Sōseki & Glenn Gould(PART 2 OF 3)
Glenn Gould
(25 September 1932 – 4 October 1982)
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He was a Canadian pianist who became one of the best-known and most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th century.
He was particularly renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach.
His playing was distinguished by remarkable technical proficiency and capacity to articulate the polyphonic texture of Bach's music.
Gould rejected most of the standard Romantic piano literature and, after his adolescence, avoided Liszt, Schumann, and Chopin.
Although his recordings were dominated by Bach, Gould's repertoire was diverse, including works by Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Brahms, pre-Baroque composers such as Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, and such 20th-century composers as Paul Hindemith, Arnold Schoenberg and Richard Strauss.
Gould was well known for various eccentricities, from his unorthodox musical interpretations and mannerisms at the keyboard to aspects of his lifestyle and personal behaviour.
Rare funny footage
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He stopped giving concerts at the age of 31 to concentrate on studio recording and other projects.
Gould was also known as a writer, composer, conductor, and broadcaster.
He was a prolific contributor to musical journals, in which he discussed music theory and outlined his musical philosophy.
His career as a composer was less distinguished.
His output was minimal and many projects were left unfinished.
There is evidence that, had he lived beyond 50, he intended to abandon the piano and devote the remainder of his career to conducting and other projects.
As a broadcaster, Gould was prolific.
His output ranged from television and radio broadcasts of studio performances to musique concrète radio documentaries about life in the Canadian wilderness.
The Life and Times of Glenn Gould
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Source: "Glenn Gould"
Free encyclopedia "Wikipedia (Wikipedia)"
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You see, Diane ... if Glenn Gold lived beyond 50, he intended to abandon the piano and devote the remainder of his career to conducting and other projects.
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...like what?
He might have produced documentaries about life in the Canadian wilderness 'cause he loved "Kusamakura" from the bottom of his heart.
What makes you think so, Kato?
Actually, Glenn Gould made numerous television and radio programs for CBC Television and CBC Radio such as his music-concrète "Solitude Trilogy," which consists of "The Idea of North"---a meditation on Northern Canada and its people, "The Latecomers" about Newfoundland, and "The Quiet in the Land" about Mennonites in Manitoba. All three use a radiophonic electronic-music technique that Gould called contrapuntal radio, in which several people are heard speaking at once--—much like the voices in a fugue—--manipulated through the use of tape.
So, Kato, you're saying, Glenn Gould was really influenced by the book written by Natsume Sōseki.
Yes, I am.
But how come you're telling me his story?
...cause you love music as well as wilderness in the North. You enjoyed life in Faro---a town in Canadian North, didn't you?
Oh yes, I did.
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Subj:Summer is here
with us!
Enjoy the sunshine!
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From: diane03760@vancouver.ca
To: barclay1720@aol.com
Date: Tue, Jul 26, 2011 4:35 pm.
Pacific Daylight Saving Time
Thanks my truly skinny Socrates, Kato.
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■"Madame Riviera and Burger"
(July 26, 2011)
I've read the above article.
Your article is excellent as usual.
I did remember that you lived in Yellowknife some years ago.
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Many years ago, I too lived for six months or so in the north, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.
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Actually, I worked for a mining company in a small town called Faro (Anvil Mines at the time) as secretary to the President.
I was given my own apartment (most of the staff had to live in bunk houses) and a huge salary compared with what I would receive in Vancouver.
So I was thrilled about that.
I didn't want to feel totally isolated, though, so I asked whether I could eat with the others in the cookhouse and they obliged.
Thank God.
It was fun and much easier than doing my own cooking and making do with the limited selection in the local store.
The cook took a special liking to me and every day he would give me extra rations of cookies and cakes.
Pretty soon I realized that if I took advantage of these favours I would end up being a roly-poly.
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so I would take them and then give them away.
Lotsa fun.
I do remember a really cute Japanese gal who worked up there telling me she had already gained 25 lbs in one year, and it showed.
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It was all the lesson I needed, thankfully.
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Le Crueset cookware is definitely famous.
A friend of mine in Kerrisdale has some and he said they're very, very expensive but worth every penny.
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He has one pot that he uses almost daily and has for years and it has proved to be the best pot he's every cooked with and worked with---sturdy, reliable, easy to work with.
So I guess it's worth the big bucks, true?!
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Vancouver is pretty good, but not paradise I'd say.
The weather's too crummy half the time, or more than half the time actually, Which is why my brother left Canada for France.
He could no longer stand the cold weather.
Certainly, I do miss him.
As a matter of fact, I've found an interesting joke:
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You see, Kato, we don't have many sunny days in Vancouver!
Anyway, I enjoyed reading your article.
Thanks again for all this.
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Love, Diane ~
SOURCE: "Roly-poly in the North"
(July 30, 2011)
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So, I thought you might just as well want to read "Kusamakura."
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【Himiko's Monologue】
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Wow!
I wish I could be up in the North.
I wanna enjoy the wilderness in the Canadian North like Diane.
There is an old saying:
Where there is a will,
there is a way.
Someday, I'll go to Faro with my sweetheart.
Before that, however, I'd better find a nice gentleman, I suppose.
In any case, I hope Kato will write another interesting article soon.
So please come back to see me.
Have a nice day!
Bye bye ...
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(To be followed)