[f_minor] GG birthday thoughts

[Houpt, Fred]

I made an error.  My mind must have been very tired when I wrote this
post.  In fact my grandfather was a furrier, just like Glenn's dad ( I
incorrectly wrote that GG's dad was a tailor - he was in fact a
furrier).  I asked my dad if the name "Gold" meant anything to him?  He
said no, but that I had to remember that since he himself was born in
1930 he wouldn't have a recollection of that name. I said to him that in
the 1930's, Toronto was a much smaller city and the number of furriers
was also small in number and that it was very highly likely that his dad
and mom (who helped my grandfather in that business) knew all the
furriers in Toronto.  I therefore draw a conclusion that it is highly
likely that my grandparents knew of Mr. Gold (becoming Gould).  Glenn
was asked several times in his life if he had Jewish blood lines and he
found it humorous enough to answer that he was Jewish during the war and
then not after it.  
 
Kind regards,
 
Fred Houpt
Toronto, Ontario

________________________________

From: f_minor [mailto:f_minor-bounces at glenngould.org] On Behalf Of f h
Sent: Sunday, September 23, 2012 3:05 PM
To: Discussion of the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould.
Subject: [f_minor] GG birthday thoughts


Good day all.  I was out and about this morning in the car and I
listened to an hour of CBC; Michael Enright had musicologist Robert
Harris on and they did part one a multiple hour thing on GG.  It was
lovely though I must say that Harris made a big mistake by saying that
no one else plays the piano and hums.  Enirght corrected this by saying
that Oscar Peterson hummed.  I would add that so does Keith Jarrett and
so did Fats Waller and a bunch of other jazz piano titans.  One thing
that I did learn from Harris and this was totally new to me: the family
name Gould is a made up or altered name.  Glenn's father was a tailor in
the 1930's here in Toronto, where the majority of tailors were Jews.
Being a WASP, GG's father perhaps grew tired of people assuming that Mr.
Gold was a Jewish tailor, he amended the name to sound more Christian or
non-Jewish....and made it "Gould".  This was amazing enough to me but I
will tell you a funny side story to this.  My dad's father was a Jewish
tailor in Toronto in the 1930's.  I now wonder if he knew if Mr. Gould
(or Gold)?  How very odd.  I will ask my dad if he can recall any such
connection though at my dad's age I doubt that he'd remember.  What a
very small world.
 
Happy Birthday Glenn: you are more beloved now than ever.  The
vibrations you set in motion from your mind, your fingers, your piano,
continue to reverate and move outwards......
 
kind regards,
 
Fred Houpt
 
P.S., it is my intention to finally buy a digital camera maybe this week
and I do owe myself the promise to go visit GG's grave site, maybe with
camera in hand.  I just know it will be an emotional discovery.
 
[snip]
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