Friday, November 10, 2006

Variation on a hum



Perhaps there is no time like now, to reflect on Glenn Gould. A good friend of mine recently attended a piano concerto and remarked that she felt calmed, cleansed and refocused. Her mental energies were aligned and sharpened unexpectedly, I might add, since she is not a classical music junkie.



In this crazy time and period of uncertainty, when noise blasts our senses and we squander our values and civilization, we need the eccentricity and brilliance of Glenn Gould. I enjoyed the movie Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould but I think you need an understanding of Glenn Gould in order to fully appreciate it or desire for a glimpse into Gould's genius. For me, Gould combines the technique and art, with genuine inpspiration. The sounds he heard, the bathing of notes he swam in, he interpreted like Jimi Hendrix did for Rock. That is, Glenn transcended the pure or technical musical piece and reached into the metaphysical world where the music began.



Am I too dire, are the walls really crumbling? Do I long for my library, and comfortable chair, while pondering the Quest for Perfection? Once I did care about perfection, I cared or dared to ask "What is Best?" I considered my values and premises. Yet I have to ask, what happened? When Egypt's library burned, what did people do the next day?

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