Glenn Gould Bach's bourree takes

Glenn Gould recording Bach's bouree, extract from "The Alchemist"

[@nigelgould-davies6950]

"That is too boring. Let's try it again".... "I messed up one thing near the end". Fascinating to see the great Glenn at work.

[@DMajorTV2000]

Thanks for your wonderful comment! If you like Glenn Gould, when you have time, please check it out our fan-made documentary on him www.glenngould.tv ( also on Facebook facebook.com/glenngouldtv) and KZbin: kzbin.info/door/WCEasZzaDMlNnlJnyMvpYwfeatured where you can find interviews to his friends and collaborators. Have a great day and stay safe!

[@diegootero4234]

@@DMajorTV2000 do you know the name of the producer 0:37 ?

[@DMajorTV2000]

Hi, I heard the dear friend Kevin Bazzana, biographer of Glenn Gould and author of the beautiful book "Wondrous Strange" who writes to us "The person in the Monsaingeon video is James Kent, a CBC announcer who worked with GG on various radio projects in the 60s / 70s. GG never liked to have real behind-the-scenes filming of his recording process, so when he did such filming he always “faked” it - ie, they weren't real recording sessions, they were “fake” recording sessions especially for the room. He didn’t even want to use his real producer of him, Andrew Kazdin, so he got Kent to act as producer. I discuss this in my book on p. 419." I hope I have been of help! Best wishes, Alida Altemburg

[@DMajorTV2000]

@@diegootero4234 Hi, I heard Kevin Bazzana biographer of Glenn Gould and author of the beautiful book "Wondrous Strange" who wrote me: "The person in the Monsaingeon video is James Kent, a CBC announcer who worked with GG on various radio projects in the 60s / 70s. GG never liked to have real behind-the-scenes filming of his recording process, so when he did such filming he always “faked” it - ie, they weren't real recording sessions, they were “fake” recording sessions especially for the room. He didn’t even want to use his real producer of him, Andrew Kazdin, so he got Kent to act as producer. I discuss this in my book on p. 419." I hope I have been of help! Best wishes, Alida Altemburg

[@not2tees]

Some kind of friendly, superior intelligent life form, very close to human . . .

[@789armstrong]

the sound of genius to the max.

[@DMajorTV2000]

Yes!Is you like Glenn, don't miss to visit our website of the project "Nice to meet you Glenn!" the first fan made documentary on the legendary Canadian Pianist! www.glenngould.tv Hugs!

[@iguarni]

Pure genius

[@DMajorTV2000]

@@iguarni yes! If you like Glenn Gould, check it out the first fan-made documentary dedicated to him "Nice to meet you, Glenn!" www.glenngould.tv we are also on Facebook facebook.com/glenngouldtv Have a nice day!

[@iguarni]

@@DMajorTV2000 we miss Him too much. He left us too early but his genius will last for ever and ever.

[@MrRjcosta]

Indeed! Very much👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🎹🎼🎶🎶🎶😊💛!

[@RebekahCurielAlessi]

I am speechless, up in the middle of the night to hear - this little bit of an entrance to what surely must be heaven.

[@guitarforall]

never heard of this guy before .. it might just change my life i think

[@samanthayork3125]

enjoy p.s. also this is the video from right before this clip, where he plays the sarabande: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKWVlY1vbtFrp5Y if you haven't seen it

[@SilviaAMaestri]

For sure!!! 🎶🎹💙

[@stuntmusicgameshow311]

When he asks the engineer “should i try it more slow”, and he humbly replies “that sounds good!” I just busted out laughing...probably an amazing engineer, how could anyone say anything but “yes sir, sure thing, you’re right” to Glen Gould?

[@DMajorTV2000]

Many of his technicians often disagreed with him, as well as his tuner, just because they were friends, intellectual honesty was the basis of their relationship. Then it is clear that other aspects are captured in front of the cameras and one cannot take into consideration only one frame. However we are sure that every Glenn Gould records has been and always will be a masterpiece!

[@DorianGriner]

This is so adorable. He appears to be in a trance like state while playing, where this world simply does not exist but only channeling of higher transdimensional energies flowing through him. There is no one like Glenn and there never will be. His non legato phrasing is always executed with unbelievable clarity and a laser precision of a digital metronome. A uniquely brilliant musician with hugely likeable personality and genuine humility. And his thrillers are so crystal clear, like purest water from Himalayan glaciers..

[@GunsGamesMonsters]

Well said

[@melvynobrien6193]

It's amazing how he makes both hands play with clarity, so that you can hear each note; and so evenly. I teach some Bach to my students, but Gould is in another class, and I'm not saying that just because I grew up in Toronto. He was a bit eccentric, to say the least; and that chair of his, what can I say? Maybe if I cut the legs off a chair I'd play better. Think I'll try. LOL.

[@glenngouldschair390]

Did you actually try? I once was at my school and played at the piano with a desk chair about 13-15” off the ground I played that Chopin pretty well. So maybe it will work.

[@jfan4reva]

Glenn Gould - the hunchback of Toronto? Lol! I jest, but the results speak for themselves. Gould is legendary in a way seldom seen in the real world.

[@chriss6733]

God,I love this man.

[@TomPark1986]

"I made a mistake at the end" ............what a fucking boss.

[@TomPark1986]

@Matthew Steele clever. Save your other brain cell for when you're confused about how to eat your pudding.

[@sofarsogouldgg7294]

Thanks for this video that shows that ougfffff....Glenn is not an alien after all

[@beckiewrites]

This is amazing to watch. Beautiful and fascinating

[@julitareglerogarcia5541]

Glenda Gould magnífico pasarán años en tener otro

[@DMajorTV2000]

We are agree with you! If you like Glenn, check it out our fan-made documentary dedicated to him: www.glenngould.tv we wish you a great day in music!

[@서승범-o6v]

Gould's recording process in his studio at Eatons Auditorium 1. Record a complete take of the movement 2. Listen and note any slips and imperfect balances. 3. Go back to the piano and record small inserts that would fix the errors. (from Glenn Gould Edition booklet)

[@renaldtremblay8333]

Une vraie folle que ce Gould! Tout trop vite! Tout trop! M'emmerde joliment le mec!

[@Dizzyfingers2]

The 3rd take is the most revealing - if one does not start even the first 2-3 notes correctly - it's like jumping on a surfboard ... you can't "catch the wave" unless you mount perfectly. Even with the slip-ups in the 4th take - Gould kept going knowing that it could be corrected later on. At least he planted his feet correct at the beginning ...

[@Peter-tg1kk]

"Too crazy" Agreed

[@LeVezz]

For voice and Piano - Gould

[@5musico8]

Beautiful 👏👏👏

[@andrearodigari4840]

Pure love. That's it

[@nohopeinmyheart7197]

Delightful!

[@_cn_1970]

God, I wish they had recorded the whole recording...

[@RogertheGS]

"Casals-ish" - polite way to say "yep, I was singing along like Caruso"

[@glenngouldschair390]

And for Gould that’s not exactly a bad thing

[@astusin]

GENIUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@cyberorkid]

Gould very casually : “How does that sound ...?” Me completely blown away, hair sticking up and my lower jaw touching the floor: “WOW!!!....what just happened !?!?!?” Unbelievable!!! I can leave earth now.

[@mylesjordan9970]

After Eaton’s College St. department store, where my aunt worked, had closed for the day I often dashed to the top floor and stood between the inner and outer doors to the auditorium, watching and hearing him practice to record Bach before the technicians were ready to go. How could Toronto ever have allowed a developer to tear down that building? More and more of the past is in digital format only; eventually every structure any more than fifteen years old will get demolished, then the electronic fallout from a single, unusually exuberant, sun explosion will completely wipe out history.

[@hurricane_hazel]

The building is still there. It wasn't torn down.

[@mylesjordan9970]

@@hurricane_hazel Is it still there?? Wonderful; thank you for letting me know! I read online somewhere that it had been torn down, so I probably misunderstood-haven’t been back to Toronto in decades-perhaps it was the other Eaton’s location on Yonge St? I remember a cameo shot of Gould marching across one of the catwalks in the Eaton Centre, saying: “Its ridiculous, it’s absolutely absurd,” which struck me as about the funniest thing he ever did. (BTW, do you remember Hurricane Hazel? It was my first experience of a hurricane; that’s quite awhile ago!)

[@hurricane_hazel]

@@mylesjordan9970 The misunderstanding is probably you read that they sort of tore down what used to be Eaton's auditorium as Glenn knew it, and renovated it into an event space/sort of auditorium called the Carlu (I managed to sneak in and see it when I was in Toronto last year). But the building is still there and if you can manage to get up to floor 7 and squint your eyes you can still see Glenn recording there. That catwalk at Eaton Centre is still there too (I walked over it also during my Gould pilgrimage). And no, I was not born yet when hurricane hazel happened. ;-)

[@mylesjordan9970]

@@hurricane_hazel The renovation of Carnegie Hall and several makeovers of what used to be Avery Fisher Hall in New York were accomplished with a degree of sensitivity to historical considerations, but I remember as a graduate student walking into Studio 8-H at Radio City, naïvely wondering if there might perhaps be a discreet plaque acknowledging Toscanini’s historic recordings with the NBC Symphony in that room. I saw instead the set for Saturday Night Live.

[@서승범-o6v]

About Lorne Tulk, the editor : from "Wondrous Strange" by Kevin Bazzana. "Lorne Tulk decided after 10 years of ... Gould's intensity and perfectionism ... to take a sabbatical. Gould did not cut Tulk out of his life. Their close friendship continued ... confided in him about ... of his private life in his last years." p.381

[@capezyo]

He's Top

[@SlateFx]

When Gould starts playing at first it is like a train has left the station and is hastily picking up speed. You don't get that feeling with any other interpreters of Bach's music.

[@bachopinbee5991]

Grazie!

[@DMajorTV2000]

You are welcome! Stay tuned on D Major Tv for more also on Facebook facebook.com/dmajortv

[@TomPark1986]

Eyes closed....too.....what a madman.

[@hamoudi_d]

1:52 he is where he made a mistake

[@jazztemple2]

I'll take any take! LOL

[@DMajorTV2000]

Of course! ;) If you like Glenn Gould, you can take a look on our fan-made documentary "Nice to meet you Glenn!" with a digital archive of interviews and specials with his friends and collaborators: www.glenngould.tv Hugs from Italy!

[@RebekahCurielAlessi]

Me too.

[@r.i.p.volodya]

It's still shocking to me how low he sits...

[@martian-sunset]

Glenn God.

[@mjm5081]

❤

[@davidtrumpeter1225]

👑

[@DMajorTV2000]

:) The King of Bach! If you like Gould, we invite you to check it out the first fan made documentary dedicated to him on www.glenngould.tv Take care!

[@wilhelmuskool4967]

Almost machine like.

[@lucasgust7720]

Too sad that in the final recording he didn't keep this tempo.

[@hsfpiano1989]

I actually like the character of take one which he thinks it boring.... This guy....

[@pianosbloxworld4460]

They used take 4 in the actual record. I think?

[@gbrachetta]

Well, the recording engineer is so obsequious he would like whatever Gould threw at him.

[@giuseppelogiurato5718]

So are most of the people in this comment section. 😉

[@gbrachetta]

@@giuseppelogiurato5718 Ha, absolutely! Why no one dares saying that Gould was a musical horror? Regardless of his undeniable spectacular skills, he was a completely tasteless musician (and person). And, seriously, who can seriously enjoy Gould playing Baroque? And about his interpretations of romantic music: seriously? Gould? Don't people know Horowitz and realise what true piano playing can be?

[@_cn_1970]

@@gbrachetta yawn...

[@glenngouldschair390]

@@gbrachetta Haha! The least geniune criticism ever!

[@서승범-o6v]

"Lorne Tulk decided after 10 years of ... Gould's intensity and perfectionism ... to take a sabbatical. Gould did not cut Tulk out of his life. Their close friendship continued ... confided in him about ... of his private life in his last years." WONDROUS STRANGE by Kevin Bazzana p.381

[@AndreasDelleske]

„Crrrrk ... Mr Gould, could you stop singing please?“ did no one ever have the balls to say it? :) seriously I don’t care but it just went through my mind..

[@farshadnazridoost8966]

Its not singing ,its his tools to play Bach..stop singing is not new ..

[@stuntmusicgameshow311]

No one asked, because those in his presence must have heard the voice of an innocent child in joy, and were kind enough to not break that heart.

[@mencken8]

I have listened to him play so long I no longer hear it.

[@markaplier1261]

At 1:52 it sounds like he makes a mistake :O

[@debs4mysweetbaby]

he did... it's hard to imagine, but glenn was a human being... lol

[@jellecoder6400]

About 5-8 seconds before that he messed up the phrasing also. I've had phrasing mishaps lead to notation issues. Indeed he's human, like Django, Gould was a perfectionist of sorts.

[@markaplier1261]

@@debs4mysweetbaby woosh that one went right over you head

[@duaguy]

1 demi ton trop haut sur une note me semble-t-il

[@togosakutaro5882]

BWV ???

[@DMajorTV2000]

English Suite No. 1 in A Major, BWV 806: VIII. Bourée I

[@erickmonroy184]

Did he have all of the notes in his mind ? Or I'm missing something?

[@DMajorTV2000]

Dear Erick!Thanks for your comment! Yes, Glenn has a prodigious memory! ;) If you like Gould we are waiting for you on www.glenngould.tv the page dedicated to the first fan made documentary on the great Canadian Pianist! Take care!

[@capezyo]

Shurely have...

[@diegootero4234]

Who is the producer?

[@AaronGlenn88]

From a production look. Just let the tape roll then extract the take you like and just play in the moment. Come on gould lol

[@combinationova]

It's pretty tough for a lot of musicians to make a mistake and not stumble again

[@Cantbuyathrill]

1:52 What happened there?

[@EnergyMaxWh]

Seems like a wrong note. But couldn't be

[@木の葉いちよう]

自分に厳しい。妥協を許さない。これだけの技術と表現力を持ちながら、この上何が不満なんだかと思うけど、きっと、気持ちが充分に没入してないとか、そういうことなんでしょう……。

[@hamoudi_d]

Take 1 was the best in my opinion

[@johnytipu4514]

What bach bourree is this?

[@BadValOfficial]

In A major, I think

[@skan8]

A bunch of yes men in the studio .

[@DMajorTV2000]

Maybe...The fact is that Glenn had very clear ideas! We suggest you take a look at our fan-made documentary dedicated to him "Nice to meet you Glenn!" kzbin.info/door/WCEasZzaDMlNnlJnyMvpYw Good vision!

[@drvonkrankmeister8094]

Yes! Say yes to genius. Let the genius work and be grateful for every moment with him and this glorious music. Perhaps the tech guys knew they were there to help create an immortal rendition of glorious music by an inimitable artist.

[@rossto862]

Mistake at 1:53

[@ssbb2711]

Indeed... 1:52, I think.

[@JetFission]

What's curious is a mistake at around the same spot made into the final recording without splicing. I've listened to it so much that hearing it performed without the wrong note sounds weird

[@ephemeraforever4580]

And thank goodness he goes back and corrects every little blip. Gould creates unsurpassed standards (no one is better at editing classical piano music, imo) for "finished recordings."

[@feklaexeshko4974]

С любовью из России! 💖

[@Gustavo_Weckesser]

2341 views and 75 likes in almost two years. Mankind is lost. Armageddon wipe us away. Period.

[@d.singler-kron9034]

I am thankful that I can appreciate this excellence; I'm sure you are, too. Many cannot let themselves get into this fine art. Armageddon is not meant to wipe away any beauty or truth.

[@marodrey]

HAHAHAHAHA! It already hit... under the name of Covid19....

[@giuseppelogiurato5718]

That's a bit hyperbolic, don't you think? This is only one of millions of musical videos available on KZbin, and it's pretty "niche"... Not everyone is gonna get a boner for a video of weirdo Glenn Gould dorking-out at the piano. Don't despair; J.S. Bach still has more fans than Glenn Gould does, and if young people were all philistines, channels like TwoSet wouldn't be as popular as they are.

[@barageorge2573]

How is that? Very nice yeah let's just go home for god sake

[@samuel723]

Best comment here

[@rravvia]

He's good, but he's no Glenn Gould.

[@newgeorge]

wonderful pianist but his singing isn't so good.

[@MullahSteinberg]

Worse facial twitches than Lang Lang

[@jbw53191]

It's so odd that he was so precise with the recording and editing, yet always ruined every recording with his incessant singing.

[@Elijahluke1995]

Honestly I prefer his recordings with his voice in them. They give a life to the recording which makes the recording that much more interesting. It’s like hearing the piano solo in Giant Steps; knowing why it’s so bad makes the song as a whole better. Or like hearing the sounds of the key actuation in a recording- it just gives the piece more depth to it

[@pablocopello3592]

Really ? Haven't you still figured out why Gould couldn't avoid singing when he played ? I'll give you some clues: Why Bach couldn't finish "The Art of the Fugue" ? Why Mozart couldn't finish his Requiem ? Why Beethoveen became deaf ? Why Einstein hated "action at a distance" and so he couldn't conciliate QM with GR ? Why Newton suffered a mental illness and couldn't integrate light to his mechanics ? Think what is common to the above cases and you could probably understand why Gould had to sing. Forget about last 2 clues if you not "fluent" in physics, (there are many more clues from other disciplines, but with this it should be enough).

[@Elijahluke1995]

@@pablocopello3592 this might be the most pretentious thing I have ever read and you sound stupid

[@glenngouldschair390]

The comment with the Google default profile picture sounds dumb my piano teacher always told me to sing while I play.

[@giuseppelogiurato5718]

I don't like him... I've never liked him... He plays Bach (on the piano, ON PURPOSE) like some sort of atheist who has never been to Lutheran church and has never heard anyone speak the German language or play the harpsichord ... He's arrogant and rude, he gives me the creeps, and I don't think J. Sebastian himself would've cared much for his performance-style or mannerisms... But, I will still give a 👍 to this video,, because I appreciate being able to compare what I don't like with what I do.

[@leonardrecker5377]

excuse me?? Gould studied Organ and experimented with different instruments- actually he developed a so called harpsi-piano- so, please stand corrected and delete your ignorant and uninformed comment.

[@LeVezz]

He always caricatured the baroque pieces, playing everything quasi-staccato all the time , he doesn't even adapt it properly for the piano . Andras Schiff is quite my reference in playing Bach on this instrument but Glenn is best at other composers work.

[@LeVezz]

@@leonardrecker5377 Never say to someone to auto censor himself. That's what he thinks, correct him politely. That's what makes both of you grow . You look more like the arrogant ignorant just because of your last sentence.

[@giuseppelogiurato5718]

@@leonardrecker5377 You are excused... I did some research, and it turns out that I was right after all. "I don't like the way Glen Gould plays Bach on the piano" is a 100% FACTUAL statement... I will not "stand corrected", as you suggest, because I was correct to begin with. Oh, and next time I sit down to play one of those ever-so-popular "harpsi-pianos", I'll remember to thank Mr. Gould for his brilliant invention.

[@giuseppelogiurato5718]

@@LeVezz thank you Remi; there is no such thing as an incorrect opinion... I like Schiff too, but Richter is my favorite. 😁

[@davidmdyer838]

He comes into the studio not having really thought much about the tempo of this piece? And this guy is called a genius? This is all very clunky playing and inconsistent phrasing. Different takes he wants to be patched together are at different tempos.

[@sp10sn]

loooool.

[@MrCinemuso]

Glenn Gould should have tried harder, and been more consistent and less clunky, for David.

[@davidmdyer838]

@@MrCinemuso that's just a ridiculous comment. Is that your answer to everyone who has an opinion about something?

[@Awairaz]

@@davidmdyer838 This guy probably read the sheet music on the way to here while driving a taxi. He can just look at the sheet music and by minutes he already knows how to play pages of the music itself. That's probably why he was a bit ambiguous about the tempo at the start.

[@brando810]

Ashkenazy says he's a genius... Pogorelich says in Russia he is known as the greatest of the greats... Evgenny Kissin says Glenn Gould's Bach is too perfect and he will not even attempt Bach yet. But David Dyer knows better