Not to go on and on about two dead white guys but I really have to emphasize how brilliant Glenn Gould’s piano playing is on the prelude to Johann Sebastian Bach’s second English Suite.
To call my own piano playing ham-fisted is an insult to ham-fisted pianists everywhere. I would probably sound better if I beat on the keys with a pair of turkey drumsticks. I do know enough about the piano to recognize true genius when I hear it. What kills me about Gould is his use of contrary staccato and legato with either hand (striking the keys sharply or holding the down the key a bit longer). I try to imitate his touch, especially his staccato walking base lines. Try being the key word in that last sentence.
Have you ever listened to a piece of music, or turned the last page of a novel of towering achievement, or been witness to something of such artistic perfection that you feel that you could happily die at that moment?
I had this feeling after listening to this particular prelude. I could have committed hari kari on the spot. The only thing that kept me from this messy self-vivisection is that I still have several episodes of the Sopranos to catch up on (I have to tell you that I am a bit concerned about the power play between Ralf and Tony and although Ralf beat a hooker to death he comes across as not an entirely bad guy).
So my life has been spared by the tenuous thread of an HBO series. It is great to be alive! I have so much to live for what with the new season of the Sopranos and I still haven’t purchased Glenn Gould’s recording of Bach’s French Suites.
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