Search - Glenn Gould, Dmitry Shostakovich, Francis Poulenc :: Glenn Gould Edition: String Quartet, Op. 1/So You Want To Write A Fugue?/Quintet for Two Violins, Viola, Cello and Piano in G mino, Op. 57/Aubade

A VERY FINE STRING QUARTET...

Sébastien Melmoth | Hôtel d'Alsace, PARIS | 12/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gould's String Quartet "Op. 1" is a rich essay in the vein of the twilight of late Romanticism/early Modernism. It's a synthesis of late Beethoven, Wagner, Bruckner, Brahms, Richard Strauss, Mahler, Reger, Franck, and early Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern. A substantial work, it runs about 36 mins. Here it is given an earnest reading by the first chairs of the Cleveland SO in 1960.



GG's SQ is composed in the key of f minor--a somewhat unusual key sometimes explored by Mozart (Fantasy K.608) and Beethoven (Piano Sonata, Op.57; String Quartet Op.95). GG says of the key of f minor: "[it has] a certain obliqueness . . . halfway between complex and stable, between upright and lascivious, between gray and highly tinted."



Gould conceived of the piece as being very abstract--almost indifferent to the string quartet medium. He performed it himself on the piano.



The work has been both highly praised and harshly critizied. Gould himself was very self-effacing and almost sheepish in his reception of praise or condemnation of the piece, but ultimately he was quite satisfied with it, deigning not to revise it in later years.



It stands as a monument to his own personal ethos, and stands on its own as an unique work of art. Certainly is can be enjoyed by enthusiasts of Strauss' string works; Franck's SQ; Reger's SQs; Bruckner's Quintet; Schoenberg's 1st SQ; and Berg's SQ "Op. 3."



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Glenn Gould, The Composer

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 04/21/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Glenn Gould was undoubtedly one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century. Of course, he was also a true individual, eccentric and opinionated, frequently dividing the classical music scene into two camps, or at least making them scratch their heads. This collection then is an interesting addition to "The Glenn Gould Edition" series from Sony. For once, the attention shifts from Gould the performer to Gould the composer. Included here are two Gould original compositions, "String Quartet, Op.1" and "So You Want To Write A Fugue?" They are challenging pieces to listen to, but rewarding in their own way (well maybe not the comical "Fugue"), particularly for gaining more and different insight into Gould's creative mind. It is no mistake that this CD is rounded out by Shostakovich's String Quintet and Poulenc's "Aubade," (which both feature Gould on piano), as these pieces cover similar sonic territory. This music is not for everyone -- those who know only Gould's Bach will be in for a shock -- but it is nonetheless an important document in the multifaceted career of Glenn Gould."