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| Wondrous Strange: The Life and Art of Glenn Gould |
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List Price: $39.95
Our Price: $26.37
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Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 786.2092
EAN: 9780195182460
ISBN: 0195182464
Label: Oxford University Press, USA
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 560
Publication Date: 2005-05-12
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Studio: Oxford University Press, USA
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Editorial Reviews:
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When Mikhail Baryshnikov defected in Toronto in 1974, he admitted that he knew only three things about Canada: It had great hockey teams, a lot of wheatfields, and Glenn Gould. In Wondrous Strange, Kevin Bazzana vividly recaptures the life of Glenn Gould, one of the most celebrated pianists of our time. Drawing on twenty years of intensive research, including unrestricted access to Gould's private papers and interviews with scores of friends and colleagues, many of them never interviewed before, Bazzana sheds new light on such topics as Gould's family history, his secretive sexual life, and the mysterious problems that afflicted his hands in his later years. The author places Gould's distinctive traits--his eccentric interpretations, his garish onstage demeanor, his resistance to convention--against the backdrop of his religious, upper- middle-class Canadian childhood, illuminating the influence of Gould's mother as well as the lasting impact of the only piano teacher Gould ever had. Bazzana offers a fresh appreciation of Gould's concert career--his high-profile but illness-plagued international tours, his adventurous work for Canadian music festivals, his musical and legal problems with Steinway & Sons. In 1964, Gould made the extraordinary decision to perform only for records, radio, television, and film, a turning point that the author examines with unprecedented thoroughness (discussing, for example, his far-seeing interest in new recording technology). Here, too, are Gould's interests away from the piano, from his ambitious but failed effort to be a composer to his innovative brand of "contrapuntal radio." Richly illustrated with rare photographs, Wondrous Strange is a superbly written account of one of the most memorable and accomplished musicians of our times.
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Terrific biography of Glenn Gould
Comment: This is a wonderful biography on one of the world's finest and beloved musicians. The writing is detailed and articulate but never boring. However, if you do not have a background in music, the writings on classical music could be difficult to decipher for the layman. An excellent read!!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: A Worthy Biography
Comment: I can't exactly put a nail on why I have read so many biographies on Gould, but I dare say the story of his reclusiveness, isolation and his pursuit of his art has always intrigued me. Up to this point my favorite biography on Gould had been the Otto Fredrick "A Life in Variations", so I had a pre-conceived notion that this book may just have been be a re-telling of all the stories and interviews I heard in the past.
Bazzana appears to set himself apart here in that he was not asked to write a biography on Gould as he described in the book. There are many snippits of things I've allready knew about Gould here, but Bazzana also tries to put another angle on some of the eccentricities most have heard or read about prior. He encapsulates many different views of Gould, so much so that I feel that I have a bit more insite here. Also, Bazzana appears to set some of the record straight for other biographical sources such as Andrew Kazdin's work called "Glenn Gould At Work, Creative Lying" which is another book I gained knowledge from and did enjoy. It may not be entirely possible to have a true biographical account of Gould, but I still appreciate this additional account of his life although I am only giving it 4 stars because I feel there will never be a complete biography of an individual due to different sources and views, but this one is generally well researched. It does re-hash some of the other interview material, sources etc, but within the book there does appear to be an attempt here to rationalize his behaviour and give a better look beyond the stereotype.
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Summary: The Enduring Fascination of Gould
Comment: What is it about Glenn Gould? He's been the subject of books, dvds, and one odd movie made up of a mosaic of short films. Gould's life and music has captured the attention and imagination of people who otherwise would not venture anywhere near classical performers.
"Wondrous Strange" doesn't delve deeply into opinions, or really attempt to explain why people were (and are) so affected by Gould--it simply lays out Gould's life in block-like sections, marking his attitudes and approaches to both music and life. The result is a thick book full of Gouldian lore, with many fascinating passages, that doesn't cohere quite as well as it could have. Bazzana develops themes, drops them, and then revisits them a few chapters on. Pages could have been trimmed where Bazzana is busy repeating himself. It's as if the book were trying to envelope Gould, like an octopus settling on a lobster.
Does it succeed? Mostly, yes. With repeated gleanings, Gould emerges to the reader as something of a "mutant"--a person slightly ahead of his time. He was a reclusive person, who came to hate concert limelight, and found great comfort in the controlled technology of the studio. He (probably correctly) discerned that an artist usually communicates better, and certainly more intimately, through recordings than through concerts.
Gould's belief in the classical music performer's right to interpret and reimagine great works of music put him at odds with many critics, as did his tendency to "sing" wordlessly as he played. These things only served to reinforce Gould's singularity, and mark him as a modernist. Like James Dean, or the Beatles, Gould transcended his time. He was a dreamer who continues to captivate and to inspire dreams in his legion of followers.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Well-balanced biography of a phenominal artist
Comment: This is a very well-balanced, thorough biography of the Canadian pianist/musician/composer Glenn Gould. Very well written, a joy to read (and a lot easier to read then most of the stuff Glenn wrote himself...)
Having read this book I feel I understand more about Glenn Gould the artist and the person.
A first-choice-must-buy for all interested to know more about Glenn Gould.
Customer Rating:
Summary: the mysteries of a perfect art
Comment: This unstoppably heartrending biography of Canadian pianist Glenn Gould unveils the mysteries of a perfect art more cogently and beautifully than has any other artist's biography I've ever come across. Kevin Bazzana has opened up Gould's eccentricities and placed them where finally they must sleep - merely deep in the natural whole of one of the inescapable musicians of the 20th century. Those lucky enough to know the meaning of the art of Glenn Gould will always be grateful for that achievement.
This is a tremendous book. The moments when Bazzana's utterly secure love for Gould's art shines through are the most extraordinary aspect of a completely worthy biography. With deep and glistening writing Bazzana evokes every aspect of looking-at-Gould with the same sound character found in Gould's playing - it's an amazing experience! This is biographical literature extensive and schooled, and even wise; reading is like gliding on glass, so perfect is the author's determination, and Gould lives on every page. What could be better?
Was ever a pianist's art more wonderful? Gould's playing is always extraordinary by every standard, and beyond. And not only the playing, of course; his mind, his understanding of music, his humor - these form the scaffolding of a remarkable artistic vision. For all his reclusion, his is the most giving human art, reaching to infinity. Art of the gods obtains dimensions the proof of which can be heard in everything he played. It's a consuming art, yet so freeing. The wondrous thing about it is how Gould kept so much of himself even as he spent lavishly on Bach and Byrd and Schoenberg. Music never overtook Gould - that task inevitably fell to Gould himself.
By literature of this kind, the sadness that still lingers around Gould's death seems entirely transformed. This is a great book that ends too quickly and lingers too pervasively. Afford yourself the wealth.
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