Glenn Gould

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Last updated 8/27/2026

Glenn Gould's 1955 recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations became one of the best-selling classical piano recordings in history, and his unconventional, highly personal interpretive approach to Bach's keyboard works established him as one of the most distinctive and idiosyncratic classical pianists of the 20th century. His decision to retire entirely from public concert performance in 1964, at just 31, to focus exclusively on studio recording reflected Gould's stated belief that live concerts were an outdated performance format, a genuinely radical position for a pianist at the height of his concert career. Gould's eccentric personal habits, including his practice of humming audibly while playing and his insistence on using a specific low, custom chair for every performance regardless of venue, made him one of classical music's most distinctively idiosyncratic public figures. His combination of genuinely innovative interpretive approaches to canonical repertoire and his radical rejection of live concert performance in favor of studio recording has made Gould one of the most intellectually and stylistically significant classical pianists of the recording era.

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