Glenn Gould: The Ecstasy and Tragedy of Genius
by Peter Ostwald
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Book Summary Information
Author: Peter OstwaldEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1998-09-15
ISBN: 0393318478
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Book Reviews of Glenn Gould: The Ecstasy and Tragedy of Genius
Book Review: Gould's head gets a much-needed shrink
Summary: 3 Stars
In this book, the author, Peter Ostwald, sometimes enjoyed playing classical music as an amateur musician but, perhaps more importantly, he was also a psychiatrist. Ostwald completed this work just before he died of cancer. He shared a casual relationship (he considered it a friendship) with Gould over a window of several years and his (Ostwald's) angle on the book is sort of a psychoanalytical one.
I carried this book on my reading list for a couple of years and when the price dropped on a used copy I ordered it. Having now finished reading it, I think a better title might have been, "My Friend, Glenn Gould, and Our Limited, One-Sided Relationship" -- a dichotomy, and not all that catchy, but perhaps more accurate.
Glenn Gould, (born "Glenn Herbert Gold" on September 25, 1932), was an eccentric, internationally-renowned Canadian pianist. He was also involved in radio and film but it was piano playing that made him famous. There's a great deal which can be said, (and WAS said, sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly, by Ostwald), about Gould: hypochondriac, prescription drug abuser, animal rights activist, hermit, brilliant classical pianist, part-time composer, and self-centered egomaniac... there's a great deal more to the list but this is a fair summary. Famed conductor, Karel Ancerl, once referred to Glenn Gould as a "nut" and maybe that's the most spot-on summary of all.
In any case, Gould, a child prodigy, was also highly opinionated about music. He was a huge fan of J.S. Bach and Gould's recording of Bach's "Goldberg Variations" (first recorded in 1955) actually launched this very talented pianist to world stardom. However, he generally didn't like the works of Romantic Period composers.
Gould particularly disliked the compositions of Robert Schumann although, strangely, he once recorded Schumann's "Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, opus 47" along with accompaniment by musicians of the Juilliard School. I own this recording and the liner notes are clear in corroborating the book's comments on two issues: Gould didn't like Schumann, and; subsequent to this recording experience, the Juilliard people weren't very keen on Gould either. The latter situation was clearly due to Gould's "Lone Wolf," domineering approach to group projects because he had to be the center of attention.
Gould could also never tolerate any sort of criticism, either personal or professional. When friends pointed out any item of deficiency, Gould immediately dropped them from his list of contacts. This is essentially what happened in the case of the author here, Ostwald.
Gould's egocentric personality was likely the least of his numerous personal problems. He harbored a phobia of audiences and, for that reason, abhorred live concerts which he eventually gave up altogether at age 31! He was a great enthusiast and advocate of new recording technology and proved himself a perfectionist, doing great numbers of "takes" on tape and much subsequent review and tweaking of his recordings before he would allow their release to the public on albums.
Gould had "issues" with the great pianist, Vladimir Horowitz. From Ostwald's book: "...(Gould) even made the outlandish claim that he once showed the RCA Victor technicians in New York how to repair a Horowitz tape by inserting a measure played by Gould." That statement pretty much says it all about Gould's ego, as well as his ethics.
Gould died at age 50 in 1982 of a stroke. He had just gotten re-started in recording piano works, (after trouble in controlling his hands, arms, and shoulders), and was even doing a little conducting, before his premature death put the skids to similar future projects which he had planned.
Ostwald's book itself contains a awful lot about Ostwald. Even though the experiences of the days he spent with Gould provide us some insight as to the latter's idiosyncrasies, Gould himself probably did not regard these days in particular as very significant ones. Ostwald was an interesting personality too but, here, I felt the need for more focus on what experiences were more of a big deal to Gould, and the details of THOSE days.
To summarize, this is a fair biography of Gould's life, (it read quite fluidly), from his birth to his death, but there's also probably a better one out there somewhere. I should also add that an especially good point about this biography is the great number of "Gould photos" which Ostwald has included.
Summary of Glenn Gould: The Ecstasy and Tragedy of Genius
Glenn Gould was a child prodigy and a musical genius. He was also plagued by lifelong depression, terrified of playing before live audiences and consumed pills by the handful. He died of a stroke at 50. In this biography, the author raises many questions about Gould and his music. It aims to lay bare the energy and contradiction behind Gould's brilliance.Peter Ostwald, who died shortly after completing this sensitive analysis of the legendary Canadian pianist Glenn Gould (1932-82), is one of those rare biographers equally qualified to assess his subject's artistry and psychology. Founder of the Health Program for Performing Artists, the psychiatrist-author was also Gould's friend for 20 years. Lucid prose captures Gould's formidable, unconventional virtuosity and unmasks a deeply troubled man who was uncomfortable with audiences, fearful of human contact, and able to maintain relationships only when he was in complete control. The eccentricities and the genius, as Ostwald persuasively demonstrates, were inextricably intertwined.
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