How Glenn Gould Broke Classical Music 

If classical music does not get more interpreters with Gould’s audacity, the audience will continue to wither.

As a 72-year-old, lifelong admirer of Gould, Bernstein, and Horowitz, I sat here the whole half hour in rapt attention and appreciation for the careful, incisive, broad, thorough and generous analysis offered - thank you! That said, the '55 Goldberg recording has always remained my platinum standard for ecstasy in motion.

Gould's most important contribution in my opinion isn't just his Bach, but the way he unabashedly approached radical reinterpretations of pieces. This is more important now than ever as so many pianists sound exactly the same. I recall Gould saying something along the lines of "Why would I play a piece exactly how someone else played it. The conventional interpretations have been recorded and are perfect in their own right."

The critical response to Gould reminds me of this quotation from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. "Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius."

That was my best 34 minutes spent on RU-vid for a while. Thanks Ben!

I admit I have held a pretty snarky attitude about Glenn Gould’s musical interpretations and eccentricity. Thank you for introducing me to Glenn Gould in a different way - as someone who took time to examine the music he was playing, as someone who made people listen in an active way.

My mother was a young, fairly accomplished pianist during Gould's time and absolutely loved his audacity and musicianship.

Great video! Yes, Glenn could've spent his life worrying about pleasing people-but instead he chose to express himself, to allow us to hear classical music in meaningful ways we hadn't heard a thousand times before. Bravo to you both!

I have absolutely no music experience, never learned to read music or even play a musical instrument. All I have is my ears and that’s why I am here. I am just a regular guy who after reaching 40 plus years old I fell in the love with classical Piano. It started with Beethovens “Emperor” concerto. Then came the Goldberg Variations and much more followed. Much appreciate the greatness of Glenn Gould. Thanks Ben, I appreciate this video. .

RU-vid at its best. Deep, thorough and fascinating. Well done.

I know close to nothing about classical music and you brought it to life so deftly. I picked up Gould’s Goldberg Variations Bach recording by chance from the public library. It brought me to my knees. I was flabbergasted and then to top it all off , I heard humming. I was like: who is humming along ? I loved it when I realized Gould himself hummed along. It made me more confident to listen to more classical music somehow. It brought it to me: a commoner with no knowledge or training in classical music. I love Gould for that.

The best thing about this video is that you didn't strawman those of us who don't love Gould. I tentatively clicked on this video and enjoyed it from the beginning to the end. Well done!

I love Glenn Gould. After years of learning piano as a kid, I was able to listen to his recordings and it was the experience that finally unlocked truly my love of classical music. We are so lucky that not only did he make so many piano recordings, he WROTE so many essays about music and did so many programs and interviews that one could almost feel like they know him as person, even though he has passed on decades ago. It feels to me like if I met Mr. Gould, there would be many things to ask him and he is always on my mind as a musician. He is so relevant still today that I can almost imagine him writing a response to this video!

I cannot put into words how thrilling this was to watch, as a trained pianist, a lover of the courageous Gould to stand up to convention and explore music with a freedon the music institutions, critics frown upon.

this was amazing please please please keep making videos like this, classical music needs more content like yours

this video healed my soul. i feel as though i was opened to such a different perspective than the one i was rigidly taught as a child. it brings me back to the times when i played moonlight sonata privately in a way i could emotionally connect to, but when forced to play in front of the teacher, it became forced and truly "machine-like." i haven't practiced the piano in a while, i've moved on to singing instead, but perhaps my old, strict regimen is what leads me to seek freedom in my voice today. gould's statement about music not being a momentary ejection of adrenaline but rather a beautiful state of serenity and wonder blew my mind. thank you for this video. it was educational, thought provoking, and i've earned a deep respect for Glenn Gould. it didn't occur to me that it was 30 minutes long and i was absorbed the whole way through.

I came across this video by chance. I am someone who loves music, but has no particular knowledge in the field. I have always appreciated Glenn Gould's playing, and never really understood the controversy around him, I had always assumed it was based on his eccentricities. Despite having watched documentaries on Glenn Gould before, this is the first time I feel that I understand why I am captured by his playing, and what drove the controversy. This was a fantastic piece of film making, and your knowledge an dedication to the subject, highly impressive. There is just so much to think about, to consider, to ruminate over; I'll be watching this again. Thank you so much.

Excellent essay! I just want to say it in my own words: The “Truth” Gould was reaching for is not “out there” in space somewhere. It’s in the score. It’s in the structure that Brahms wrote, which is incredibly complex and aspects of which can be revealed in many ways through the playing. You can’t communicate everything about a piece in one performance. So Gould was trying to show some of the structure that he felt had been glossed over or missed entirely by others. And I suppose the composer’s inspiration may have mystical aspects we can only guess at, but our study of the music is utterly down-to-earth. Thank you, Ben. This was a great addition to my day.

the Brahms 1 coda never fails to give me goosebumps, but listening Gould's rendition here might be the first time it's caused a lump in my throat (but maybe I'm just emotional since im listening to this in a quite hungry state). Great video!

I knew nothing about Gould beforehand but now I'm in love with his work.

Before I heard Glenn Gould, I liked Bach. After hearing Glenn Gould, I loved Bach more than any other composer. And mind you, not just Gould’s recordings. Glenn’s recordings gave me a framework on how to view Bach’s music, the counterpoint, the separate voices and so on. I feel the same way about his treatment of Brahms. Rhapsody in Bm anyone?

Hearing Horowitz next to Gould, it's just... stunning how much more evocative Gould's performance is. There's this emotional complexity to the way he interprets. It's so memorable and beautiful. I never understand the people who hear his versions and say such negative things. Gould really turns the music into a collaboration between himself and the original composer, and he's right-that is so much what separates a performance from a great recording. Anyone can play the music the way it's written and has been played before. It takes a true artist to turn the familiar new again, allowing the piece to almost be heard again for the first time, for new discoveries to be made in existing music.

Masterfully paced and argued. I'm a lifelong Gouldian who never quite understood his approach to the Romantics; now I do!

Fantastic job here, Ben! You manage to bridge local questions of octave-speed with the broadest questions of how humans make sense of the world "out there," and you do so in a way that might have made Gould the pragmatist and "continuist" (?) proud. Thanks much.

That ascending inner voice accentuated (around 15:40-58) was just magical. That REALLY made me sit up. Absolutely blazingly beautiful. I can see why you like it.

Amazing video on Glenn Gould. Just subscribed to the Patreon as well. What's crazy about Gould is you can make an entire 30-min video just on that single Brahms Concerto performance. Gould is probably the most interesting pianist of the 20th century. People mostly know him for his eccentric takes on Bach, but even his Mozart, Beethoven, and Scriabin interpretations are beyond belief. I would love to see a series on Gould, or on pianists with unique interpretations in the future, something like that.

One thing a director told us as an ensemble once: As we are at the top of our game, it is easy for us to play the fast stuff - we love to show off as you have said. However, it is another thing to take that "slow" piece and make it sound incredible, and not ruin it by playing it fast. In a way, that is exactly what he was doing. He was taking his time to really show how wonderful that music was, without trying to rush it, because that is the way to hide those technicalities in how a chord sounds, or even showing off those wonderful inner lines that otherwise would have been overlooked.

Thanks RU-vid for these amazing recommendations & thank you for making this video. ❤ Love from India.

I don't want to make any comment on Gould (I just love his approach). Rather: your work is FANTASTIC. You make videos that help each of us refine our understanding of music. Rare stuff. Hats off!

I love how Gould elevates the musical form (on the timescale of an hour) to the status it deserves. There's nothing quite like a piece of music that actually manages to build on itself for that amount of time.

I want that chair t-shirt.

This made me love Gould even more. His era wasn't ready for him.

He was the first one to create slowed and reverb versions 🤑🤙

Gould stood up for what he believed in and in so doing, dared to challenge Bernstein, which was rarely done. Bravo Gould!

Such a great video, I learned so much. And I feel really inspired by this idea of Gould "bringing the pantheon down to Earth". Thanks for this great video as always Ben!

This is next level content and production quality for videos about classical music 👏

Thank you so much Ben, I felt like attending a great piano masterclass while watching the video!

It was sad that Glenn Gould died too early too young. Had he lived longer, people would have understood him, not criticise!

Glenn was one of my early "fangirling" experiences. I was the one to initiate the "student rate" for membership to the GG Society waaaay back in the early 90s and I've spent countless times conversing with his statue on the bench outside the GG Studio in downtown Toronto.

People forget that musicians can play WHATEVER they want and HOWEVER they want. The joy of playing, and listening as a result, is exactly in that freedom of interpretation and freedom of choice.

Thank you for sharing this!!! I have been ambivalent about Gould for a long time. Hearing more of your informed perspective is very interesting and great content!

Thank you for this marvelous video. I am a longtime Gould fan, and you have humanized some of the magisterial mystery with your narrative. Of course, I am wiping away tears as I type this! Time to pull out the vinyl.

i'm really glad Ben talks about Gould logically and not complicated that we can understand him straightly and accurately

As a jazz musician Goulds approach to music is nothing out of the ordinary. I think this is why so many jazz musicians appreciate him.

8:40. I never realized this recording was AFTER the Bernstein. Huh. Thank you so much for this clear analysis of this particular performance. I have a great love of the Brahms 1st. And far and away, the Bernstein/Gould interpretation is my favourite (even among Gould's 3 surviving performances). I am not trained in music myself so I only feel what I feel, but the tension entrances me and at some parts (33:10 to the end: thank you for highlighting) my heart soars.❤

Gould's conception of the last movement is still my favorite of all recorded versions, studio or live. No one gives such care to so much of how the finale opens up to finally reach that insane cadenza. Though I don't always like the other 2 movements, it all fits well together as a whole. I'll always admire Gould's straight up courage to keep his mind open to possibilities. Also I've read enough about Brahm's own piano playing to know he would play wildly different from his own scores. I think he would have open to Gould's ideas.

The most important statement is when Gould says when we play a work, we don't reproduce the composers intent, but RECREATE it anew. And each time, the big question is, "Is it musical; does it work?" With Gould, the answer is always, "Yes!" and kudos to Bernstein for running with him and helping it work.

Thank you. This was all fascinating, especially hearing the response of the audience at the end of that performance. The critics were not expressing what the audience felt!

It's awesome !! RU-vid needs such a content! Thank u for brilliant work! Can't wait for next video!

Extremely enjoyable watch. Thank you!

you are a great teacher

GG had very definite ideas, biases. Some quirky ideas. But always worth a careful listen. His idiosyncrasies demonstrate a massive self-discipline to maintain his approaches so consistently through a composition. Huge technique to pull off his demonstrations. Interesting theories of harmonies. Imagine the sound worlds floating around in his head.

Man, really enjoyed this video! Thanks for making it.

Thanks so much for your terrific exploration of this performance. It made me happy on a cold spring day.

Probably one of the best RU-vid videos on classical music I've seen to this day. Ben is also so genuine in his feelings.

I'm addicted to Gould. Ever since I was a kid I heard his Bach recordings. He is unlike any other pianist.

Beautiful analysis and superb video, I wish RU-vid had more stuff like this

Thanks a lot for this video, Ben! I felt like I waited for too long that someone was able to do this. Greaaat job!!!

This is a great analysis very illuminating, it helps me to make sense of the beauty I find in Gould’s playing and why it touches my heart - thank you ❤️

Incredible video - thanks for sharing!

Quite the video essay - well researched and produced. Good times and learning. My listening ears appreciate it.

Really appreciate your perspective- well done 🚕

Incredible. Thanks for putting this out there.

As a lifelong Gould fan, I feel this is a video that you've wanted to make for a very long time and wow, you really did it!

Thank you for bringing us on this philosophical journey

Fantastic video, Ben! How one feels about Gould I think depends very much on what one feels music interpretation means. For me, it is an act of empathy, connecting with the emotions and thoughts of the composer who attempted to convey that inner meaning through a double abstraction which turns emotion into sound and then sound into notation. Like Gould, I totally disagree with the doctrine of "composer intention". In this sense, for me Gould is one of the finest musical interpreters. Whenever I hear him play, I get the sense that the composer is right there beside the piano, that Gould is having an active conversation with the composer about the score. Sometimes agreeing, sometimes disagreeing - sometimes saying, "Oh, well done!", and at other times saying, "Don't you think it should be a bit more like this?". All this being said, there isn't a single piece I would play even remotely like Gould!

Thank you for this in-depth analysis. What's more, the video has been prepared with so much attention to detail.

Thank you for this wonderful video. I enjoyed your depth of discussion, how you illustrated your points with stories, the score, quote from others, snippets of a range of performances, you made it so easy to follow your thinking. When I needed to hear a version again, you provided it! Brilliant!

Actually so cool that Ben has his own channel now. I wonder what his least favorite Gould recordings are. I do think it’s good to adopt and listen to true critical thinkers but also being a contrarian myself, sometimes I do it just to do it.

Thanks for this video. Right on target. The usual criticisms of Gould’s approach to interpretation give me a headache. Critics, of course, are more guilty than any performer of writing nonsense just to get attention - yesterday’s equivalent of click bait. Gould was always a most thoughtful analyzer of any musical score and that shines through brilliantly in all of his recordings. And, speaking from a composer’s point of view, the idea that every note and every marking was somehow handed down from on high is, frankly, ridiculous.

Ben this is really an exceptionally good video about Gould. I’ve been a massive fan as long as you have, but I wasn’t aware of some of the things you clarify in this video. Thanks for taking the time to explain things in such great detail!

Love this! So great Ben!

What a wonderful analisys! Thank you so much.

As a playwright, I consciously subscribe to the anti-platonic, pragmatic approach to my own works that Gould brings to composers' works: using a collaborative art form--like orchestral music--I take great joy in seeing what directors and actors find in my own writing that I never realized was there. Together, we make it "work" in a variety of ways; the pieces don't remain static, totally determined by my artistic intention. Instead, interpreters make the plays dynamic, ever-changing. Guess that makes me a Gouldian.

Very interesting, very. I think we should all be grateful that this rendering of Brahms exist..

Fascinating. Thanks for posting.

I’ve been waiting for someone to make a video like this

What a well done video-so interesting!

Amazing video !! Thanks Ben

This is brilliant.Thank you for the upload.

I'm currently in the middle of this video and I can say this is incredible work. Thank you. I've been a Glenn Gould enthusiast since I was 15, this pianist is one of my favorites. He's just so intricate, honest, kind hearted (and, yes, sometimes very infuriating), I regret his death every day.

I learn so much from your videos. Thank you

Please do more of this 🙏 how incredible in-depth and entertaining analysis

Hey - I’ve been studying theory and history in preparation for me theory test. Thank you for making this video - you makes these composers and moments in time entertaining and memorable! Hoping to see more content like this

I am a Gould fanatic and have been since discovering him in the 70s and in music school in the 80s. As Gould once said, if you want "government issue" interpretations there are plenty of them to choose from. I always thought his Brahms concerto was fine.. it , to me, was as if Mahler had written a Piano concerto. All the characterizations in music school-"more lyrical second theme" "Heroic" , "Musical"" pianistic" are, when you get down to it, extremely subjective , cannot be measured with any reliability, and are ultimately so much twaddle. Gould was brilliant- Virtually everyone I played Gould for reacted strongly ( usually positively). The best reactions, ironically, came from those least "Schooled" with preconceptions. To me, a life well spent.

4:44 This is edited so well!

What a beautiful artist he was! Deeply thinking and so articulate in his speech & writing ❤ Thank you for your videos🙏

Really impressed!!! Thank you very much for your great work!!!

Excellent work!

Very interesting and amusing reflections.... at times you gave me the impression to be one one side, then on the other... At the end I got a sense of your stance on Gould's concept. I hope you'll make more videos like this. Bravo!

Man, this is amazing, thanks! 👏👏👏

Fantastic video, thanks so much for putting in the effort and sharing this with us. Subscribed!

Great video. Thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm with you on those inner voices. It's wondrous to hear them when you've never heard them before, even though you've heard the piece multiple times by other musicians. I've always enjoyed Gould inner tempo that he holds throughout a piece. I used to wonder why I was so attracted to his music. And my conclusion years ago was the pulse he kept that gave it that "American rhythm".

Very insightful and entertaining; thank you for this.

Exceptionnal work, thank you !!

Amazing video Ben!

Ben! Thank you so much for this! For me too , it was always about the inner lines and voicings that Gould so gorgeously took to wing and soared. As a child in the 1960s I could not get enough of his vinyl recordings. I played them over and over, captivated. Especially his Bach recordings. I became a pianist because of the inspiration he gave me

Very interesting and enjoyable video. I have never understood Gould - I am not sure I ever will - but this brings me a step closer to understanding other points of view of him. 👍🏼

Thanks. Fascinating. I especially loved the analysis of bringing out the inner voices (around minute 16 of the video).

Congrats on 10k!🎉