Word: pianists
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...year was 1958, and the man of the hour was a rangy young pianist from Texas named Van Cliburn. As the winner of the first Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Cliburn was front-page news, the cultural vanquisher of the Red Menace; in New York City he was given a ticker-tape parade. At the age of 23, Cliburn found himself the most famous pianist since Paderewski, his very name synonymous with piano playing. His future as a major figure in American music seemed secure...
...performance, however, suffered from an obvious lack of rehearsal, with the pianist and the conductor, Vassily Sinaisky, unable to agree on basic matters of tempo: Cliburn finished the first movement a good half-beat ahead of the band. The andantino movement went well enough, but disaster struck in the blazing finale, which fell apart in a tug-of-war -- Cliburn pulling ahead, Sinaisky dragging back. The battle increased in intensity until, all at once, Cliburn suddenly appeared to lose interest, and the piece almost collapsed near the end in a welter of notes...
...Cliburn watcher, therefore, could really have been surprised when the pianist failed to answer the bell for Round 2. The Rachmaninoff, which he says is his favorite concerto, is even more difficult than the Tchaikovsky. Cliburn calls it "a one-act opera in which the soloist sings all the roles...
...with collegues, friends and family give the film a quasi-documentary touch. The conversations soon reveal that even the people closet to Gould could not explain his numerous eccentricities, a fact that leaves many questions unanswered yet seems appropriate at the same time. Rather than trying to psychoanalyze the pianist, the film seems content to keep the theme of Gould open to interoperation. The film derives much of its humor from the ongoing bewilderment and second-guessing of his friends. Why did Gould insist upon wearing a scarf, hat and gloves throughout the summer? Why did he set the piano...
Colm Feore, in the role of Gould, plays the pianist with a believable mixture of neuroticism, genius and vulnerability. Especially noteworthy, the vignette "Gould on Gould" shows Gould interviewing himself. The quick-fire repartee and witticisms show the sharp, self-deprecating humor and intelligence that were his trademark...