Glenn Gould: The Ecstasy and Tragedy of Genius Book

An intimate portrait that captures the brilliant fusion of genius and madness in the tormented life of pianist Glenn Gould. The Canadian pianist Glenn Gould was a musical genius a child prodigy whose rise to world fame was jump-started in 1955 by a sensational recording of Bach's daunting "Goldberg Variations." Gould's infectious enthusiasm, his puerile sense of humor, and his flamboyant ideas reaffirmed the power of music as play. But along with his charm, Gould was tragically disturbed. He consulted scores of doctors, avoided intimacy, and never married. Struggling against a lifelong sadness that always threatened to overwhelm him, Gould neglected his health and died prematurely at age fifty of a massive stroke. Glenn Gould's life raises many questions about the phenomenon of genius. Was Gould's brilliance sponsored by his madness or vice versa? Do men and women of genius sacrifice themselves for a higher ideal while remaining personally unfulfilled? Peter Ostwald, a noted psychiatrist and a musician, lays bare the energy and contradiction that composed Gould's genius.