Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: excellent Bach and Viennese School but...
Comment: If you are looking for good Beethoven or mozart interpretations, search in somewhere else, otherwise, you will be very disapointed. Mr. Gould did not like these composers and his ungangly playing in their works evidence that. Well, nobody is perfect, anyway...
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Summary: Beautiful box.
Comment: If you don't have any CDs with classical music yet, but would really have some, then this box is really a wonderful way to start with. Glenn Gould was a genius in his own way with a vanguard attitude to the interpretation of the "holy" works. If you know the pieces well, but never heard the Gould's versions, may be it's time to breathe in some fresh fragrance from the known source.
Pro: you have the complete studio recordings of Glenn Gould with original LP packaging artwork.
Contra: the CDs are packaged direct into carton without any inlays neither of soft paper nor of plastic. And it's a pity, because if you're going to listen to them often, then you can scratch the CDs. And if you're a CD/record collector then you don't have lots of spare place, that's why you won't take 70 empty CD-boxes in order to handle them properly...
Nevertheless, you will have much joy with it!
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Summary: Gould's wonderful legacy
Comment: The box, the booklet and everything related to the presentation of this collection is fine. The recordings are complete, with good information provided. The CD sleeves copy those from the original LP recordings. Sadly, as they are much smaller, you can hardly read the back cover original comments. But this is only a minor point. Definitely, this is a must for any piano aficionados.
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Summary: An Amazing Journey
Comment: Having grown up and studied music for a while in Toronto, one can get overwhelmed with people who claim to have known Gould's mother, father, piano technician, teacher or the man himself. Even more than a quarter of a century after his death, people still try to humanize Gould by finding professionals who feel that they are qualified to give him clinical diagnoses. Though it is understandable that one may feel the necessity to link themselves with this Titan, it becomes evident that no one could have known or understood the mind of Gould.
This survey of Gould's recordings is one of the greatest musical journeys that is out there today. Though he was renowned for his interpretations of J.S. Bach and Schoenberg, it becomes evident that he had a vast, vast repertoire that spanned from the early music of Gibbons to his contemporaries. He also discovered and took interest in music that is rarely heard. Gould's Stauss disc and his recordings Grieg and Bizet are also of interest. In this journey, I was amazed at his Beethoven interpretations. I have never heard such humour in his music. His Bach remains unchallenged to this day. There simply isn't a bolder recording of the Toccata in c minor and the "a minor Fugue," from the first book of the Well-Tempered Clavier.
The discs where he discusses his insights on various matters relating to music (pianos, touring, and critics) gives us another fascinating glimpse of this artist.
This box set is definitely one of those things I would take to a desert island.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Get it while you can
Comment: Glenn Gould lives up to the sound bite given by George Szell -- "That nut is a genius."
Gould's interpretations are controversial. Some detest his singing along with his playing. Others think he is too mannered, too idiosyncratic in his interpretations, still others regard him as too romantic, especially in his Bach.
However, more than anyone except perhaps Wanda Landowska, he is responsible for the revival of interest in the keyboard music of Bach. Yes, there are other superb interpreters of Bach, among which I particularly like Rosilyn Tureck. But if fascinating insights are your cup of tea, you must own and listen to Gould's Bach.
I also find his Beethoven, especially the late sonatas, to be insightful and revelatory.
This collection provides the entire discography of Gould's Columbia/CBS/Sony studio performances. Yes, I already own many of these performances grouped differently in various iterations and rereleases. Yes, it is sometimes easier to listen to other pressings that combine the works of the same composer into a multi-disc set.
But for those of us who grew up in the LP vinyl era, seeing the original covers replicated and having a chance to reread original album notes is a pleasure not to be passed up.
Amazon has made this set available at an extremely attractive price and in a very well done package. I congratulate them and thank them.
I strongly recommend lovers of the art of keyboard, and especially those like myself who appreciate the insights of Glenn Gould, to buy this set.
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