In 1955, the 22-year old Canadian pianist Glenn Gould arrived at the Studios of Columbia Records to record the — not much better known — Goldberg Variations of J.S. Bach. Sixty-six years later, the recording is still in print. It launched Gould’s career, and in 1981, he book ended that career with another recording of the same work. It was to be his last recording.
We’ll look at Gould, Bach, and the Goldbergs this Sunday night.