Glenn Gould: Off the Record (1959)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Directors:

Wolf Koenig
Roman Kroitor

Writer:

Stanley Jackson (commentary)

Genre:

Documentary | Short | Biography

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Character Name In Title

Cast

Glenn Gould	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Franz Kraemer	...	Himself

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Company:

National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Movie Connections:

Edited into Glenn Gould (1961)

Part 1 of a 2 part set

This is part 1 of a 2 part set, part 2 being "On the Record". I stress these to anyone who rents the DVD, as on the DVD menu, "On the Record" comes first on the menu, leading one to watch it first. While it's not critical to watch the two parts in order, it does help a bit with the flow is you do. Part 1, "Off the record", consists of a brief profile of Gould's life while at his rural retreat at Lake Simcoe, north of Toronto, a lakeside interview, and a stimulating conversation with Franz Kraemer about the music of Webern and Gould's own compositions. The remainder of this first part shows Gould in NYC picking out a piano in the Steinway basement for the recording session which is the subject of part 2, "On the Record". Overall, both parts form a fascinating picture of the early career of the great Back interpreter, a mere 4 years after his sudden rise to stardom with the release of his (first) recording of the Goldberg Variations. A must to see if you are a Gould , or Bach, fan.