Glenn Gould - Glenn Gould: The Complete Original Jacket Collection - Amazon.com Exclusive

The Glenn Gould Complete Jacket Collection" is presented to mark the brilliant pianist's 75th birthday and the 25th anniversary of his death. It is a fascinating, limited edition: all the artist's LP recordings in the "look and feel" of the original vinyl discs on 80 CDs.

The Canadian Glenn Gould (born in Toronto 25 September 1932 - died there 4 October 1982) was without doubt one of the most important pianists of all time. Even today, the idiosyncratic interpretations and the eccentric personality of the "James Dean of the piano" exert a continuing fascination.

In good time to commemorate the artist's birth 75 years ago on 25 September and his death 25 years ago on 4 October 2007, the Sony Classical label is launching a special project in honour of the double anniversary: "The Glenn Gould Complete Jacket Collection" transfers all the artist's recordings for LP on to 78 CDs, from Glenn Gould's legendary 1955 recording of the Goldberg Variations to piano works by Richard Strauss released posthumously on 4 April 1984, and of course, not one of the brilliant artist's legendary Bach recordings is missed out.

Each of the 60 single and 9 double CDs consists of the exact recordings as first issued on vinyl and looks like a miniaturised form of the original disc: the CDs are in cardboard slipcases in the original design, and the CD itself is designed to look like a LP.

Supplemented by two bonus CDs, the limited "Glenn Gould Complete Jacket Collection" comprises 80 CDs mounted in a high-quality display case with a booklet of more than 240 pages. This booklet contains a new, detailed essay by the German Gould specialist Michael Stegemann on Glenn Gould and the LP recording era along with texts and repertoire details to all recordings in the edition, plus a listing and depiction of the records with reissue dates for repertoire that has appeared before.

The bonus CDs include the last great interview that Glenn Gould gave the American journalist Tim Page in 1981 and an essay on Johann Sebastian Bach and the fugue that Gould recorded in 1972 for a bonus LP. They also feature a number of late recordings that never appeared on vinyl: fragments of the "Italian Album" and Wagner's Siegfried Idyll in its orchestral version -- Gould's recording debut as conductor and his last recording of all, made on 8 September 1982 with members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Another rarity is Gould's own film music to George Roy Hill's Slaughterhouse Five from 1972. Album Description

excellent Bach and Viennese School but...

If you are looking for good Beethoven or mozart interpretations, search in somewhere else, otherwise, you will be very disapointed. Mr. Gould did not like these composers and his ungangly playing in their works evidence that. Well, nobody is perfect, anyway... September 19, 2008

Beautiful box.

If you don't have any CDs with classical music yet, but would really have some, then this box is really a wonderful way to start with. Glenn Gould was a genius in his own way with a vanguard attitude to the interpretation of the "holy" works. If you know the pieces well, but never heard the Gould's versions, may be it's time to breathe in some fresh fragrance from the known source.
Pro: you have the complete studio recordings of Glenn Gould with original LP packaging artwork.
Contra: the CDs are packaged direct into carton without any inlays neither of soft paper nor of plastic. And it's a pity, because if you're going to listen to them often, then you can scratch the CDs. And if you're a CD/record collector then you don't have lots of spare place, that's why you won't take 70 empty CD-boxes in order to handle them properly...

Nevertheless, you will have much joy with it!
September 1, 2008

Gould's wonderful legacy

The box, the booklet and everything related to the presentation of this collection is fine. The recordings are complete, with good information provided. The CD sleeves copy those from the original LP recordings. Sadly, as they are much smaller, you can hardly read the back cover original comments. But this is only a minor point. Definitely, this is a must for any piano aficionados. August 11, 2008

An Amazing Journey

Having grown up and studied music for a while in Toronto, one can get overwhelmed with people who claim to have known Gould's mother, father, piano technician, teacher or the man himself. Even more than a quarter of a century after his death, people still try to humanize Gould by finding professionals who feel that they are qualified to give him clinical diagnoses. Though it is understandable that one may feel the necessity to link themselves with this Titan, it becomes evident that no one could have known or understood the mind of Gould.

This survey of Gould's recordings is one of the greatest musical journeys that is out there today. Though he was renowned for his interpretations of J.S. Bach and Schoenberg, it becomes evident that he had a vast, vast repertoire that spanned from the early music of Gibbons to his contemporaries. He also discovered and took interest in music that is rarely heard. Gould's Stauss disc and his recordings Grieg and Bizet are also of interest. In this journey, I was amazed at his Beethoven interpretations. I have never heard such humour in his music. His Bach remains unchallenged to this day. There simply isn't a bolder recording of the Toccata in c minor and the "a minor Fugue," from the first book of the Well-Tempered Clavier.

The discs where he discusses his insights on various matters relating to music (pianos, touring, and critics) gives us another fascinating glimpse of this artist.

This box set is definitely one of those things I would take to a desert island. August 4, 2008

Get it while you can

Glenn Gould lives up to the sound bite given by George Szell -- "That nut is a genius."

Gould's interpretations are controversial. Some detest his singing along with his playing. Others think he is too mannered, too idiosyncratic in his interpretations, still others regard him as too romantic, especially in his Bach.

However, more than anyone except perhaps Wanda Landowska, he is responsible for the revival of interest in the keyboard music of Bach. Yes, there are other superb interpreters of Bach, among which I particularly like Rosilyn Tureck. But if fascinating insights are your cup of tea, you must own and listen to Gould's Bach.

I also find his Beethoven, especially the late sonatas, to be insightful and revelatory.

This collection provides the entire discography of Gould's Columbia/CBS/Sony studio performances. Yes, I already own many of these performances grouped differently in various iterations and rereleases. Yes, it is sometimes easier to listen to other pressings that combine the works of the same composer into a multi-disc set.

But for those of us who grew up in the LP vinyl era, seeing the original covers replicated and having a chance to reread original album notes is a pleasure not to be passed up.

Amazon has made this set available at an extremely attractive price and in a very well done package. I congratulate them and thank them.

I strongly recommend lovers of the art of keyboard, and especially those like myself who appreciate the insights of Glenn Gould, to buy this set. June 29, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...