Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould, surrounds the life of famous Canadian pianist. The film, directed by Peter Raymont and Michele Hozer, is being released by Lorber Films on September 17.
1932: On September 25, Glenn Herbert Gold is born in Toronto to Florence Greig and Russell Herbert (Bert) Gold. (The family changed its surname to “Gould” around 1939.)
1935: Gould's prodigious musical gifts, including perfect pitch, become apparent. At age four, his mother becomes his first piano teacher.
1943: Gould begins studying piano with Alberto Guerrero. 1946: On May 8, Gould makes his orchestral debut with the Toronto Conservatory Symphony Orchestra at Massey Hall, as part of the Toronto Conservatory of Music Annual Closing Concert.
1947: On October 20, Gould gives his first public professional solo recital, held at Eaton Auditorium, Toronto. He is now managed by Walter Homburger. Around this time, the Gould family acquires one of the earliest tape recorders, and Gould begins to use the new technology to document his playing.
1949: Gould decides to become a concert pianist under Guererro, with whom he clashes over his singing and flamboyant style.
1950: In a recital at Hart House, Gould offers perhaps the first characteristically “Gouldian” program: Bach's Italian Concerto, Beethoven's “Eroica” Variations, and Hindemith's Third Sonata.
1952: Gould ends his piano lessons with Guerrero. For the next few years, he spends an increasing amount of time living at his family's cottage, practicing, thinking, reading and composing.
1955: Gould gives his New York debut recital in Town Hall on January 11. The following day, he is offered an exclusive recording contract with Columbia.
1956: In January, Columbia releases Gould's recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations. It is released to almost universal critical and popular acclaim, launching his international career as a recording and concert artist.
1957: On May 7, Gould begins his first European tour and becomes the first North American pianist to perform in the Soviet Union since World War II.
1959: At age 27, Gould finally moves out of his parents' house. On August 31, he gives his last public performance in Europe at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, performing with the Philharmonic Orchestra.1962: Gould meets the painter Cornelia Foss, the wife of Lukas Foss, a composer and pianist Gould greatly admires. He befriends the couple. By 1964, his friendship with Cornelia has evolved into the most important romance of his life.
1964: On April 10, Gould gives a recital at Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles — his last live public performance.
1968: The performer-manager relationship between Gould and Homburger ends.
1968: Cornelia Foss leaves her husband and brings her two children to live in Toronto to be close to Gould. They intend to marry.
1971: On January 10, Gould records his first session in Eaton Auditorium, Toronto, where he will make most of his recordings for the rest of his life. Around this time, he also hires a personal assistant, Ray Roberts, who becomes a close friend
1972: Gould creates musical arrangements for the film Slaughterhouse Five, distributed by Universal Pictures.
ca. 1973: Cornelia Foss leaves Gould and returns to live with her husband in New York.
1979: “Glenn Gould's Toronto” (part of the series "Cities") appears on CBC-TV on September 27. The program receives two ACTRA awards and is nominated for a GENIE award in 1980.
1982: CBS releases Gould's new recording of the Goldberg Variations. The album wins two Grammy awards and a Juno award in 1983, as well as a Gold Disc from the Canadian Recording Industry Association in 1984. In the summer, he conducts a recording of the chamber version of Wagner's Siegfried Idyll for CBS.
On October 4, 1982, Gould dies at age 50, after suffering a stroke a week prior. Some 3,000 attend his memorial service on October 15.
