Donald Satz writes of Gould's interpretation of the Prelude of  English
Suite No. 1:

>Gould has a different take on the Prelude than Leonhardt or Watchorn.
>He is very slow, incisive, and highly poetic.  His counterpoint is
>superb; softer passages are very poignant.  This is not your typical
>Gould performance, but a freely poetic one to luxuriate in.  He's not
>interested in beauty, spark, or richness, but in finding the music's
>core from within.  ...

I agree completely.  And I add that as an interpreter of Bach, Gould is
widely unpredictable, even though his style of playing is generally the
same.  Where some Bach is given exquisite treatment, Gould is capable of
be being, for want of a better term, quite cavalier at times.  One senses
that he wasn't equally taken or enthused with everything Bach wrote.

John Grant
http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/42/john_lewis_grant.html