Product Description

When Glenn Gould died in 1982 at the age of 50, he left behind a legacy of 26 years not only as a remarkable pianist, but as an outstanding music critic. His writing, which appeared primarily in music journals and on record sleeves, was often as provocative as his performances. This book contains essays on composers such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Mahler, Schoenberg and Strauss, which challenge virtually every tenet of accepted taste and opinion. Gould inveighs against concert-giving and competitions, and enthuses about recording and its associated technology. He writes on Leopold Stokowski and Barbra Streisand, on Petula Clark and Ernst Krenek, on P.D.Q. Bach in fact and fancy, and even in interview with himself.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #363089 in Books
• Published on: 1987-05-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 492 pages

Customer Reviews

The Magpie Musican's Musings
The GG Reader is a collection of Gould's most persuasive articles, interviews, reviews and liner notes. Sometimes it descends into trivia, but mostly this is a fascinating and absorbing collection of music thoughts from one of the century's most original music thinkers. Highlights include Gould's essays on Strauss and Schoenberg, the prophetic "the Prospects of Recording" and his views on Russian music.

The Reader is ideal as a book to dip into, to sample and to savour. Some of his most amusing record sleeve notes are included, pieces about his music heros and heroines (the Stokowski Interview is particularly good) and much more besides.

The Reader then is one of Gould's most interesting legacies - the collected thoughts and views of a contraversial and much loved artist.