Glenn Gould

Eccentric by any standard, Glenn Gould was also a genius by any standard. I remember seeing a movie several years ago called "Thirty-two Short Films about Glenn Gould" that attempted to explain Gould. Gould was considered a foremost interpreter of the works of Bach, and particularly the Goldberg Variations for piano. I must admit that I don't remember that much about the film, but it did pique my curiosity about Bach and Goldberg if nothing else.

Gould was very eccentric; he abhorred physical contact and hated to be touched. For this reason, some have theorized that he had an autism-spectrum disorder. It doesn't sound like a far-fetched idea to me. Another story about Gould that I recall is that he always wore a hat, gloves, coat and scarf when outdoors, no matter what the weather or the location. That would explain why he was arrested for vagrancy somewhere in Florida (Sarasota?) while sitting on a park bench in the afternoon before an evening concert.

Gould had some quirky playing habits. First, he liked to sit very low, not that there's anything wrong with that, as long as one gets the sound one wants. However, his habit of humming and singing along with his playing was the sort of things that drove other musicians nuts, not to mention recording engineers. Enjoy this look at a peculiar and outstanding talent.

Oh, and he's Canadian!