Gould, Glenn, 1932–82, Canadian pianist and composer. A prodigy, he began study at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto at 12. He was piano soloist with the Toronto Symphony at 14, and by the time he was 19 he was making concert tours in Canada, soon becoming known for idiosyncratic performance behavior. A great pianist, Gould was particularly noted for his interpretations of Bach and the romantics. As a composer, Gould was influenced by the postromantic music of the late 19th cent. His first published composition, a string quartet, had its premiere on television in 1956. During the 1960s Gould reduced his concert appearances to a minimum, preferring thereafter to concentrate on recording.

Bibliography

See biographies by O. Friedrich (1989) and P. F. Ostwald (1997).

Gould, Glenn (Herbert)

(born Sept. 25, 1932, Toronto, Ont., Can.—died Oct. 4, 1982, Toronto) Canadian pianist. The acclaim that greeted Gould's first recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations (1955) led him to abandon his interest in composition and to instead develop an international career as a pianist. His interpretations of Bach (and occasionally of other composers) set a new standard with their technical brilliance and subtle intelligence. Famously eccentric, he often wore gloves while playing and was intensely hypochondriac. Never happy performing, in 1964 he left the concert stage forever for the recording studio. He later composed radio “documentaries” (including The Idea of North) that fall somewhere between typical examples of the genre and musique concrète.