Glenn Gould was born to play the piano, beginning his studies with his first piano teacher, his mother, and continuing on to the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
As a young performer, Gould viewed all types of competition with disdain, but he did win one event – the Piano Trophy at the Kiwanis Music Festival. Gould passed his associateship tests qualifying him as a certified professional at the tender age of 13.
Glenn Gould had a remarkable effect on the way people hear, perceive, and appreciate music. Though he did not perform live for most of his mature career (he once stated, “At live concerts, I feel demeaned, like a vaudevillian,”), he reached an ever-growing audience through film and studio recordings. Known for his piano interpretations, Gould continues to have as much effect in death as in life. Tourists from around the world still make pilgrimages to his Toronto gravesite. Many books are still written about him, and his famous interpretation of the Goldberg Variations has been in the top ten best-sellers list for classical recordings since 1955.
