A stunningly intimate conversation between a world-weary Glenn Gould and the CBC's Vincent Tovell, conducted on 4 December 1959, two years after Gould's triumphant tour of the Soviet Union, five years prior to his final concert. Who do we have to thank for this treasure? A native Torontonian, fellow Gouldian YouTuber who answered my call for the full version of Glenn Gould's Toronto and who threw this interview in as a bonus!

We are forever in his debt. Pencil sketch of Glenn Gould by the amazing yuzu1009. Please check out her channel for other works of true artistic wonder: I created a single MP3 file of the entire interview. You can download it for free here.

Released January 1956 ( 1956-01) Recorded June 10, 1955 ( 1955-06-10) – June 16, 1955 ( 1955-06-16) Length 38: 34 Bach: The Goldberg Variations is the 1955 debut album of Canadian classical pianist. An interpretation of ( 988), the work launched Gould's career as a renowned international pianist, and became one of the most well-known piano recordings. Sales were 'astonishing' for a classical album: it was reported to have sold 40,000 copies by 1960, and had sold more than 100,000 by the time of Gould's death in 1982. In 1981, a year before his death, Gould made a new recording of the Goldberg Variations, sales of which exceeded two million by 2000. At the time of the first album's release, Bach's Goldberg Variations—a set of 30 beginning and ending with an —were outside the standard piano repertoire, having been recorded on the instrument only a few times before, either on small labels or unreleased.

The work was considered esoteric and technically demanding, requiring awkward hand crossing at times when played on a piano (these passages would be played on two on a harpsichord). Gould's album both established the Goldberg Variations within the contemporary classical repertoire and made him an internationally famous pianist nearly 'overnight'. First played in concert by Gould in 1954, the composition was a staple of Gould's performances in the years following the recording. Contents • • • • • • • Recording process [ ] The recordings were made in 1955 at in over four days between June 10 and June 16, a few weeks after Gould signed his contract., the company's classical music division, released the album in January 1956.

Pedagogika fizicheskoj kuljturi i sporta neverkovich. Bach: The Goldberg Variations became Columbia's bestselling classical album and earned Gould an international reputation. The record is now in the catalog of. At least one record-company executive questioned Gould's choice of the then-obscure Goldberg Variations for his recorded debut. In a 1981 interview, Gould reflected on the studio's situation: 'I think the objections [Columbia] had, which were mild and expressed in a most friendly fashion, were quite logical. I was twenty-two years old and proposed doing my recording debut with the Goldberg Variations, which was supposed to be the private preserve, of, perhaps, or someone of that generation and stature. They thought that possibly some more modest undertaking was advisable.' Then aged 22, Gould was confident and assertive about his work, and prevailed in the decision as to what he would record for his debut—having also ensured that his contract granted him artistic freedom.