[f_minor] In The Year Of The Water Dragon

[Pat]

G’day all

It would indeed be a crying shame if September 2012 passes by without any release of GG material on DVD whatsoever. I for one would be stunned and very dissapointed indeed having imagined things that did not come true. In any case nobody will talk about GW by then.

There are several logical reasons why it is very likely that we will see new GG material in 2012, contrary to Mary’s friendly claim that I might be seeing imaginary things. Fear not for my sanity, let me tell you why

Money
Bob mentioned it already, GG is still a cash cow for Sony/CBC, no matter what. For the wrong reasons and the false image of GG that people still have he is still selling. Aren’t people getting a bit sick of streamlined artists with a predictable repertoire these days ? Isn’t this one of the reasons we are here ?

The CBC pulled some of GG’s radio features off ubuweb because they are looking at “a potential loss of thousands of dollars”. There will be radio programs to celebrate the occasion and I doubt that the CBC will let the opportunity pass to have a look at the vaults to see what might be sellable.

Prestige
GG is the most famous classical musician of his native country , there will be celebrations, no doubt about that. And the interested public would want to buy what is on offer. Books, CDs and DVDs galore. The people in charge of GG’s legacy will not let that opportunity pass to cash in. Unfortunetly there will be myth-making and not much debunking and GG would be horrified by some of the things the talking heads will have to say about him but sadly this is part of the game. Can you imagine the pouring of ridicule of critics and fans over the heads of the people in charge who grandly celebrate his 80th but no complementary product in sight ? Heck, there would be reckoning !

Reputation
I am contradicting myself here a bit but apart from the Original Jacket Box Sony had a pretty bad track record of good new GG releases, especially on DVD. The only DVD currently on sale by Sony in Germany are the ‘81 Goldbergs. High time to bring GG’s visual legacy to the 21st century. They simply cannot afford to ignore the fact that here we have a performer who was keen on his TV appearences and an interest in new technology for his own use. GG’s TV broadcasts unavailable in 2012 is absolutely unthinkable, unless Sony wants to loose its reputation as self-proclaimed Guardian of GG’s legacy.

Demographics
The demographics of record buyers have changed. The times where an artist will sell millions of records in just weeks are over. Record companies need to reorient and ajust to a new demographic. A new category has sprung up which will be the ideal POS for GG products: The 50 quid man. Well-educated wealthy people between 40-early 60s who will cough up at least 50 quid at the cash register during their rare visits to a record store. This includes the classical crowd in general and a GG target audience in particular. Record companies are well advised to serve a wealthy niche these days. Record labels like Rhino found that out years ago, they are doing well, get brilliant reviews and are loved by fans and collectors alike.

So therefore I am convinced that in a top-secret underground facility in Cape Dorset audio and video wizards of prime rank are busy preparing an audiovisual GG feast to blow us all away ! Mary, any counter-arguments ?

Pat


From: maryellen jensen 
Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2011 11:47 PM
To: f_minor at glenngould.org 
Subject: Re: [f_minor] Genius Within DVD for Europe

Pat,

Hardly anything at all of any substance has been said about Genius Within (how does one wrestle with jello anyway?) and I would say that you are hallucinating. 

Michael Macelletti: I second your sincere outcry for all your reasons and perhaps a few more to boot. 

Mary




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From: pzumst at bluewin.ch
To: f_minor at glenngould.org
Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2011 20:24:42 +0100
Subject: [f_minor] Genius Within DVD for Europe


Dear f_minor

By now all that had to be said about Genius Within by those who have seen it has been said I reckon with the conclusion that the definitve documentary about GG has yet to be made.

Just for the record and in fairness to tthose who have not seen it yet a Code 2 version (Europe) on both DVD and Blu-Ray should be released on March 28th.  

Contrary to the North American version this one will only be 108 Mins, no word on extra features as of yet.

DVD Pre-Order info found at amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Genius-Within-DVD-Glenn-Gould/dp/B00450AFT2/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1297881707&sr=1-2

Blu-Ray version: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Genius-Within-Inner-Glenn-Blu-ray/dp/B004HZ5IGU/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1297881707&sr=1-1


I for one am convinced that a platoon of audio and video engineers is frantically working day and night cleaning, editing and rendering GG’s audiovisual legacy for a deluxe 12 DVD Box Set with tons of extras and previously unreleased material and a thick booklet for a release in 2012 and the CBC throwing in a few CDs with material previously unavailable in this format. Please tell me I am not hallucinating.

Pat




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