The Birth of a Giant
J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 11/28/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"These recordings all date from the early 1950s when Glenn Gould was between the ages of 18 and 22 and well before he had been discovered by the music world at large. The performances here are taken from live radio broadcasts and thus there is both a sense of spontaneity and a danger of flubbed notes; both those things exist here but the former is by far the more common. As Amazon has not as of the date of this review listed the contents of these 6 CDs, I shall do so.
CD1: BACH: Goldberg Variations - 21 June 1954 (a year before the Columbia disc of the Goldbergs that made Gould a 'star') & four excerpts from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II - February 1954 and October 1952
CD2: BACH: Partita No. 5 - October 1954; Three Part Inventions - March 1955; Italian Concerto - October 1952; D Minor Concerto with the Toronto SO with Sir Ernest MacMillan conducting - March 1955
CD3: BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 1, TSO, MacMillan - no date given; Piano Concerto No. 2, TSO, MacMillan - no date given; the Third Movement of PC No. 2, Startime Orchestra, Paul Scherman conducting - no date
CD4: BEETHOVEN: Six Bagatelles, Op. 126 - September 1952; Piano Sonata No. 28 in A, Op. 101, October 1952; Piano Sonata No. 4 in E flat, Op. 7 - Largo movement only - October 1952; Piano Sonata No. 19 in G minor - October 1952; Allegretto in B flat, WoO39, with Alexander Schneider, vln, and Zara Nelsova, cello - July 1954; Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1 'Ghost' - with Schneider & Nelsova - July 1954
CD5: BEETHOVEN: Six Variations on an original theme, Op. 34 - September 1952; Eroica Variations, Op. 35 - October 1952; Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37 - CBC Symphony, Heinz Unger, cond. - February 1955
CD6: SCHOENBERG: Piano Concerto, op. 42, CBC SO, Jean-Marie Beaudet, cond. - no date; Drei Klavierstücke, Op. 11 - no date; Suite für Klavier, Op. 25 - no date; BERG: Sonata, Op. 1 - no date; WEBERN: Variations for Piano, Op. 27 - no date
These performances certainly indicate that Gould was a fully-formed artist from the earliest dates here. And all the characteristics of his playing that we learned to appreciate in later years are here if sometimes a bit inchoate. The incredible ability to draw out contrapuntal voices, the détaché playing in Bach, the rhythmic vitality and drive are all here. For those of us who admire Gould these are valuable documents, as well as being satisfying musical experiences.
All these recordings are in mono and the quality of the sound is about average for its time. And just look at the price! Can't be beat.
Strong recommendation for its intended audience.
Scott Morrison"
