Glenn Gould Biography
Glenn Gould was a Canadian classical pianist who was born on September 25, 1932, in Toronto, Canada as Glenn Herbert Gould and died on October 4, 1982, at Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Canada. Glenn was one of the best-known and most celebrated pianists of the 20th century and was renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian Bach. His playing was distinguished by a remarkable technical proficiency and a capacity to articulate the contrapuntal texture of Bach’s music.
He rejected most of the standard Romantic piano literature by Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and others, in favor of Bach and Beethoven mainly, along with some late-Romantic as well as modernist composers.
Although Glenn’s recordings were dominated by Bach and Beethoven, his repertoire was diverse, including works by Mozart, Haydn, and Brahms; pre-Baroque composers such as Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, William Byrd, and Orlando Gibbons; and 20th-century composers including Paul Hindemith, Arnold Schoenberg, along with Richard Strauss.
Glenn was known for his eccentricities, from his unorthodox musical interpretations and mannerisms at the keyboard to aspects of his lifestyle and behavior. Glenn stopped giving concerts at the age of thirty-one to concentrate on studio recording and other projects.
Glenn was also a writer, broadcaster, composer, and conductor. Glenn was a prolific contributor to musical journals, in which he discussed music theory and outlined his musical philosophy. Glenn performed on television and radio and produced three musique concrète radio documentaries called the Solitude Trilogy, about isolated areas of Canada.
Although he was known chiefly as a pianist, Glenn capped off his musical career with a recording of Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll as conductor.
Glenn Gould Age
Glenn died at 50 years old, he was born on September 25, 1932, in Toronto, Canada as Glenn Herbert Gould and died on October 4, 1982, at Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
Glenn Gould Family
Glenn was born and raised at home in Toronto, Canada, to his parents Russell Herbert Gold (1901–1996) along with Florence Emma Gold (née Greig; 1891–1975), Presbyterians of Scottish, English, and Norwegian ancestry.
Glenn’s maternal grandfather, John Charles Holman Greig, was a cousin of the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, although John and his family spelled their name “Greig”. Gould’s family’s surname was changed to Glenn informally around 1939 to avoid being mistaken for Jewish, given the prevailing anti-Semitism of pre-war Toronto as well as the Jewish associations of the Gold surname.
Glenn had no Jewish ancestry, though he sometimes made jokes on the subject, such as (When people ask me if I’m Jewish, I always tell them that I was Jewish during the war.) His childhood home has been named a historic site. Glenn’s interest in music and his talent as a pianist were evident very early, both his parents were musical, and his mother, especially, encouraged the infant Glenn’s early musical development.
Glenn’s mother, hoping for him to become a successful musician, had exposed him to music during her pregnancy, she would later teach him the piano. As a baby, Glenn reportedly hummed instead of crying and wiggled his fingers as if playing chords, leading his doctor to predict that he would (be either a physician or a pianist).
Glenn Gould Wife
Glenn never married, as well as biographers have spent considerable time on his sexuality, Gould lived a private life.
Glenn Gould Net Worth
Glenn has an estimated net worth of $1 Million – $5 Million dollars as of 2021. This includes his assets, money, and income. His primary source of income is his career as a classical pianist. Through his various sources of income, Glenn has been able to accumulate good fortune but prefers to lead a modest lifestyle.
Glenn Gould Death
Though Glenn was an admitted hypochondriac, he suffered many pains as well as ailments; his autopsy, however, revealed few underlying problems in areas that often troubled him. Glenn was highly concerned about his health throughout his life, worrying about everything from high blood pressure (which in his later years Glenn recorded in diary form) to the safety of his hands.
On 27 September 1982, 2 days after his 50th birthday, after experiencing a severe headache, Glenn suffered a stroke that paralyzed the left side of his body. Glenn was admitted to Toronto General Hospital, and his condition rapidly deteriorated.
By 4 October, there was evidence of brain damage, and Glenn’s father decided that his son should be taken off life support. Glenn’s public funeral was held in St. Paul’s Anglican Church on 15 October with singing by Lois Marshall along with Maureen Forrester.
The service was attended by over 3,000 people, as well as was broadcast on the CBC. Glenn is buried next to his parents in Toronto’s Mount Pleasant Cemetery (section 38, row 1088, plot 1050). The first few bars of the Goldberg Variations are carved on his grave marker, Glenn, an animal lover, left half his estate to the Toronto Humane Society; the other half went to the Salvation Army.
In 2000, a movement disorder neurologist suggested in a paper that Glenn had dystonia, “a problem little understood in his time.”
Glenn Gould Movies
- Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould 1993
- Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould 2009
- The Idea of North 1970
- Glenn Gould – Hereafter 2006
- Glenn Gould: On and Off the Record 2003
- Glenn Gould the Alchemist
- The Goldberg Variations
- The House That Jack Built 2018
- Slaughterhouse-Five 1972
- Glenn Gould: The Russian Journey 2003
- The Golden Age of the Piano 1993
- The Art of Piano: Great Pianists of the 20th Century 2002
- The Wars 1983
- Les variations Gould
- Gidon Kremer: Back to Bach 2002Glenn: Extasis 2003
- The Question of Instrument
- Glenn: Life & Times 2003
Glenn Gould Awards
Glenn received many honors both during his lifetime (while claiming to despise competition in music) and posthumously, in the year 1970, the government of Canada offered him the Companion of the Order of Canada, but Glenn declined, believing himself to be too young.
Juno Awards
The Juno Awards are presented annually by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts as well as Sciences, he won three awards out of his 6 nominations but accepted only one in person.
Frequently Asked Questions About Glenn Gould
Who is Glenn Gould?
Glenn was a Canadian classical pianist who was one of the best-known and most celebrated pianists of the 20th century and was renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian Bach.
How old is Glenn Gould?
Glenn died at 50 years old, he was born on September 25, 1932, in Toronto, Canada as Glenn Herbert Gould and died on October 4, 1982, at Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
How tall is Glenn Gould?
Glenn had an average height, he had not shared his height with the public.
Is Glenn Gould married?
Glenn never married, as well as biographers have spent considerable time on his sexuality, Gould lived a private life.
How much is Glenn Gould worth?
Glenn has an estimated net worth of $1 Million – $5 Million dollars as of 2021.
How much does Glenn Gould make?
Glenn has an estimated net worth of $1 Million – $5 Million dollars
Where does Glenn Gould live?
An only child, he lived with his mother and father in the city’s east-end neighborhood called The Beaches (also known as The Beach).
Is Glenn Gould dead or alive?
Glenn died at 50 years old, he died on October 4, 1982, at Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
Where is Glenn Gould Now?
Glenn was a Canadian classical pianist who was one of the best-known and most celebrated pianists of the 20th century and was renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Glenn Gould Social Media Contacts
- Youtube