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.

After a while, you may not notice the humming.  I'm glad to hear it,
because Glenn Gould introduced me to all of Bach's keyboard music and
also to the Brahms Intermezzi.  When I hear him hum, I try to imagine
just WHAT he is singing in his head.  Can it be another part? (I don't
have the answer yet, and it's been fifty years!)

Since I first heard GG, I've also listened to many other interpretations,
and I STILL go back to his original and sometimes off-the-wall recordings
because as strange as some of them are, they delight me and they cannot be
ignored and will not be background music.  They have also stood the test of
time, at least in MY life.

Mimi Ezust