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CM . . .
. Volume X Number 19 . . . . May 21, 2004
Vladimir Konieczny has written a lovely and sensitive biography of Glenn Gould. Any reader upon finishing this book will feel that the one-dimensional stereotype of Gould as the tortured genius has been banished forever. Gould is placed within the context of his family, his time, and within Canadian and classical musical history. Konieczny's book offers an example to parents how to nurture their children without quashing their abilities or stifling their individualism. For any child the anecdotes provided about Gould's life give examples of hard work, dedication, caring for others, and learning how to stand up for one self and for what one believes in. The portrait offered of Gould is balanced. Readers are offered insights into his behaviour such as terrible driving habits or his habit of driving his boat near anglers so they couldn't catch fish---he was an animal lover. Readers see also that he may or may not have had warranted concerns about his health. As well, readers learn that Gould had a humorous side to his personality that is not popularly known. For some of his lectures and writing, Gould assumed silly personas such as Herbert von Hochmeister a German music critic. The author writes: Glenn used these personalities to great effect. He had a terrific sense of humour, although he once admitted that he needed to assume different identities to be funny...even when Glenn was being funny, he was completely serious about what he was doing. Everything he did during these years he did because he was searching, striving to understand the world around him. (p. 85) I was also struck by how much of a pioneer Gould was in recording. The author notes Gould’s studio work and his facility with technology, as well as his belief that: Glenn believed that in the future musicians would write, record and edit their own music. In other words, they would completely control their creative work. (p. 75) This would be true, as the author points out, of the work of the Beatles, and today the lawsuits over copyright and downloading from the Internet make Gould's observations quite prescient and relevant to a contemporary reader. In this portrayal of Gould, he is represented beyond the stereotype of the narrow-minded artist who has no knowledge beyond the musical score in front of him. Readers learn about his likes, dislikes, political opinions, what made him happy, his ambitions, how he handled adversity and how he handled his relationships with others. The writing style of the book is relaxed, accessible, straightforward, and honest. Its conversational style gives an immediate sense of knowing Gould's experiences, viewpoints and life. It makes the previously inaccessible man easily accessible. The various anecdotes about the people around Glenn create a full portrait of the man and his music. There is a lovely story, and illustration, about how the superintendent of Gould's apartment building would relax on the roof of the building at night (Gould had an apartment on the highest floor) and would listen to him practice his music. Any child would enjoy the image of an adult relaxing on a rooftop listening to music. The design and illustrations of the book complement the author's message. The main text is written in a large font in a wide and easily read column on the right hand side of the page. On the left hand side, details about musicians, events, and details of Gould's life accentuate the main text with relevant facts and events concerning the time period in which he lived. The black and white illustrations complement the black and white photographs. They appear stylized rather than limited for the young reader used to colour in their books, TV and on the Internet. There is a nice contrast between Hirshfeld's portrayal of Gould on page 69 and Wysotski's illustration on page 67. Both capture Gould but show completely different assessments of him. The generous use of white space and the rusty red coloured title fonts and musical note illustrations add to the sense of book's style. At the back of the book, the chronology of special events in Gould's life is very helpful, as is the listing of the books used for researching the book and so too the Internet references. In total, the book was a completely enjoyable experience that I highly recommend. Highly Recommended. J. Lynn Fraser of Toronto, ON, is a freelance writer whose articles appear in international publications.
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