Glenn Gould's piano

[Farrell]

How 'bout Glenn's almost-piano a "Bluthendorfer", i.e. an 1896 Bluthner that
was rebuild during World War II in the Bosendorfer factory in Vienna. He
tried to buy it in 1959 off an acquaintance, Peter Ostwald, who would not
sell it to Gould. I found this in a book by Ostwald "Glenn Gould - The
Ecstasy and Tragedy of Genius" along with the following few quotes.

"In an emergency, when a piano he was using was truly inadequate or
unresponsive, he would get through a concert.....by conjuring up memories of
playing be beloved old Chickering and vicariously enjoying the pleasant
tactile sensations in his hands".

After playing one Steinway he apparently did not like, he "wrote in 1956 to
Winston Fitzgerald of the Concert and Artist department, Steinway & Sons in
New York: 'An explicit summary of my complaint [about Steinway CD 90] can
scarcely fail to do justice to the incredible negligence on the part of your
firm, of which I have been victim since our first dealings 18 months ago.
...I am now totally unable and unwilling to play for even the briefest
period on this instrument'".

It says Gould's favorite instrument was Steinway Grand CD 318. "It was had
been his preferred instrument in his early career in Toronto, and he
continued to favor it for most of the recordings he made in New York until
1971, when CD 318 was severely damaged while being transported to Toronto".
"....at the end of his life he switched to Yamaha".

Terry Farrell
Piano Tuning & Service
Tampa, Florida
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger Jolly" <baldyam@sk.sympatico.ca>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, September 17, 2000 10:52 AM
Subject: Re: Glenn Gould's piano


>
> >His last CD of the Goldberg Variations was on a Yamaha. Aside from
> >that recording, his preferred instrument was Steinway. Apparently
> >shortly before the performance Glenn sent his piano to S&S for Franz
> >to rebuild the action to his specs. Franz was too busy with concert
> >work & someone else did the job, and totally screwed up the action
> >geometry. Gould couldn't deal with it, so he had to find other
> >options ...
> >That's my best recollection from Mohr's tales told at the 2000 NEECSO
> >seminar at NH (probably in his latest book too).
> >
> Hi Patric,
>               Sound's more like Steinway propaganda to me, the story we
> hear in Canada, is that Yamaha was the piano of choice, for it's clarity
> and rapid damping.
> Given the analytical approach to the Goldberg recording, and listening to
> the prior Steinway recording.   The Yamaha CF was better suited to the
job.
> Gould apparently checked out Steinway's entire artist stock for a piano,
> and could not find a suitable instrument.
> Stop and think, recording in New York, how many pianos to choose from,
when
> you are one of the world's great piano player's???????????????
> I think Yamaha was chosen for it's qualities, and not a Steinway lame
excuse.
> Roger
>
> Roger Jolly
> Saskatoon, Canada.
> 306-665-0213
> Fax 652-0505
>