Sometimes the sounds you know best are what remind you most of the place you grew up.
I was raised in Toronto, on St. Clair Avenue West. One of those memory-triggering sounds for me is something I heard every day: the sound of the 512 streetcar.
Another one is the sound of Glenn Gould playing the piano.
I used to take the St. Clair streetcar all the time, and as it drew close to Yonge St., I'd glance out the window and see Fran's Restaurant. It didn't look like much; it was an old-fashioned diner, but if you were a music student it was an important place.
As I trundled by in the Red Rocket, I'd picture a man going into Fran's. He'd be hunched over against the cold no matter what time of year it was, bundled up in a scarf, heavy woolen gloves and his signature beret. In my imagination it was always two in the morning and, well, you may know the story – it is legendary. That man would have been Glenn Gould.
Today, whenever I hear a Gould recording, even if the music was written in the 18th century in Germany, for me it's the sound of 21 St. Clair Avenue W. It's the sound of Toronto.
Fran's Restaurant is no longer there, and Gould has been gone for thirty years, but he's become immortal.
It feels like we're always celebrating Glenn Gould. How un-Canadian, in a way, and also painfully Canadian, too. But why not: he's a legend. He's by far the biggest name in classical music that Canada has ever produced, and easily one of the most famous Canadians ever, revered far and wide.
Glenn Gould would've turned 80 this coming Tuesday.
Happy Birthday Glenn Gould.
Paolo Pietropaolo is the host of In Concert on CBC Radio 2.This week, we celebrate the 80th birthday of Glenn Gould.
Sunday at 11:00 AM (11:30 NT)
Related:
Enter to win Glenn Gould's complete Bach collection on Sony
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra releases historic recording with Glenn Gould