Glenn Gould : A Life and Variations

Rating:
Summary: The best Gould bio, period!
Review: Although Mr. Friedrich was a Gould fan, he brought the clear eye of the professional journalist to this work, with a balanced account of the man, the music, and the myth. Much better than Payzant's book, which read like the work of an obsessive sycophant. I'm looking forward to Kevin Bazzana's new bio... this presents a hard act to top.

Rating:
Summary: As brilliant as Gould himself
Review: I am a fanatic when it comes to Bach keyboard music, and so Glenn is my hero. This biography is astounding in its depth, breadth, and compassion. The writing is excellent. Read it... full stop.

Rating:
Summary: Great bio
Review: I found this book to be the best overall general biography on Glenn Gould. Mr Friedrich did not personally know Gould, so we have what is a good look, objectively, of Gould. He had some very good interviews with some of Glenn's closest friends and those whom he worked with. I've read it more than 4 times. We are not overwhelmed from a Musician's biographical data here, but more of what is percieved through others here. Of Course, Friedrich has some personal views but really helps to move the book along. The biggest surprise is finding out how some individuals coped with having discussions (pre-written by Gould), and their responses prewritten for them....Interesting.
Great Book....

Rating:
Summary: A very good Biography
Review: I found this book to be the best overall general biography on Glenn Gould. Mr Friedrich did not personally know Gould, so we have what is a good look, objectively, of Gould. He had some very good interviews with some of Glenn's closest friends and those whom he worked with. I've read it more than 4 times. We are not overwhelmed from a Musician's biographical data here, but more of what is percieved through others here. Of Course, Friedrich has some personal views but really helps to move the book along. The biggest surprise is finding out how some individuals coped with having discussions (pre-written by Gould), and their responses prewritten for them....Interesting.
Great Book....

Rating:
Summary: The best biography available
Review: Otto Friedrich's biography of legendary pianist Glenn Gould is a dense, finely researched, extensive look at the man George Szell once described with the phrase, "That nut is a genius." I couldn't agree more. As a product of my culture, I was utterly ignorant of classical music growing up, seeing it as that boring music old people listened to when they didn't care anymore about dancing. Glenn Gould changed all that for me. One night at a dinner party, the host heard me say something disdainful about classical music, and he wordlessly turned around and put on Gould's 1955 rendition of the Goldberg Variations. I haven't been the same since. I now own every single recording he ever made; I still find it hard to keep from laughing at people who suggest Gould didn't know Bach better than anyone this side of God. While I can recognize that other renditions have merit, to this day I cannot hear a Bach keyboard piece without comparing it to Gould's version. This book was a wonderful companion to those recordings, and I heartily recommend it to anyone who wants to understand how genius and lunacy go so often hand in hand.

Rating:
Summary: Great bio
Review: Otto Frierich does an excellent job of putting together the pieces of the unexplainable. His approach to Glenn Gould is journalistic and methodical. Friedrich poured through throusands of personal papers, newspaper articles, audio recordings as well as conducted his own interviews, including some interesting exchanges with the legendary Leonard Bernstein regarding Gould. There are an abudance of newspaper quotations in this book, which is occasionally annoying, and the author at times inserts his own opinion which can be somewhat distracting, but I believe these devices ultimately give the biography a sense of focus and conclusion. Without the minimal type of analysis and opinion that is offered here, this book would be impossible, and from what I've read about other Gould biographies, some biographers have gone on opinion and analytical overkill (much to their own detriment) on this subject. Friedrich's journalistic nature does not permit him to go this far. Instead, one is left with a healthy balance of Gould's dissolution and ambiguity termpered within clearly defined chapters and sections, organized almost as a reference book. Friedrich quite thoroughly follows the Gould-as-a-Canadian-treasure story, especially in the early pages, but as the book progresses Gould is slowly whittled down from national symbol into something more human and recognizable. One is still left with the feeling that it is impossible to truly ever know Gould -- and that nobody has. Still, Friedrich makes it feel like this book is the closest one can ever get to knowing Gould, and recognizing the distance inherent in the subject matter, one has to come away satisfied.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: Out of all the books on Gould, this is one of my favorites. I very much enjoyed it, and I believe that anyone who loves Glenn Gould as I do will love this book. :)

Rating:
Summary: informative but bad writing
Review: this book gives us good info about one of 20th centuries greatest aritists but i thought it is not well-constructed. In fact i think its poorly written. i think it is not interesting for someone that knows the essential basic story gould... If this is the best bio of gould, like many reviews are saying, then i won't bother reading the other bios...

Rating:
Summary: Glenn Gould : A Life and Variations
Review: This is a well researched and well written book. It would primarily be interesting for someone who is very interested in Glenn Gould. That is, it is not for the casual reader. Parts of it are very dense, with little in the way of true drama. Nonetheless, Glenn Gould comes across as a very complex and brilliant man. One develops a compassion for him, and this makes the ending rather sad. One thing I wanted to point out that the other reviews did not was that the author was condescending and derisive at times. This was not all the time, but in parts he clearly mocks some of the things Gould did. This bothered me considerably. While one might say that the author was being balanced, it gave me a sour impression of the author. Obviously Gould had his oddities, however I don't feel Mr. Friedrich was as sympathetic as he could have been.