Glenn Gould - Life & Times (1998)

Kultur Video presents an insightful biography of the multi-faceted Glenn Gould: the man and the musician—eccentric, loner, genius, jokester, broadcaster, documentary producer and world-acclaimed pianist. When Glenn Gould made his professional debut at the age of 14, classical music lovers had never heard anything like him and his vibrant and bold approach to the classics enthralled audiences. His technique on the piano and his music interpretations were unique, just like the man himself. The popular image of Gould as a tortured genius—the frail hypochondriac who lived a solitary nocturnal existence—is only partly true; he was also witty and fun-loving. He suffered chronic stage fright, and would sit very low in his chair, humming and singing as he played. Gould stopped performing in public when he was 32: "I detest audiences…I think they are a force of evil," he once said. Later in life, when recording his music and radio documentaries, he started working only at night. Towards the end, Gould obsessively catalogued every aspect of his health. He stopped eating properly, rarely slept and died of a stroke when he was only 50 years old. This documentary includes remarkable archival footage of Gould performing, relaxing, working in his recording studio, and being interviewed. BONUS FEATURES INCLUDE: • A performance of Bach: Concerto No. 5 in F minor, Largo and Presto • A performance of Bach: Fugue No. 4 NTSC - Region 1 • A short CBC-TV clip of Gould speaking to an audience of children.

An Excellent Biography on Glenn Gould

Excellent in the sense that it explains to the audience almost all the mysteries of this great pianist of our time-- things like who sowed and subsequently watered the seed of music in him, why he was so quer about his own health, the rationale which made him detest live audience and the reason why he preferred to hum along when he was on the keyboard, and also what probably had cut short his life... This documentary explains almost everything to us with sufficient insights and with the least bias. August 31, 2006

Documentary 101

For the Gould newcomer. The rest of us (Gould afficionados) should probably steer clear since we've seen and heard better. A basic documentary, rife with talking head commentary (although Tim Page's observations are worth listening to) and snippets of Gould looking Gouldian--mufflered, mittened, behatted, etc. One high point, though: the film of Gould swooning over the keyboard during a performance, rivulets of sweat sliding down his face, is breathtaking--the man was, after all, gorgeous in his youth. That "scene" is ranks above five points; the rest drags it down, though. July 8, 2003

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