Tue, 28 May 2002 23:18:23 -0500
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Tim Mahon wrote:
>Remind me, if you would, why I should admire Gould? I'm listening to
>Book One of the Well-tempered Clavier on Sony, and the playing is luminous
>-- awe-inspiring, in fact. But the accompanying humming is driving me
>nuts. Is this a temperamental genius who doesn't care about other people
>listening and is interested only in perfection of performance? Or is it
>simply a lack of discipline -- surprising (to me) in an artist whose
>reputation is so vaunted.
Get over the humming, enjoy the playing. Gould was Gould, and most
either love or hate him. I for one, love him, and believe him to
be one of music's greatest minds. The sheer technical brilliance of
playing is breath taking. Many speculate that Gould had Aspberger's
Syndrome, a form of autism in which one cannot perceive and compute social
cues. This may well explain his bizarre behavior. I am no medical expert
and won't argue or even venture any other opinion other than that it makes
sense that he may have had the disorder. Gould hummed. This is a fact of
live. So did Serkin, so does Keith Jarrett. Andrew Litton jumps off the
podium ever four bars, so did Lenny Bernstein. We all have our quirks as
musicians. I think it's best to ignore them and enjoy the music.
Kevin
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