Glenn Gould plays Bach
By the time he reached his mid-20s, Glenn Gould had changed the way the world listened to the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian Bach; and by the time of his fatal stroke in 1982, two days after he turned 50, this amazing artist had created a major influence on many of the performance conventions of classical music.
As part of the extensive Glenn Gould Anniversary series, this 3 DVD set brings us three films on Bach, directed by Bruno Monsaingeon. This is the first time these films have been issued together in a set.
Here are further details:
DVD 1: The Question of Instruments (1979):
This is about Bach’s abstract to non-instrumental approach to composition, and performances from the Art of the Fugue, the Chromatic Fantasy, and of the complete D major Partita.
DVD 2: An Art of the Fugue (1980).
Here we hear discussions and performances of fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier, the later use of the fugue by other composers, and performances of fugues 2, 4 and 15 from The Art of the Fugue.
DVD 3: This is a recording of the Goldberg Variations (1981).
This includes a conversation with Bruno Monsaingeon and a performance of the complete Goldberg Variations.
All performed by Glenn Gould (piano)
For your enjoyment, here is Glenn Gould playing the Prelude and Fugue No. 22 (BWV 891) from Bach’s ‘Das Wohltemparierte Clavier’.
And next, he plays from the J S Bach “The Well Tempered Clavier Book 2”, the Prelude and Fugue In A, BWV 888
Tags: Glenn Gould, Bach, DVD, Well Tempered Clavier