
@citizenleung
Ай бұрын
Conception first, sound second, technique third … does that make Gould the Furtwängler of the piano? I think Furtwängler was a lot more successful in applying that aesthetic to his music making than Gould. Not actively hating large segments of his core repertoire probably has something to do with it. Another problem is that Gould tells rather than shows … listening to his playing is like turning on the commentary track of a DVD. He’s a genius if you agree with what he says. If not, the performance becomes insufferable.
@OfficialWorldChampion
Ай бұрын
8:00 lol i guessed it before he said it
@boaz1353
Ай бұрын
sick
@militaryandemergencyservic3286
Ай бұрын
i quite like Gould's Beethoven I prefer Gulda and his 2 recordings in different years ) to Gould for the Bach 48.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
Yeah much of Gould’s wtc is my least favorite Gould, and I also love Gulda’s.
@militaryandemergencyservic3286
Ай бұрын
@@benlawdy Yeah - although I admit it was solely because of Gould's performance of Beethoven's op. 126 no. 3 (on yt - he does much posturing and 'conducting with his spare hand) that I learnt this miniature miracle. I wish I still played it (I cannot sight-read). It's that last bit of number 3 a la op 111 or op 106 that I particularly loved playing. And in general I like his eroica variations, plus I had a cd of him playing Handel suites for harpsichord. But I don't recall that. Did you like your 'double' (sorry)?
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@militaryandemergencyservic3286 I play op126 and yes the heavenly last section of #3 is the highlight. I also love #4, which is the only piece Beethoven ever composed in B minor. Didn’t understand your last question.
@militaryandemergencyservic3286
Ай бұрын
@@benlawdy how fascinating. i don't actually like the loud ones in the set. I like 3 and i like number 5 also and 6 and 1. Basically all the quiet ones.
@militaryandemergencyservic3286
Ай бұрын
@@benlawdy that lovely last section is indeed lovely. Reminds me of his quartet no 12 with that similarly 'heavenly country jig/gigue' part. Btw you must have heard Seymour Bernstein say how Czerny had said Beethoven could hear op 111 with an ear trumpet? So I guess op 126, too (otherwise, how he could hear the delicacy of that end of no3 is beyond me - well. obviously in his head i guess). The last question was about the guy I found on a Times Radio video who looks uncannily similar to you. Did you not see it? it's the guy speaking from1:06 on this: kzitem.info/news/bejne/1mmYsKOan6aYeoI And why don''t you want Tiffany Poon on your channel, or Tone base? Is she not well-known enough? I went to a concert of hers in London recently and was very, very impressed. Fantastic playing. I'll post the part of his e flat quartet when I find it...from 27:52 on this video (I once met Gunter Pilcher the violinist, after they did Schubert's great g major quartet in Paris in about 2008) -kzitem.info/news/bejne/q4yMyoGwr2Jjpm0
@mrpossibilities
Ай бұрын
I love Gould while completely disagreeing with him on many issues, including the argument about improvisation, which you Ben seem to defend with the analogy about how this very video essay is scripted. It seems you imply that the video is significant because it was scripted and that you couldn't just sit in front of a camera and start talking without a script and ever say anything deep and meaningful... which of course is completely untrue. Hundreds of people make video essays which have no script and are of immense value. And withour going further, the very act of human conversation is the greatest example of improvisation through language. If Gould's argument was true, we would all have to write down every single thing we're going to say, for it to ever have any meaning, or use, or depth. So not only is improvisation useful, it is many times necessary. But again, while I will vehemently disagree with Gould on many issues, I still love his playing and his eccentric personality and I consider him a great artist.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@mrpossibilities but if I sat down and just started talking, it would need to be significantly edited and I would have wished I said a number of things in a different way, and there would be more holes in the logic. Of course I agree about the incredible creativity embodied just in simple speech acts and in musical improvisation (see other comment threads where I defend the importance of improvisation), but at the same time, many of the greatest human achievements - artistic or otherwise - arguably are not improvised, but carefully planned. Nobody writing a scholarly essay or a sonnet or a sonata would just capture their first improvised take - maybe they’d begin that way if they’re very talented, but then they would become their own editors and craft exactly the the thing they want to communicate. This is especially true if you’re trying to build a complex argument with many moving parts, and in the same way, it’s true when the greatest composers (who were also fantastic improvisers) write down their best pieces.
@jaurisova6
Ай бұрын
Hey Ben - love this series! I would push back on the idea that the greatest human achievements are not improvisatory, since extraordinary actions have an element of exploration, of seizing opportunity, of acting in the face of uncertainty. Not that Gould’s ideas are incoherent - he seems to consistently view musical works as objects, and be dismissive of music as action, process, or interaction.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@jaurisova6 is this THE David Stone? What’s up man! Thanks for watching and I’m flattered you dig the series. Your point is well taken. I do feel like when I’m listening to Gould (at his best) that it feels anything but planned, even when he’s set up a strict pulse and is following some interpretive rule he’s set for himself, the music sounds almost more alive, more spontaneous - like it’s living an breathing on its own and making decisions without some outside force steering it this way or that way. He is able to manifest the academic notion of musical autonomy in actually sound. I think that was Gould’s goal, and it’s ironic that he achieve it through calculation - but at the same time, when he’s playing in the moment, it’s not some cold, premeditated act of execution, but he’s really possessed by the music. It seems like he’s reacting to the uncertainties in real time and genuinely exploring, and that’s communicated to the listener. But it’s as if he’s programmed a simulated world for us to live inside of that’s totally determined by an invisible code but feels undetermined. And I think the best composed music is like this too. I don’t want to put down improvisation and the incredible achievements they are possible in the face of much more uncertainty there, but I’m partial to planning because it’s kind of the most distinctly human thing we’ve got - the ability to plan ahead and design elegant solutions to complex problems - and whether in science or art, it seems like the achievements that are most timeless are the ones that have this property. On the other hand, I could just be projecting my own biases because I suck at improvisation…
@jaurisova6
Ай бұрын
@@benlawdy Yep, it’s me! Yeah, I really do love this series and the high-quality conversation it’s sparking. I have a bad memory of taking goulds side in a discussion that got pretty heated with a jazz major in college - improvisation is great, I said, but won’t the processes of editing and composition always improve that raw material? He took it very personally, so maybe that’s affected my current opinion! There’s so much to say on the topic, so just to note one more thing - I find that improvisation can generate textures that are difficult, if not impossible to notate with any fidelity. Georges Sand claimed that Chopin’s compositions were kind of approximations of much more vivid improvisations. The process of composition entails forcing a really rich multidimensional activity into a storage/communication channel that just will never carry the entire musical “thing”. But one of Gould’s gifts, like you say, was to resurrect and revivify the compressed and lossy messages in 18th century scores, and make it sound like an improvisation just as much as an actor does the same with simple text.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@jaurisova6 Chopin is probably the right figure to consider in this conversation, although Gould wouldn’t agree, precisely because he seemed to embody both sides as you alluded to. His notated compositions often began as improvisations, and many of the things that make them singularly beautiful surely depended on that ineffable, impulsive moment of creation at the keyboard. But then what did he go and do? He turned into a Beethovenian premeditator of every note, crafting the piece into a monument for posterity. He even allegedly said about Liszt adding embellishments in one of his nocturnes “keep your pigs out of my garden” (I heard Garrick Ohlsson say this, but have had trouble sourcing it.) And surely Gould has a bit of that as well - his recording sessions were often just exercises in seeing how many different ways he could play a passage, which is an improvisatory impulse, and only after the fact stitching the whole performance together in a coherent way. And speaking of Gould and jazz, isn’t it ironic so many jazz players admire Gould, and how much overlap there is between Gould’s flat handed/slappy direct technique and the kind of chops you often see great jazz improvisers carry? Although they might be opposites in terms of aesthetics, they’re strikingly similar in terms of a commitment to directly communicating a sound world with listeners. Something most of us in the classical world could learn a lot from. Great to catch up with you on KZitem! Maybe again some time in the physical world.
@achenarmyst2156
Ай бұрын
There was plenty of Strauss and some Schoenberg in this video, but no Stravinsky whatsoever. Would have loved to hear “Sacre du Printemps” in Stravinsky’s own transcription for four-hands that he himself performed together with Claude Debussy. That said, the only partner Gould would have accepted might be his monozygotic twin. 🤔
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@achenarmyst2156 Gould wasn’t the biggest Stravinsky fan - although who knows what he thought of his late music. If he had come around to the rite of spring and lived long enough, he would have simply performed the four hand version with himself on a Yamaha disklavier
@peterstokes3978
Ай бұрын
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him 1 Corinthians 2:9 see also: Isaiah 64:4 and: D+C 76:10 Looking and hearing forward to the 'music' in the multiverse of God.
@moiome
Ай бұрын
He was undoubtedly a great artist and I happen to agree with some of his "controversial" views, but are we all supposed to worship the "wonderful human" he was not? Am I going to get lynched here for saying that I find the man incredibly arrogant and unpleasant?
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
He's not everyone's cup of tea, no doubt. No lynchings here though. And I don't think Gould would have wanted you to worship him. According to his own principles, which I describe, you shouldn't even care about him but rather judge the merits of his interpretations on their own terms. For what it's worth, I think he comes across as arrogant in his interviews because he speaks with conviction, but that's why the private call is interesting to listen to. It's hard to hear him as arrogant - giving an hour and a half of his time to a stranger because he's enjoying the conversation about music. At least based on those who knew him personally, like Tim, there doesn't seem to be much evidence that he was full of himself. If anything, it was the opposite. He was pretty modest and knew his views were eccentric, but yes he enjoyed articulating them forcefully sometimes and seemed to revel going against convention. I know people like this and it's not really the same thing as being full of one's self - the classical music world is full of actually arrogant personalities, many of them conductors (but also pianists, and I've met several in person), but I honestly don't think Glenn's one of them.
@moiome
Ай бұрын
@@benlawdy Thanks for your reply. You might be right. What comes across as arrogance could just be his courage to be defiant. But I find his comments on Chopin (and to a lesser extent on Rachmaninoff) rather hard to tolerate.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@moiome I understand that. I guess my affection for Gould overrides his flippant dismissals of music I also love (Chopin, Rachmaninoff). It's just Glenn being Glenn. We have enough amazing Chopinists, I suppose I didn't need him to be one too.
@moiome
Ай бұрын
@@benlawdy I don't need him to be a "Chopinist". I totally respect pianists who restrict their performance repertoire to music that best suits their talent and temperament. But to say/think that Chopin wasn't a good composer? To me, that denotes narrow-mindedness.
@benlawdy
Ай бұрын
@@moiome For me Gould more than proved he wasn't narrow-minded, so I just hear statements like that as Gould being polemical and reflecting the particular compositional aesthetic he favored. I guess I would put the question back to you: are you open-minded to criticism of Chopin? Gould at least begins to articulate one. I don't think it would convince you (it doesn't convince me), but he's at least prepared to give his reasons, which is not a hallmark of narrow-mindedness. Also if you listen to the call you can hear how open he is to learning more about things he doesn't like (like minimalism). He also recognizes Chopin as indisputably great at writing for the piano. Gould just has a specific aesthetic of what denotes a good "composer", deriving from a German aesthetic tradition that favors organic unity, and the developing variation of motives, as Schoenberg re-articulated it. This aesthetic tends to underrate composers of more operatic, coloristic, and narrative aesthetics, like Chopin. Gould is not alone in that camp. Ultimately this way of thinking is behind the distinctions we make between serious/light music, high/low art, etc - which we all carry to some degree. Even Chopin felt the pressure to prove himself as a "composer" in longer forms (B minor Sonata) and counterpoint (the late music). Ultimately I think Chopin's craftsmanship transcends the fashions he was traveling in, which is why his music is also timeless, and Gould misses this. But I maintain that the most narrow-minded tendencies in mainstream piano/music culture are the ones that Gould was challenging - the blind genius worship, the impotent and incoherent faith in a composer's intentions, the obsession with technical execution, the over-valuing of bravado, etc.
@MarilynCrosbie
Ай бұрын
As I always say, there are those who do and those who criticize. Gould didn't waste time criticizing other pianists, He did criticize the music if some composers, however, AFTER he had mastered their compositions - Chopin and Mozart, but he had earned that right.
@iampracticingpiano
Ай бұрын
Loathed only by those of limited artistic understanding.
@timothy4664
Ай бұрын
Glenn Gould. Dear lord.
@militaryandemergencyservic3286
Ай бұрын
Like Seymour Bernstein, I don't like his playing too much.
@ricardoamez1608
Ай бұрын
Although 99.9999999% of music lovers don't care for Gould, here's our fellow friend Ben rendering himself as Gould's most devoted apologist. Gould's maniacal narcissistic behavior led him to be despised and mocked as a musical meme. He got the wrong end of the stick in trying to use Mozart to spew out his own mediocrity and lack of talent. The rest is history: Mozart is, and will be praised the best composer ever by the vast majority, as long as the Universe exists. Loved by both, the common man and connoisseurs. In contrast, Gould's irrelevance makes the epithet of "travesty" the best compliment he could ever have aspired to. Seymour Bernstein will go down in history as the hero who put the little envious freak in his place for ever.
@opoaotoroiocoko
Ай бұрын
its gross how you break his word, cherry picking quotes, and so on. Just put the whole quote in for Gould's sake...
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