Glenn Gould

Provocative and stimulating in what he said or wrote as well as in his playing, Glenn Gould brought a dazzling intellect and the instincts of a composer – albeit a prematurely retired composer – to his piano playing. His decision to present himself to the world through the medium of recording, coupled with the proliferation of the LP and then the CD, led to his name becoming virtually synonymous with Bach’s keyboard music; but he espoused the causes of composers from Orlando Gibbons to Arnold Schoenberg. His radio and television programmes were ahead of their time and he would have thrived in today’s world of instant communication.