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Glenn Gould – Anniversary box set series

As part of the extensive Glenn Gould Anniversary series of releases, celebrating what would have been the great pianist’s 80th birthday year, Sony Classical presents this series of 20 collections and box sets.

The sets are mainly composer-based collections, with a natural focus on the works of Bach, but also containing collections of Beethoven, Haydn, Hindemith, Mozart and Schoenberg. Also included is a 2 disc collection of Renaissance and Baroque music and a collection of live concert performances.

BACH Best of Glenn Gould`s Bach. Sony 2cds & DVD

So much has been written about the sensation caused by Gould’s first studio recording of the Goldberg Variations in June 1955 that it is hardly necessary to repeat the story of this “birth of a legend” here. But even though it was this recording that laid the foundations for Gould’s international reputation as a Bach interpreter, its roots lie much further back. From the very outset his Bach had been as unconventional as it was distinctive – and so it remains, in spite of regular attempts to enthrone a “new Glenn Gould”. (Conversely, this has meant that every new recording of Bach’s keyboard works is judged by Gould’s standards.) His habit of slouching over the piano, the expansive gestures of his hands and arms, his stabbing nonlegato (almost always without the use of the sustaining pedal), his breathtaking polyphony and his often extreme tempi all result in a kind of pianism that seems to come from another planet, reminding us of Stefan George’s poem in Schoenberg’s Second String Quartet, “Entrückung” (Rapt Otherworldliness): “I breathe air from another planet.” [...]

GOULD, GLENN This is Glenn Gould. Story of a Genius. Sony 2cds

The Story of a Genius – the title says it all. This 2-CD hard cover limited edition gives a perfect introduction to the life, music and style of Canadian pianist Glenn Gould. This limited edition comes with a biographical essay and a “Glenn Gould dictionary”, giving explanations to 32 facts about Glenn Gould, starting with A about his various “Alias” on to C like “car driving” or “Canada” up to R like “recording studio”. The about 60-pages book in English features many unknown photos of Glenn Gould, the 2 CDs contain selections of his Bach and “non-Bach” recordings.

GOULD, GLENN Gould Plays Bach. The Question of Instrument, An Art of The Fugue, The Goldberg Variations. Directed by Bruno Monsaingeon. Sony 3 DVDs

As part of the extensive Glenn Gould Anniversary series of releases, Sony Music presents this 3 DVD set, which contains the legendary trilogy of films on Bach, directed by Bruno Monsaingeon. This is the first time these three films have been collected together in a set.

Glenn Gould Special Offer – Selected titles

Glenn Gould special offer – selected titles.