Honoring the Timeless Artistry of Wanda Landowska and Glenn Gould
Wanda Landowska and Glenn Gould are revered figures in the world of classical music, each renowned for their distinctive contributions to keyboard performance.
Wanda Landowska
The pioneering Polish-French harpsichordist, is celebrated for her revival of the harpsichord in the early 20th century, bringing historical authenticity and vibrant expressiveness to Baroque music.
Glenn Gould
The Canadian pianist, is famous for his technically brilliant and idiosyncratic interpretations of Bach’s keyboard works, particularly his revolutionary recordings of the Goldberg Variations.
Both artists, through their unique artistry and visionary perspectives, have left an indelible mark on the landscape of classical music.
Wanda Aleksandra Landowska
(born July 5, 1879 in Warsaw, Russian Empire – died August 16,1959 in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States)
Wanda Landowska gave a recital in the presence of Auguste Rodin.
(01/01/1909)
Reviving the Harpsichord and the Goldberg Variations
The great harpsichordist and pianist Wanda Landowska is today particularly associated with mature harpsichord playing. She also worked as a composer and teacher and developed a new type of harpsichord.
In 1925, she founded the “École de Musique Ancienne” school in Saint-Leu-la-Forêt, where she organized annual concerts and held summer courses.
Wanda Landowska, studying the book Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.
It was Landowska who recorded the Goldberg Variations for the first time in October 1933 and made a significant contribution to the rediscovery of the work.
She recorded it again in 1945. Thanks to Landowska, an enormously valuable repertoire saw the light of day again after having been buried in libraries for almost two centuries.
It is also thanks to her that the harpsichord experienced a renaissance around 1900. She gave her farewell concert in New York at the age of 75.
May her music still be heard today.
Glenn Herbert Gold
(born September 25, 1932 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada – died October 04, 1982 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
Glenn Gould as a child, at his piano. Place: Toronto, Ontario. Gordon W. Powley
Glenn Gould Studio
A global hub for musical excellence and innovation
The Glenn Gould Studio, located in Toronto and named after the renowned Canadian pianist Glenn Gould, holds significant importance for musicians around the world. This state-of-the-art facility, part of the Canadian Broadcasting Centre, is renowned for its exceptional acoustics and recording capabilities.
It stands as a tribute to Gould’s innovative spirit and commitment to the highest standards of musical performance and recording. Glenn Gould, famous for his unique interpretations of classical music, particularly the baroque works of Johann Sebastian Bach, revolutionized the art of recording.
His philosophy emphasized the importance of recording as a means of achieving musical perfection, a legacy that the studio continues to uphold.
The Glenn Gould Studio is more than just a performance and recording space; it is a beacon of Gould’s enduring influence on music and technology. Its significance for musicians lies in its embodiment of Gould’s artistic vision, offering a place where they can aspire to the same levels of creativity and excellence that defined his career.
This makes it a vital and inspiring landmark in the world of music.
Voyager Golden Record
In July 1977, NASA’s Voyager mission launched with the goal of exploring the Milky Way and alerting potential extraterrestrial life to the existence of humans. On board the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft each carried a 12-inch gold-plated copper disc that was intended to serve as a message to extraterrestrial civilizations.
One of the 27 pieces of music on these two records, “The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue in C, No. 1.”, was an interpretation by Glenn Gould. The decision to include Glenn Gould’s recording on the gold disc was symbolic and represented the creative and artistic side of humanity.
Glenn Gould’s musical genius and his unique interpretation of Bach’s masterpiece were thus forever immortalized in interstellar space. Furthermore, among other things, “the first movement of the second Brandenburg Concerto” and “the Gavotte en rondeau from the Partita No. 3 in E major for violin solo” was selected for the Golden Record. Valuable music by Beethoven and Mozart also adorns these memorabilia sent out into the macrocosm.
