VIFF Review: Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould

Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould
Granville 7 Theatre 2
Sunday, October 4 2009 7:00pm

This is an amazingly revealing documentary on the real man behind the myth that is the public image of Glenn Gould. Going beyond the eccentricities of his later years it reveals a complex and contradictory man who was both loving and smothering, perfectionist and clown, solitary and charming, father figure and hypochondriac.

Gould's abilities were formed early. As a child, his mother was his first piano teacher from around age 3 to 10. Gould attended the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto where Alberto Guerrero taught him the fundamentals of his technique. As a teenager he played the family piano obsessively until the small hours of the morning. Some of his eccentricities were forming at this time as he was given to wearing excessive layers of clothing at all times.

His playful side is revealed in an extraordinary short film shot by a friend on a beach in the Bahamas. Gould is seen wearing his customary coat, scarf, gloves, and hat on the beach while a local bikinied beauty dances seductively for him. There are also clips of him serenading elephants at a zoo, and cows in a field.

Interviews with his closest friends, musicians, and work colleagues reveal the most intimate details of his life which belie his public image. He had few relationships, but the few he had were intense. He once asked his CBC colleague to adopt him as his brother. Long time friend from childhood John Roberts reveals much of the relationship Gould had with his parents.

A surprising revelation is the 4 year relationship Gould had with Cornelia Foss. Gould had years earlier been an admirer of pianist Lukas Foss and became close friends with him and his wife. When her marriage with Lukas broke down Cornelia left him for Gould. Gould loved Cornelia and was a good "uncle" to her children, but his mental state was declining so she returned to Lukas.

After he ended his concert pianist career at age 31 he continued with a prolific recording career as well as a radio broadcasting career with the CBC. He pioneered recording techniques and pushed the tape-based technology to its limits. He conceived of a way for listeners to create their own mixes which was impossible with the technology of the time, but I wonder what he could have done with today's ubiquitous digital recording technology.

Gould passed away shortly after his 50th birthday of stroke in 1982. He left a legacy of recordings most famously his two sets of Bach Goldberg Variations which re-conceived the compositions in his unique style. His shrewdly managed public image made him larger than life and has kept him in the public consciousness to this day. But at his core, he was an intensely intelligent and passionate man who was happiest playing piano in his Ontario cottage where he could enjoy music, solitude, and peace.

If you miss this film at the VIFF you will likely be able to catch it on television. It was co-produced with television networks world-wide like ZDF-ARTE, PBS, Bravo!, TVOntario, and the Knowledge Network so it should appear on those networks in the near future.