“No sadder proof can be given by a man of his own littleness than disbelief in great men.”
Thomas Carlyle, On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic
Archives for April 13, 2007
TT: Is it real, or is it Glenn Gould?
In this week’s “Sightings” column, which appears in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal, I take up the interesting case of the digitized “re-performance” of Glenn Gould’s 1955 recording of the Goldberg Variations that is about to be released by Sony Classical. (You can read more here about the technology used to make this recording.) Yes, it’s convincing–but what does it say about our musical culture when we become so obsessed with old records and dead performers that we lose sight of the here and now?
For the answer, pick up a copy of tomorrow’s Journal and turn to the “Pursuits” section.