Glenn Gould plays Beethoven in a 1967 radio broadcast

Edited captions are available for this item. Select ’English’, not ’English (auto-generated)’. Glenn Gould’s radio broadcast of May 23, 1967 includes Beethoven’s Sonata , No.3. Nancy Canning’s catalogue tells us he recorded it in New York on March 10, 1967 for Columbia, though it was not released until 1973. Meanwhile, Bill Hawes, the announcer of this May 1967 radio broadcast tells us that it is from the “Parliament Street studio of CBC : James Kent“. But I hear no difference between the two supposedly distinct recordings of the first movement: the same vocalising is present at bars 13,37,150,192,213,231,and 243. There is the same omission of the quarter rest in the opening figure, the same tiny ritard at 176. In the Scherzo, the first half seems the same to me, with the singing at 43-48 and 74 and the same careless attitude to Beethoven’s dynamic markings. But at 123, the chord is de-synchronised in the radio version and not in the Columbia version. The third and fourth movements are certainly different, as are the Bagatelles and Variations . Could it be that Gould assembled a performance from different New York takes for a trial run on the radio? 0:00 Introduction by Glenn Gould Beethoven Sonata 18 in Eb 2:13 I Allegro 7:55 II Scherzo: Allegretto vivace 11:13 III Menuetto: Moderato e grazioso 15:40 IV Presto con fuoco 19:56 Introduction by Glenn Gould 21:38 Bagatelle in G Quasi allegretto 24:17 Bagatelle in G minor Allegro 27:11 Bagatelle in G Andante con moto cantabile e compiacevole 30:54 Introduction by Glenn Gould 33:09 Fifteen Variations & Fugue On An Original Theme In E Flat Major, Op. 35, “Eroica“ 57:54 Conclusion by announcer Bill Hawes
Back to Top