Glenn Gould at Work: Creative Lying
Writing with a mixture of awe and exasperation, Kazdin, Gould's longtime producer at Columbia Records, paints a portrait that readers of Otto Friedrich's recent Glenn Gould will find familiar. The eccentric Canadian pianist (1932-1982) is shown as a hypochondriac, a substance abuser dependent on Valium, Nembutal, etc., a recluse who used and discarded people. He concocted a Machiavellian scheme whereby he would announce his retirement, then stockpile tapes of secret performances while his records soared in value. Kazdin speculates that the pianist may have had a romantic relationship with Cornelia Foss, wife of composer Lucas Foss, but concludes that "the piano was his mistress." There is much about Gould's bizarre idiosyncrasies as well as details of recording sessions and appreciations of his unconventional playing, plus a discography of his recordings for Columbia.Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.