Glenn Gould & Yamaha Preference

[Susan Kline]

At 12:54 PM 01/01/2001 -0500, you wrote:
>Does anyone know why Glenn Gould switched from mostly playing Steinways to
>playing Yamahas for the latter part of his life?

I don't know, but my impression is that he liked the clarity and evenness of
the Yamaha. Properly voiced, it isn't strident. Since he was
recording rather than playing in public, and playing very contrapuntal music,
clarity would have been more important than presence at the back of a hall,
or thunderous power.

That said, his recording (with Jaime Laredo and Leonard Rose) of the Bach
violin and viola da gamba sonatas, using his own Steinway, has the loveliest
recorded piano sound I've ever heard. Sony has it on a 2 CD set.

Susan

P.S. Yes, that Goldberg video is amazing. It's the first time I've seen
a fallboard left off for a performance, as well, but it does make
sense to have the extra room when the hands are interlocked.