Philosophical Revelations
Stormy Hunter | Encinitas, California USA | 10/24/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"As a Glenn Gould fan from way back, I've known of the existence of these documentaries but never been able to hear them until this CD release. Producing radio documentaries was an extremely important phase of Gould's career; he considered them (particularly those in the "Solitude Trilogy") to be music, and himself to be the composer. Gould turned down many extremely lucrative offers to give concerts during the last 18 years of his life; one of the activities he pursued - though for little financial remuneration - was the production of these documentaries for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
The Casals disc, though enjoyable, did little to change my view of Casals as a very fussy man whose playing and conducting were just plain sloppy. The primary voice one hears is not that of Casals (or
Gould for that matter), but of author Albert Kahn - whose narration I found pretentious and irritating. More interesting and far more enjoyable were the reminiscinces of young music students who had played for Casals or attended his classes.
The Stokowski disc was an absolute revelation. The only previous time I had heard Stokowski speak was on the odd side of a 78rpm set where he gave a short lecture about Beethoven's Seventh. Here, following a longish introduction by Gould himself, Stokowski speaks at length and reveals himself to be not only a recording pioneer, humanitarian, and great conductor who premiered a staggering number of works that are now standard repertoire, but also a very deep thinker with profound insights on many subjects. The Stokowski program is one for the ages, and will bear many repeat listenings. There are even clips of Stokowski and Gould rehearsing for their recording of Beethoven's "Emperor" concerto! No serious Glenn Gould fan should be without these!"
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1