Glenn Gould
A Life Off Tempo
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Glenn Gould was a Canadian pianist, a child genius who became a worldwide superstar of classical music remembered for, among others, his almost revolutionary interpretations of Bach. This graphic novel biography seeks to understand the eccentric personality behind the persona. Who is the mysterious Glenn Gould? Why did he abruptly end his career as a performing musician? Why did he become one of the very first of his peers to disappear from the public eye like J.D. Salinger? Sandrine Revel delves into the life of Gould with hand painted illustrations and the viewpoint of an adoring fan. 2017 marks a number of important anniversaries for Gould: the 85th of his birth and 35th of his death but also the 60th of his legendary tour of Russia, a first for a Western artist, and of his debuts with the worlds’ leading orchestras.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
As a classic example of the eccentric genius, pianist Glenn Gould is an irresistible subject for biographers. Intense, fussy, and difficult, yet oddly charismatic, and cloaked in a protective cloud of quirks, he was hailed as perhaps the greatest musician of his era before retiring into Salinger-like seclusion. This appropriately refined graphic novel, awash in cool watercolors, skips through time from Gould's strict childhood as the prodigy of demanding parents to the 1982 stroke that ushered in his death. In between, the genius aggravates his agent, quests for the perfect piano, and submerges himself in music. Prolific French cartoonist Revel plays with form and narrative convention, filling some pages with documentary realism, others with surreal fantasies. It's hard to avoid comparisons to the cult-classic Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould, which takes a similarly fragmented approach to evoking Gould's life and work. But Revel's stunning artwork makes this book, timed to commemorate what would have been Gould's 85th birthday, a worthy new biography.
