All language subtitles for Thirty-two short films about Glenn Gould (ENG)

My mother tells me
that by five years old...

l had decided definitively
to become a concert pianist.

l think she had decided
sometime earlier.

The story goes
that while l was in the womb...

she played the piano continuously
to give me a head start...

and evidently it paid off.

My mother was my first teacher
and l've never doubted her methods.

After all
she introduced me to Bach.

Oh good. Try another.

By the age of ten l had the first book
of The Well-Tempered Clavier...

pretty much under my belt.

Good. Oh that's good.

Very good.
Let's try one up at this end here.

My childhood was full of music
even at our cottage on Lake Simcoe.

Those days seem particularly idyllic
to me at least in retrospect.

- Go ahead.
- They were compared to my school days.

Eight-seven times twenty-three is--

At an early age l could read music
and memorize it on the spot.

ln fact l could read music
before l could read words.

l remember l used to play a game
with my mother...

where l would identify the chords she
played from the other side of the house.

People always seem to make a great deal
out of these early signs...

but they hardly constitute miracles
in my opinion.

l simply have a facility
with a certain kind of minutia.

- l always have.
- 87 times 26 equals 2262.

Eighty-seven times--

Eighty-seven times 27
equals 2349.

Eighty-seven times 28
equals 2436.

l often think how fortunate l was...

to have been brought up
in an environment...

where music was always present.

Who knows what would have
become of me otherwise?

lt's a question
l often ask myself...

but l've yet to come up
with an answer.

After all when we met for
the first time in a hotel in Toronto...

after having talked at length
several times over the phone...

or having written
to make our first appointment--

l met him the temperature was
ninety degrees it was very warm--

He was wearing a coat a hat
scarves and gloves--

A seemingly extravagant getup...

which in fact corresponded
exactly to the protection he needed...

against the outside world to protect
himself from what finally killed him--

Problems of germs
and blood pressure--

So let us say that the first vision...

one would have of such a person
was very surprising.

You could not avoid being surprised at
the sight of someone resembling a tramp.

But he walked into the hotel room
and stayed 1 8 hours straight.

No outside worry
food or anything...

interrupted the rapport
we were establishing.

The other striking thing
was his sense of humor...

his extraordinary ability to have fun
and offer ideas stimulating...

both because of their depth
and because they were fun.

So this slightly bizarre manner
which was the first thing you caught...

and which lasted for that brief instant
of the first meeting and then was over--

This disappeared very quickly to make
way for the real man that he was...

who was not trying to shock others.
He was just trying to express himself.

Mr. Gould to begin let me ask straight
out: Are there any off-limit areas?

l certainly can't think of any
apart from music of course.

Well Mr. Gould
l don't want to go back on my word.

Your participation in this interview
was never contractually confirmed...

but l assumed we'd spend the bulk of
the interview on music-related matters.

Do you think it's essential?

l mean my own personal philosophy
of interviewing--

and l've done quite a bit of it
on the air as perhaps you know--

is that the most illuminating
disclosures usually derive from areas...

only indirectly related
to the interviewee's line of work.

- For example?
- ln preparing radio documentaries...

l've interviewed a theologian
about technology...

a surveyor about William James...

and a housewife about acquisitiveness
in the art market.

But surely you've interviewed
musicians about music.

Well yes l have on occasion but only
to put them at ease with the mike.

But it's been far more instructive
to talk with Leopold Stokowski...

about the prospect for interplanetary
travel which is l'm sure you'll agree--

Let me ask this: ls there a subject
you'd particularly like to discuss?

What about native rights in Alaska?

Well l must confess l had a rather
more conventional line of attack...

so to speak in mind Mr. Gould.

As l'm sure you're aware the virtually
obligatory question about your career...

is the controversy you created by giving
up live concert performance at age 3 2...

and choosing to communicate
only through the media.

l do feel we must at least
touch on it.

As far as l'm concerned
it primarily...

involves moral
rather than musical considerations.

ln any case be my guest.

Now you've been quoted as saying
that your involvement with recording--

with media in general indeed
represents the future.

- That's correct.
- And conversely the concert stage...

the opera house or whatever
represent the past--

an aspect of your own past
in particular perhaps...

as well as in more general terms
music's past.

That's true.

l hope you'll forgive me for saying that
these ideas are only partly justified.

Also l feel that you
Mr. Gould have forgone...

the privilege that is rightfully yours
of communicating with an audience.

From a power base?

From a setting in which
the naked fact of your humanity...

is unedited and unadorned.

Couldn't l at least be allowed to
display the tuxedoed fallacy perhaps?

Please Mr. Gould we shouldn't allow
this conversation to degenerate.

l've tried to pose the question
in all candor and--

Well then
l'll try and answer likewise.

To me the ideal
audience-to-artist relationship...

is a one-to-zero relationship.

- That's the moral objection.
- Run that by me again?

First l'm not at all happy with words
like "public" and "artist"...

or the hierarchical implications
of that kind of terminology.

The artist should be
granted anonymity.

He should be permitted to operate
in secret as it were...

unconcerned with or better still
unaware of the marketplace's demands...

which demands given enough indifference
on the part of enough artists...

will simply disappear.

Given that disappearance the artist
will then abandon his false sense...

of public responsibility...

and his audience or "public"
will relinquish its...

- role of servile dependency.
- And never the twain shall meet.

No they'll make contact
but on a much more meaningful level.

Well Mr. Gould
l'm well aware that this sort of...

idealistic role swapping has
a certain rhetorical flourish.

The creative audience concept of which
you've spoken at length elsewhere...

has a kind
of McLuhan-esque fascination.

But you conveniently forget that
the artist however hermetic his life...

is still in effect
an autocratic figure.

He's still however benevolently
a social dictator...

and his public however generously
enfranchised by electronic options...

is still on the receiving end
of the experience.

All your neomedieval anonymity quest
on behalf of the "artist-as-zero"...

and all your vertical pan-culturalism on
behalf of his "public" won't change it.

May l speak now?

Of course. Sorry to get carried away.
But l do feel strongly about the--

- About the artist as Superman?
- That's not quite fair Mr. Gould.

Or about the interlocutor
as controller of conversation perhaps?

There's no need to be rude.

What about this?

lf you imagine that the artist--

Yes. That's right.

Toronto.

Toronto Canada?

lt should read as follows:

" Dear Walter. Stop.

Under the weather yesterday. Stop.

X-rays reveal chronic bronchitis--

Bronchitis in right lung. Stop.

Feeling as foggy
as it is outside. Stop.

Stop.

lt would suit you perfectly. Stop.

Cannot and will not
leave this room. Stop. End."

Sir l am sorry to disturb
but we have a--

- From New York? Yes.
- Yes sir.

At last. Excellent. Thank you.

Yes that would be it indeed.
Could you read that back to me please?

Wait. Wait please stay.

"Concerts tomorrow and Monday
cancelled" not "can't sell."

That means
something entirely different.

Go ahead.

Yes.

That's absolutely flawless. Could you
send it off immediately please?

Room 31 8.

Thank you.

Salzburg to Stockholm Berlin...

Wiesbaden Florence
Tel AvivJerusalem...

and on the whole tour l'd say
there were maybe six good hotel rooms...

five comfortable beds
and at least three adequate pianos.

Some of these pianos were
so hopelessly unwieldy...

l decided it was best
just to ignore them.

lt required a kind of mystical
transcendence to get me through.

l have no idea
what the audience resorted to.

l'm not one of those piano freaks
you know. Of course...

l know there are people who would gladly
sit in the most uncomfortable chair...

with 3000 other people
in uncomfortable chairs...

and listen to hours and hours
of the stuff...

but it's nothing l would ever
subject myself to.

l just don't like the sound
of piano music that much.

Five minutes Mr. Gould.

Yeah. Tell them to close the doors now.

Yeah l think he's ready now.
l told you go ahead. Here he comes.

This way Mr. Gould.

l didn't want to bother you now but
l'm not gonna be here after the show.

- Fine.
- Gary's gonna be here--

the guy with the short you know--
he's gonna pick you up.

And there is a reception after. l know
it's gonna be squaresville man...

but you'd make some gray-haired ladies
happy if you waltz through it one time.

l did wanna show you a schedule for
tomorrow. No don't bother with it now.

Don't think about it. But later
if you wanna change anything--

- l'm sure it's fine.
-you wanna see more of L.A.--

l'm gonna leave it on your dresser.

l think we should take the stairs.

Maybe we should.

Don't even think about it now.

- lt's a long way.
- lt certainly is.

lf it weren't for you l'd have been
dropping bread crumbs along the way.

- Mr. Gould?
- Of course.

- My wife has all of your records.
- Well...

tell your wife that she has
exceptional taste.

Also she's very lucky.

l'm never going to sign
one of these again.

How long have you worked
for this theater?

lt's been almost 30 years.

Thirty years? You must be near
retirement? lf you don't mind my asking.

- No. At the end of the season.
- What will you do after that?

- Well l have my garden.
- Yes?

l'm going to build
an arboretum.

- You know what that is?
- Yes l think so.

My best to your wife and garden.

Thank you.

What did he say?
What did he write?

"April 1 0 1 964. Best of luck
on your new career. Glenn Gould--

The Final Concert."

l think that like all people
who try to justify their stand...

do what they want to do anyway...

yet still want to justify it
in a universal manner--

He too fell in this trap...

of somewhat exaggerating
the morality of his decision.

Of course in a way he was right.

ln an audience some hear better than
others some see better than others.

Sometimes in large churches people are
seated behind pillars and can't see.

Acoustics can be exaggerated.
You hear too much or too little...

the volume is too high
or the reverberation hurts the ears.

He is right.
lt's not always ideal.

But it's part of life.
For me it exists as a live element.

Personally l find Glen Gould's
life too... too artificial.

But as l said it's because l am not
in his league as a creator.

l cannot make a life for myself
on my own excluding everybody else...

and concentrating only on
this intellectual exercise.

And the physical-- Trying to
avoid drafts protected by a scarf...

not tolerating someone touching
my shoulder...

And at the same time
he loved going to fishing villages...

over the great--

The great distances that Canada offers.
He liked that.

He liked nature.
He liked natural men.

He liked the fisherman
much more than a New York audience.

Ready?

Glenn we're ready for playback.

l'm gonna give it to you
without EQ-ing okay?

And all the levels are flat.

Ready in three two...

one.

- Coffee?
- Yes. Yes.

l really shouldn't be
giving this to you you know.

lt's not very good for you.

You mean coffee in general
or your coffee?

No coffee and cream as a combination--
it's very bad for you.

- lt's dangerous.
- Where did you get this?

lt just sits in your stomach like--
like asphalt. l read it in a magazine.

The coffee from that machine is gonna
kill me anyway so a little cream--

Yeah you're one to talk.
l mean look at you.

You're falling apart there.
Now he could use some coffee.

Sugar on the other hand
is actually a very good combination.

lt actually helps the coffee do
what it's supposed to do. So--

The ltalian Concerto.

You know this is really good.

l really think
we have something here.

How was that?

l think there's something in that.
Let's hear it again.

l became Glenn Gould's chambermaid
because the other chambermaids...

who were mostly middle-aged ltalian and
Jamaican women were terrified of him.

They thought he was strange--
probably some sort of sexual deviant.

They just found him peculiar
because he was very eccentric.

When we were in Moscow in 1 957
we stayed at the Canadian embassy...

and after the first concert...

we went back into our limousine which
had been loaned to us by the embassy.

At the end of the concert Glenn had
received a huge number of flowers...

and big pots of mums
and other flowers...

and as we got into the limousine
and sat down...

all the flowers had been piled up there
and we had barely room to sit.

Glenn said to me
"You know Walter...

it feels like we are driving
to our own funeral at this point."

This was his passion.

He really really wanted to start--

you know retire away
to Manitoulin lsland...

to buy a big hunk of it and bring every
unwanted animal in the world there.

There were numerous boxes--

l think one time l counted
a dozen boxes of arrowroot cookies...

sort of scattered about the room.

There were also
numerous bottles of ketchup.

lt was a very penetrating interview--

the most intelligent questions l think
l'd ever heard about the North...

from experts
laymen or anything else--

questions that required
rather long answers.

As l would start to speak
or make a point...

he would register his feelings
not by voice but by a smile...

but all the time he was
using his hands and conducting.

This might be slightly off-putting when
you're trying to think deep thoughts...

because l had no idea
what this was all about...

but he continuously was just
waving his arms...

and would sort of
bring up this idea and so on.

l was his orchestra for that hour.

So he decided to wear
this business suit...

and l discussed it with him
and l said "You know Glenn...

l'm not sure the public will understand
what you're trying to convey...

but if you want to do it
go ahead" which he did.

And he was probably the first artist
who went out on stage...

without what was considered then
the proper concert attire.

But he again was
in the forefront of change.

He used to wake up
at about 4:00 in the afternoon...

and to get himself awake
he used to phone people...

and l was one of those people
he phoned.

He'd talk about anything
you know.

He just wanted a listening board.

One night he called
and he was babbling on...

and it was probably 1 :00
in the morning something like that...

and he--
and l fell asleep.

As a matter of fact
before l fell asleep...

l had stretched out on the rug
and l had the phone there...

'cause l'd been sitting in the chair
and got tired so l stretched out.

He was talking talking talking
and l wasn't talking at all.

and l fell asleep.

The next thing l knew
my son had walked into the room...

and he was kicking me
on the soles of my feet.

He said "Wake up.
There's somebody on the phone."

lt was Glenn
and he was talking away.

l don't know
how long l had been sleeping...

but l didn't even remember
the sequence he was just--

The words were just pouring out.

The phone rang and as l picked it up
it was Glenn Gould on the other end.

He said " Hi this is Glenn Gould
and l feel like talking."

" Mario" he said "l came across the
most marvelous opera for your program."

l said "What is it?"
He said "You know Ernst Krenck?"

l said "Yes certainly."
He said...

"l've got
this marvelous opera by him."

He said "Wait l've got
the score here. l'll sing it to you."

So he sang this entire
one-act opera--

one-act two-scene opera--
over the telephone...

in his not-very-pleasant voice.

He was very much involved
with himself.

You know he didn't think
of what others had to--

what others had to do
or their responsibilities.

You know
he was consumed with--

with what he was doing
and his own things.

His will was that he left...

half of estate to the SPCA--

Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals--

and the other half
to the Salvation Army.

Yes! Getting 31 8 back from Ottawa...

to tune for the conservatory...

when l was phoned up about it...

l thought "Should l do this?"

l thought " No l'm going to do it
just for old-times' sake."

And when l got working on 31 8 again
and cleaned it up...

and tuned it and worked
on the action a bit...

it felt good.

So l guess l miss him.

l miss his intelligent comments...

and l miss listening
to his 20 questions...

not particularly to me but--

He was--
l'll tell you one thing.

Today l had a customer phone me up
and say...

"Can you come tomorrow
to tune my piano?"

Glenn Gould used to give me
two or three months notice...

and l respected that...

and l'm very thankful
for knowing him.

Hello Mr. Gould.
Do you want the usual?

Yes if you'd be so kind.

Yeah l agree. For instance
one time up by the reptile house--

you know where that is
up near Parry Sound--

l see this hippie-yippie type
thumbin' a ride.

Long hair out to here.

l figured l'd pick him up anyway--

keep me entertained for a while
'cause l'm goin' all night.

Keep me awake.

Only when l pick him up
it turns out it wasn't a hippie at all--

lt was a girl-- a young girl...

and l mean pretty
like you never seen.

So l says to her "What the hell you
doin' out here all by yourself eh?"

And a hundred miles down the road
l got her whole life story.

Seems like she had a fight
with her boyfriend.

They broke up.
Then she had a fight with her parents...

- and decided to run away from home--
-Janet?

generation gap
or whatever the hell it was.

Sit down. lt's not the right time
but l need to talk to you.

A hundred miles later
she's curled up next to me...

They are going to change my route.
l won't be coming this way anymore.

l looked down at this sweet little
1 6-year-old thing...

The same route for three years.
The change isn't so bad.

l turned my rig around
and l took her straight home--

Do you know how many times
l've come here? l've counted: 1 56.

You should have seen the look
on her parents' face.

- Fifty bucks pal.
- They screwed us man.

Damn lmlach. We would have been
better off with Clancy.

Ohlman Anderson Ellis--
who needs 'em?

- lf we still had Maholovich--
- Yeah but you don't.

- You see there's a code l live by.
- Because it's over. l gotta go now.

- Montreal's gonna take it. Wanna bet?
- A strict ethical code. l believe it.

- So come on-- rack 'em up.
- You rack 'em up.

- l practice it.
- Okay ten bucks.

l never regret it
not a minute-- never.

No sir.

Okay Glenn l'm ready to start.

Yeah l'll give you the whole
thing from the top and when we get--

l'll just hit the "record"button
and you can start.

Are you all set? Here we go.

Stand by.

Ready? Here we go.

Three two--

l was fascinated by the country as such.
l flew north from Churchill...

to Coral Harbour on Southampton
lsland at the end of September.

Snow had begun to fall and the country
was freshly covered by it.

Some of the lakes
were frozen around the edges...

but toward the center of the lake you
could still see the clear clear water.

Flying over this country
you could look down and see...

various shades of green in the water
and you could see the lake bottoms...

and it was
a most fascinating experience.

l remember l was up in the cockpit
with the pilot...

and l was forever looking out
left and right...

and l could see ice floes
over Hudson Bay...

and l was always looking
for polar bears or seals to spot.

but unfortunately
there were none.

And as we flew along
the east coast of Hudson Bay--

- this flat country frightened me...
- l don't know. Let me say this again.

- l don't go for this northmanship.
- because it just seemed endless.

We just seemed going into nowhere.

And the further north we went
the more monotonous.

But l see it as a kind of a game--
this northmanship thing.

People say "Well were you
ever up at the North Pole?"

l say "l did
a dogsled trip of 22 days"...

and the other fellow says
"Well l did one of 30 days. "

Perhaps they would see themselves--

Sure the North's changed my life.
l can't conceive...

of anyone being
in close touch with the North...

whether he lived there all the time
or simply travelled it...

month after month
year after--

l can't conceive of such a person
being really untouched by the North.

When l left in 1 965--
at least left the job--

lt was not like there was some
special merit some virtue...

to being in the North
or some special virtue...

in having been
with the primitive people.

You know what special virtue
is there in that?

lt is most diffiicult to describe.

lt was extreme observation.
This is very true.

l knew very well l could not go anywhere
except for a mile or two walking.

l always think of the long summer nights
when the snow had melted...

the lakes were open and the geese
and ducks had started to fly home.

During that time
the sun would set...

and when there was still
the last shimmer in the sky...

l would walk out
to one of those lakes...

and watch those ducks and geese
just fly around peacefully...

or sitting on the water...

and l felt that l was
almost part of that country--

part of that peaceful surrounding--
and l wished that it would never end.

This is Glenn Gould and this program is
called "The ldea of North."

Let's talk about the radio documentaries
you made for the CBC.

Two of your programs "The ldea
of North" and "The Latecomers"...

are both about the idea of solitude...

as it affects people living
in Northern Canada.

ln fact all of those programs deal
to some degree with solitude.

l've made five programs that have
taken 300 or 400 hours of studio time.

Number one was as you mentioned
"The ldea of North."

Two was " Latecomers."
Three was "Stokowski."

Four is one we're just mixing now
on Casals--

"Casals: A Portrait for Radio."

l'm doing one next year on Schoenberg
and there's one that's lain around...

for a year and a half.

lt's a program about the Mennonites
called "Quiet in the Land"...

and that's the ultimate
in community isolation.

So next l want to do a comedy
about an isolated man...

because l'm sick and tired
of all these profound statements.

Well radio itself is
a solitary experience.

Why does it interest you as a medium?

l'd like to deal with this
as sensibly as l can.

lt's a big question.
lt's an important question.

l don't know
what the effective ratio would be...

but l've always had
a sort of intuition...

that for every hour you spend
with other human beings...

you need X number of hours alone.

Now what that X represents
l don't really know--

whether it be two and seven-eighths
or seven and two-eighths--

but it's a substantial ratio.

Radio is something that's been
very close to me since l was a child...

something l listen to
virtually nonstop.

l mean it's wallpaper for me.

l sleep with the radio on
in fact.

Now l'm incapable of sleeping
without the radio on...

ever since l gave up Nembutal.

Does it affect your dreams?

Sure insofar as if there are
broadcasts on the hour...

l will pick up the bulletins
and dream them...

and in the morning if there's
a boat that's just gone down...

l'll think "Gee that was on odd dream
about the Titanic l had last night."

And l will have
of course gone through it.

Maybe your feelings about solitude
come from your Nordic temperament.

l think that's certainly part of it.
lt's always been an ambition of mine...

which l'll probably
never get around to realizing...

to spend at least one winter
north of the Arctic Circle.

Anyone can go there in the summer
when the sun is up...

but l want to go there
when the sun is down l really do...

and so help me
l'm going to do it one of these times.

l've been saying this
for five or six years now...

and every year
the schedule gets in the way.

Well l hope you do.
Thank you very much Mr. Gould.

Mr. Gould thank you
for the interview yesterday.

l would just like some
further clarification if l may.

That's good. Where am l?

Okay here we are.

Now if it's really true
that you attach little importance...

to the actual technique
of playing the piano...

how is it that you have managed
to attain such a level of skill at it?

Well that is to say
don't you think it's depressing...

for all the young pianists
of the world to know this?

l really want to thank you
from the bottom of my heart...

for arranging for me to have
this chance to interview you finally.

And before we begin the interview...

l also want to give you
a great big thank you...

on behalf of all of our readers.

These are tough questions.
They're gonna come up.

People are gonna watch the play.
They're gonna ask me.

Glenn Gould is apparently incredibly
interested in technology...

but really wasn't technology
just a reason...

or a way for him
to keep the world at arm's length?

lt's just a big smoke screen
isn't it?

Let me ask you this:

What is Glenn Gould really like
when he's not in the studio?

l mean what do you like to do when
you're outside of a recording booth?

What kind of lifestyle do you lead?

Mr. Gould you are a perfectionist
when it comes to recording.

So why is it when you are recording
you place little importance...

on whether you have a piano with
noisy works or a chair that squeaks?

Why when you seem obsessed
with this idea of musical perfection...

do you hum as you play?

Well--

l forgot the question.

l mean what aspect of your life...

has nothing to do...

with-- with-with...

anything that has to do with...

classical musical music?

Years ago you said that you were gonna
leave public performance...

because you wanted to compose...

and we've waited
and the years have passed...

and there's no body of work--
l mean musically speaking--

and people are waiting.

How do you feel about all that?

Would you teach me piano?

What about children?
l mean have you thought about that?

What do you look for in a woman?

Or maybe l should just say
what are you waiting for?

One more question if l may
out of curiosity.

Why do you insist
on conducting interviews by phone?

Mr. Gould you stated that in
our culture there are economic...

and social forces at play
which have already rendered...

concert halls obsolete.
Furthermore you expected...

these halls to disappear
by the year 2000.

ln which way does this statement
allow you to look anew...

upon the mechanics and the economy
of the music market...

and on the subservience of
the artist to this system?

Well um--

Obsolete.

l know.
You left the concert platform.

lt's been talked about
it's been explained...

all the reasons
but when you think about it...

on the day that it happened
it was about fear wasn't it?

While you consider this new
cultural order as the emancipation...

of the artist it seems in my opinion
that this vision encourages...

a techno-hegemony and
the exploitation of the artist...

by capitalistic mega-structures
don't you think?

l've asked you about your music
l've asked you about your family...

l've asked you about your children
what you had for dinner...

l've asked you what you do
when you go to a movie.

Mr. Gould you've stated...

that the concert hall is becoming...

more and more
of an economic liability...

but that you foresee this problem
rectifying itself by the year 2000.

Why?

Okay fine.

Are you homosexual?

Why didn't you answer my calls?

Why did you stop calling me?

You know l am deeply in love
with a certain beautiful girl.

l asked her to marry me
but she turned me down...

but l still love her more
than anything in the world...

and every minute l can spend with her
is pure heaven.

But l don't want to be a bore...

and if l can only get her to tell me
when l could see her it would help.

She has a standing invitation to let me
take her anywhere she'd like to go...

anytime but it seems to me
she never has time for me.

Please if you see her
ask her to let me know...

when l can see her
and when l can--

Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani arrived
in Ottawa today to begin...

a series of discussions across Canada
about the future of oil pricing.

- The powerful Saudi oil minister--
- Howie thanks for holding.

lt's me your fairy godmother.
You just cleared 30 grand in your sleep.

1 2000 Texas Gulf at 46. Call me
and let me know how the options open.

Sorry sir. What's on the recommender?
Play it safe.

l'm sticking with the big one.
Oil that is black gold Texas tea.

Across the board: Gulf Dome Petrofina.
Take your pick hold on for the ride.

We're going through the roof here.
l'm looking at 3 2 by the bell. Okay.

Sotex Resources?
No never heard of it.

Yeah l'll check the charts.

Yeah but again
l'm telling you oil right now...

is as close to a sure thing as we got in
this business and it's crazy to sell.

Sotex. No.

Got nothing on it. Sounds risky to me.
You want it you got it.

- Who's that? Who is it?
- Glenn Gould.

l'll just ask you to remember
in the days and weeks ahead...

this was your bright idea.

That's my job. Later.

- The piano player?
- Yeah Glenn Gould the piano player.

Okay got a buy for you:
1 0000 STX Gould.

- What's the special of the day?
- Canstar Oil and Gas.

- Eleven and three quarters.
- Mr. Mackie lunched with the minister.

There's an incentive program
in the air.

- Well l don't buy it.
- He's in for 90 thou.

The Pormack brothers are in tight with
the Saudis. They've mopped up all week.

So as long as this embargo holds--

- lt's going up up and away.
- Anything else Mr. Gould?

Yes l'll have a cup of coffee
and a telephone.

- Everybody's buying.
- l'm afraid l can't agree.

What do you mean?
Do you know something?

l had a small word with Sheik Yamani's
bodyguard at the airport and--

- And what?
- Now...

this one has to be kept
strictly between you and me.

STX-- Sotex Resources?
Never heard of it.

The sheik has and he's about to deliver
them a major explorations contract.

This is entirely entre nous.
This is just between you and me.

Sotex? Hang on one second.

- Here it is.
- Little stock called Sotex. Hear of it?

Sotex ten and a third.
Get me 20000 shares.

Mines natural resources
stuff from up north you know.

Listen Sheik Yamani is very interested
in this company.

The TSE dropped 40 points as a result
of this morning's announcement...

and the Dow fell back
an alarming 7 2 points.

One of the few bright spots
in the midst of this doom and gloom...

was a tiny company
called Sotex Resources...

which closed at 1 5.3.

Ten and a quarter. Ditch it for
Christ's sake. What are you waiting for?

Yeah Howie unfortunately
we are looking at a bit of a dip.

Down 1 2 points. Well that's the way
the game works. You know the risk.

Sotex? Sure.
You want a piece?

Look what do you want me to say?

You lost l lost everybody lost.
Take it up with OPEC.

Whatever you say Glenn.

You know l have to confess you were my
only client who made a buck last week.

And a pretty good one too.
Hey listen you gave up touring.

Maybe you should give up playing piano
altogether and just play the market.

That's right a virtuoso.

Yeah l'll talk to you soon.

Piano player.

"Wanted;:friendly
companionably reclusive...

socially unacceptable
alcoholically abstemious...

tirelessly talkative
zealously unzealous...

spiritually intense
minimally turquoise...

maximally ecstatic loon...

seeks moth or moths
with similar equalities...

for purposes of telephonic seduction...

Tristan-esque trip-taking--

Tristan-esque--
Tristan-esque trip-taking...

and permanent flame-fluttering.

No photos required.
Financial status immaterial.

All ages and noncompetitive
vocations considered.

Applicants should furnish cassettes
of sample conversation...

notarized certification
of marital disinclination...

references re: low-decibel
vocal consistency...

"itinery" and--

itinerary and sample receipts...

from previous successfully completed
out-of-town moth flights.

All submissions treated confidentially.
No paws need apply.

The auditions
for all promising candidates...

will be conducted to
and on Anaton Penisend Newfoundland."

Toronto Star Classified.
Good afternoon.

Valium;:a minor tranquilizer...

used to relieve symptoms
of tension and anxiety.

Avoid using this medication
in conjunction with antidepressants.

Trifluoperazine;:an antipsychotic...

prescribed for moderate to severe
depression and anxiety.

This medication may cause
an inability to sleep.

Do not take in conjunction
with barbiturates.

Like other barbiturates...

pentobarbital acts by interfering
with nerve impulses to the brain.

Long-term use
may result in addiction.

Side effects include
drowsiness lethargy...

and a general allergic reaction.

Librax is most commonly used...

to soothe the anxiety often associated
with gastrointestinal disorders.

The effects of Librax
may be inhibited...

by certain medications used in
the treatment of high blood pressure.

Aldomet is used to control
high blood pressure.

A mild sedative effect or transient
headache are possible side effects.

Aldomet will increase the effectiveness
of other antihypertensives.

Clonidine acts in the brain...

by causing the dilation
of certain blood vessels.

Side effects include drowsiness
dizziness headache and fatigue.

lndocin;:a nonsteroidal agent...

used to treat various forms
ofjoint and muscle inflammation.

lt can produce
severe stomach upsets...

rashes itching
and even a ringing in the ears.

Hydrochlorothiazide;:

an antihypertensive used in
the treatment of high blood pressure.

Side effects include headache
restlessness and a depressed sex drive.

Septra;:an anti-infective used to treat
infections of the urinary tract.

May cause itching rashes
drug-fever or arthritis-like pain.

Fiorinal;:
a nonnarcotic pain reliever...

can lead to drug dependence
or addiction.

lnteraction with phenylbutazone
may cause stomach irritation.

Phenylbutazone;:
an anti-inflammatory...

often used to treat pain
in the shoulder due to bursitis.

Prolonged use may lead
to excessive water retention.

Chlorothiazide;:a diuretic used in
the treatment of high blood pressure...

or in situations where it is necessary
to rid the body of excess water.

Avoid using in conjunction with drugs
that have a stimulant effect.

Allopurinol;:
an anti-gout medication.

A major side effect is exhaustion
and a desire to sleep.

Avoid tasks
that require concentration.

He didn't talk to me
about drugs very much...

except these instances
when he would excuse himself...

and then-- it was interesting.

Of course there was a bathroom
in this hotel suite...

and l asked him
if l could use the bathroom.

These sessions went on for six
and seven hours and so l did--

l remember going in there and seeing
lined up on the wall...

all these different bottles
and l came out and l said--

l said "Glenn surely you're
not taking all this stuff are you?"

He said "Well no not all at once"
and sort of laughed.

l don't understand that in him.

l never understood that and he--

l didn't have the feeling
that he was acting in a--

in a way that had been produced
by a drug.

He was neither speeding
nor was he sort of you know...

not in control of his
any kinds of anything.

And here was this lineup of bottles.

Mr. Gould we've covered
a lot of the topics...

that l wanted to cover with you.

But could we perhaps move on
to some of the more personal questions?

Tell me do you believe
in the supernatural...

or in ESP?

You know no one's ever
asked me that before.

Do l believe in the supernatural?
Of course.

Yes... and no.

That is to say...

l don't hold with this notion...

that one's mind can be read
like a book...

or some such thing.

But that there are...

certain inexplicable coincidences
in the world...

seems to me patently obvious.

Have you ever experienced
any of those coincidences?

Could you tell me about it?

Yes several times...

the oddest being when l was
very young-- nine years old.

l should preface this by saying...

that l've always been fascinated
by dreams...

and the kind of feeling...

that they leave one with.

There's a certain horrible feeling...

tragic sense of loss...

that one can derive only from a dream.

Anyway at this time...

l was about nine years old--

Pardon me.

About nine years old
and l had this peculiar dream...

in which l saw myself covered
with red spots.

The next morning
when l mentioned it to my mother...

she'd had exactly the same dream.

Now at that time
there was no hint of measles...

no epidemic no worry of any kind...

so the dream certainly
couldn't have been affected...

by any external common suggestion.

And yet four days later
l got the measles.

Very interesting.
Tell me continuing...

what do you believe
regarding afterlife?

Well l was brought up
a Presbyterian...

though l stopped being a churchgoer...

at about the age of 1 8.

l've always felt
tremendously strongly...

that...

there is indeed a hereafter...

with which we must all reckon...

in light of which we must
live our lives...

and there is that inevitability
of the transformation of the spirit.

As a consequence...

l find all here-and-now philosophies
quite repellent--

lax if you will.

l realize however
that there's a great temptation...

to formulate a comfortable theory
about eternal life...

so as to reconcile oneself
to the inevitability of death.

But l'd like to think
that's not what l'm doing.

l don't believe l'm trying
to create for myself...

a deliberate self-reassuring process.

lt just seems intuitively right.

l've never had to work very hard
of convincing myself of a hereafter.

After all don't you think it seems
infinitely more plausible...

than its opposite: oblivion?

HelloJessie it's me.

l wonder could indulge me for a moment?
l'm in a bit of a state.

Well l was driving along...

when l suddenly remembered
that story about Schoenberg.

Schoenberg.

Remember he was obsessed
with numerology numbers and so forth.

So much so that when he turned 65...

he was terrified
that he was going to die...

because his age was divisible by 1 3.

So he consulted an astrologer friend
who assured him that he would survive...

until the next time
the numbers conspired against him.

"Well great" he thought
"another 1 3 years.

l'll be fine until l'm 7 8."

Eleven years later however
when he was 7 6...

the astrologer wrote back to warn him
that it's not only numbers...

that are divisible by 1 3
that he ought to watch out for...

but also those whose digits
add up to 1 3.

For example 7 6.

Needless to say he was petrified
but not for long.

Three months later he died...

July 13 1951 .

l can't help it.

l'm 49 tomorrow...

and Schoenberg's
still talking to me.

Jessie?
Jessie are you there?

The week before he died
l remember it in great detail.

And it's funny that--

lt's peculiar that l do remember it
in such detail...

because many of the times
our conversations were light...

and just banter
between two good friends.

But that week before Glenn died...

everything was serious.

He couldn't control the birthday...

that was coming up--
the celebration.

He couldn't--
He seemed to think...

everything was slipping away
from his control...

and he was obsessed with this feeling
that he wondered--

would people recognize him
and come to a funeral...

and we'd never talked about anything
like that before.

But he said that he wanted--

He didn't-- He would like to be
like Huckleberry Finn...

and come to his own funeral...

because he didn't think
that there would be people who came.

He didn't think that the world
loved him like they did...

and he knew about how
the records were selling...

he knew that they were very--

thatJapanese people bought
a lot of them...

that people in Central Europe...

and in Asia
bought a lot of them...

but he just didn't think...

that he was that important...

and it never surfaced that
to me at least...

that he felt his own...

fame.

His humility was beyond everything.

And when l saw the people pour into...

St. Paul's Cathedral...

l couldn't help but believe
"Oh Glenn you were wrong...

for probably the first time
in your life."

You know 'cause he always liked
to think he never was wrong.

HelloJessie? lt's me.

l was just out driving along
and guess what came on the radio.

Here.

Well?

Yes sure it's one of
the French suites but which one?

And there you have it--
Johann Sebastian Bach...

the Saraband
from French Suite No. 1 ...

performed with the unmistakable genius
of the young Glenn Gould.

Tragically Mr. Gould passed away
this morning at the age of 50.

He died in hospital in Toronto
after suffering a stroke last week.

Since that time
he'd been on a life support system...

and never regained consciousness.

ln the fall of 1 97 7...

the U.S. government sent two ships
Voyagers l and ll into space...

where they are eventually destined
to reach the edge of our galaxy.

ln the hope that someone somewhere
would intercept these craft...

a variety of messages
were placed on board...

that would be capable of communicating
the existence...

of an intelligent creature...

living on a planet called Earth.

Among these was included a short prelude
byJohann Sebastian Bach...

as performed by Glenn Gould.

Voyagers l and ll
left our solar system respectively...

in 1987 and 1989.