Mimi Ezust ([log in to unmask]) wrote:

>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.

Gould himself was acutely conscious of his humming, but on the one (IIRC)
occasion when he consciously tried not to do it, he tfelt his playing
sufffered.

Although GG is the most notorious vocaliser, he is far from the only one.
A number of conductors (Toscanini, Barbirolli) and other pianists (Pollini,
Curzon) immediately spring to mind.

I first became aware of Barbirolli's groaning on his amazing Mahler 6
recording, in the first movement.

In Suvi Raj Grubb's book (Music Makers on Record) he tells the story ogf
JB recording a cello concerto with Jacqueline du Pre (I don't think the
Elgar).

During playback afterwards, he became very angry when he noticed "somebody
singing out of tune" on the tape.  It took some convincing before he
accepted that the culprit was himself.

deryk barker
([log in to unmask], http://www.camosun.bc.ca/~dbarker)