This day in history: Canadian classical pianist Glenn Gould was born on this day in 1932. His Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 is one of my favorite piano pieces ever.
He was also quite eccentric: The piano had to be set at a certain height and would be raised on wooden blocks if necessary. A small rug would sometimes be required for his feet underneath the piano. He had to sit exactly fourteen inches above the floor, and would play concerts only while sitting on the old chair his father had made. He continued to use this chair even when the seat was completely worn through.
He was a hypochondriac and hated being touched. "He took many pills everyday to take care of health issues that he felt needed to be catered to; the medicines would clash with each other producing side effects that Gould would fight taking more medicines, in a vicious circle that only ended with his death." Source
He was a recluse and later in life would only communicate via letters and telephone. He was nocturnal, and was said to call his friends in the middle of the night and rant on for hours while they would fall asleep at the other end of the line.
He hated being cold so would always dress for winter. He was arrested once in Florida for dressing like that because he was suspected of being a vagrant.
Buy: The Mysterious Book of Genesis - Lilith, Enoch & Other Strange Studies: An Anthology on Amazon and The Companion Guide to Death, is now available on Amazon by clicking here...and it is only $1.99
No comments:
Post a Comment