Recitalist, Chamber, Orchestral, Jazz
Gould’s perspective on art is often summed up by this 1962 quote:
“The justification of art is the internal combustion it ignites in the hearts of men and not its shallow, externalized, public manifestations. The purpose of art is not the release of a momentary ejection of adrenaline but is, rather, the gradual, lifelong construction of a state of wonder and serenity.”
““So at a certain point I said, ‘Benny, you know—you’re too hung up on the ****ddam clar-inet.’ So he looked up and said, ‘That’s what we play, isn’t it?’ I said, ‘No, I’m trying to play music.’ And a funny little thing occurred: he looked at me like it was the first time that he ever considered the idea that the clarinet was an instrument—a means by which you did something. He heard it—but then he went right back to talking about clarinet. To the end of his life, that was all he knew about.””