Everyone wants a piece of Glenn Gould, even though he passed away twenty seven years ago. He continues to attract as much attention now as he did when he was alive, and while his legacy of recordings aer, in part, responsible for his continued appeal amongst listeners of all ages, fellow musicians and journalists, there are so many other factors that are responsible for his unwavering popularity and, in some cases notoriety.
When I stumbled upon Gould purely by chance over fifteen years ago as a little kid in India, I had no idea that in a few years I would encounter, and later be a part of the circus that surrounds Glenn Gould's legacy. Having had the chance to visit Toronto, and later live there for a short period of time after my first encounter with Gould's own city some years ago, I realized just how complex and sometimes downright bizarre it all is. The people who are in charge of maintaining Glenn Gould's legacy seem to know a great thing when they see/hear it!
Brand Gould is as attractive publicity wise as it is lucrative. The ironic thing about this is that there are only a handful of people left amongst the greedy, blinkered vultures who actually knew and loved Glenn Gould the musician but also Gould the friend and human being. John P. Robarts - the brilliant CBC producer and possibly Gould's closest friend. John McGreevy, who was not just one of Gould's closest friends, but one who Gould himself admired, and one of the few people I know in Toronto who I would consider a true friend because of his kindness, spirit and complete disregard for any of the shameless gimmickry surrounding Glenn Gould. I remember talking to John about one of the more ridiculous propositions I had received from the Glenn Gould Circus about exploring and exploiting the Gould - India connection. The Indian community in Toronto is incredibly wealthy, but most of them have never heard of Glenn Gould, so if a young (well, not that I can keep using that word to describe myself anymore) Indian pianist could be the link between these wealthy Indian businessman and Glenn Gould, and get the former to open up their cheque books (for what purpose or cause, I don't know) then that would raise awareness and attention about Glenn Gould to a whole new audience - as if an incredible musician and artist such as Glenn Gould needs a pianist in a Saree to give him a larger audience, especially after his death!!!! John McGreevy laughed out loud when I told him this and wisely commented "but you aren't even Indian" referring to my Persian/Zoroastrian roots, and agreed with me that despite the fact that his dear friend had been buried for over twenty seven years, the "suits" who want to cash in are in abundance even now.
Being a part of the Glenn Gould Circus as it were, for the last few years and looking in from the outside (simply because I have always had other jobs such as teaching and inflicting myself upon more hapless listeners on the radio, and hence had no reason to cash in on poor Gould) I have been able to see just how ironic and in many ways tragic the post Glenn Gould hysteria has been. While there are some things I find utterly contradictory to Gould's own spirit and philosophy, there have also been other things that are so absurd they actually end up being amusing!
Like the Glenn Gould Prize - conceived with good intentions no doubt, but really -something that is so profoundly at odds with Glenn Gould's own thoughts on "Prizes" of any sort - can't you see the irony? While the most recent Gould Prize recipient, Dr. José Antonio Abreu the promoter, builder and founder of the National System of Young Peoples’, Children’s and Pre-school orchestras of Venezuela is also possibly the most deserving of the lot (what do past GG Prize winners Andre Previn and Yo Yo Ma need a few extra quid for, one has to ask), the over the top marketing of the talented (and camera friendly) Gustavo Dudamel and the regularity of GGG (Glenn Gould Gimmickry) such as somehow connecting the two musicians or a benefit concert for the Glenn Gould Foundation (with tickets costing an absolute fortune!!) makes me wonder just where Glenn Gould actually fits into all this madness. I remember receiving a very funny email a few years ago from Kevin Bazzanna, author of the magnificent Gould biography Wondrous Strange, who described just why he chose to live on an island off Vancouver - far, far away from the Glenn Gould Circus!
One of the more ironic (though not offensive) curiosities when it comes to preserving the legacy and memory of Glenn Gould is the naming of the Royal Conservatory of Music's professional performance school after the Canadian pianist. Nothing wrong with that, for the school has produced incredibly gifted pianists such as Naida Cole and Daniel Wnukowski (both of whom have been featured on Offbeat). However, the fact still remains that Glenn Gould was only at the Royal Conservatory of Music for a relatively short period of time (finishing studies there by the time he was 13) and he absolutely detested the conveyor belt of competitions, conservatoire rigidity and the concept that great musicians can be churned out as if from a factory of some sort. So it just seems a little odd at times that the most competitive section of an already prestigious and competitive conservatoire is named after Glenn Gould. Having spent some time at the RCM and having spoken to teachers and students there, it does seem as though it's nowhere near as diabolically competitive as some of it's American or Russian counterparts, but only time will tell if the Glen Gould School will live up to it's name!
As for the transformation of Glenn Gould's beloved CBC Radio - there has been so much said on the subject (which has fallen on deaf ears, alas) that there is nothing left for me, a non-Canadian to add. Decades of great radio done away with in favour of a generic, bland, inane and completely pointless "musak" style format. It's not all bad, obviously, and still a lot better than UK's Classic FM and similar stations, but apart from the weekend programming on CBC Radio 2 which is still excellent, so many wonderful programs have just been done away with that it is simply too depressing to think about (I always think of Two New Hours as being one of the best radio programs ever). Maybe it is just as well that Glenn Gould died when he did - while he would have enjoyed tinkering with all the new gadgets and inventions as well as the wonders of the Internet, he would have probably been completely disillusioned with the state of CBC and the radio as a music medium, or the elitist, still popular "piano virtuoso recital". Though then again, Glenn Gould would just as easily have found some humour in it all. If he is looking at all the insanity surrounding his name even now, he is probably glad he has the balcony seat and not one in the stalls with all the greedy crazies who have as little real interest in a Bach fugue as one 9 year old pupil I once taught! As for interest in Glenn Gould the humanitarian and creative genius - forget about it!!
It is perhaps no surprise that the last time I was in Toronto and went to pay my respects at Glenn Gould's grave in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, there was nobody else there, no floral tribute, absolutely nothing. In fact, one could easily have missed the burial plot, for it was so bare and alone. For a man who loved the idea of solitude and being amidst nature, I somehow feel pretty certain that Glenn Gould is just fine with the empty, stark and solitary resting place.
