Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Glenn Gould plays Orlando Gibbons - Allemande (Italian Ground)

This is a recording of Glenn Gould, a pianist I greatly admire playing Orlando Gibbon's glorious Allemande (an Italian Ground). I was mentioning to a few students this week how important instrumental resonance is in playing. In other words, how an instrument "rings" a certain way when it's pushed nicely with natural power, but not brute force. With command, but not with over control. Listening to Gould play demonstrates that well. The whole piano rings with clarity and resonance no matter what the dynamic.

1 comment:

Jack Doyle said...

Kevin,

You may come to understand more about Glenn Gould's sound upon reading "A romance on three legs : Glenn Gould's obsessive quest for the perfect piano" by Katie Hafner.

I just finished this book. It was hard to put it down.

JFD