da GG....only if...

SDC Legendz Pianistz
1

"Dear Scott,

Today I turned fifty and I’m feeling just fine - one of my good days. As of now, everything in my life is under control.

Even better, I’ve had a commission from the Canadian Broadcasting Company to compose a piano sonata. Big bucks; but the project must be completed within the year. The idea is that they will broadcast my first performance while I am still fifty. This would consist of a documentary movie of me miming to a studio recording.

It seems a tall order, but it happens that a big sonata is just exactly what I have been wanting to do for some years; only I have not been sure that any work of mine would be recorded - the sales guys at the record company tell me that the public will buy anything I perform, however weird, but this charity would not extend to my compositions.

Anyway, here goes with my magnum opus. I feel as if my life so far has been a study for this one. For once, I can hardly wait to get at the piano and try it out. "

  • Glenn Gould

damn makes me rather sad

he wouldve died 10 days after this letter was written…he couldve been working on the sonata when he had his stroke

"I feel as if my life so far has been a study for this one. For once, I can hardly wait to get at the piano and try it out. "

im gonna go cry now

2

tru, its a sad story.

3

any of u mofoz watched leon fleischer documentary “2 hands”?

im dying to see it. it was nominated for an oscar this year too.

4

diz GG make me think of randy rhoads saying da third album wuld be da real starting point fo him. sad sheeyat.

5

hey TS, where did you get this quote from?

6

I once read a book of Gould’s correspondence - possibly this is from there.

The letters of Glenn Gould or something like that.

7

:frowning:

8

http://www.hedweb.com/bgcharlton/imagining.html

Check out the “Solitude, Exile and Ecstasy” Radio Drama link at the bottom as well; some pretty deep sheeyat.

9

Hang on, aren’t these imaginary letters? By Bruce Charlton, it says at the top…

10

The first two movements of his sonata are recorded btw.

11

Indeed, but that was a juvenile work (Gould was 19 when he wrote it, according to the CD insert).

12

Who knows what Gould would have done if he had lived even another 5 years.

I remember hearing that he owned all of Rachmaninov’s recordings, enjoyed them, and was even partial to the Rhapsody. I bet Gould would have recorded that, among other things. :cry:

13

haha damn you’re right…still makes me sad though

the other solitude radio drama is all real though…i found that one first which is why I had assumed this was first hand stuff as well…my bad