[f_minor] CD318 and the Chickering

[Elaine Parks]

Hi again guys,

Oh dear, perhaps I made it sound worse than it was; the piano IS on a raised platform
and there is a display on the wall beside it talking about GG and the piano
and it is more or less protected by the cord barrier (thank goodness!) but I'd
gone in expecting EVERYONE inside to have knowledge of this cherished instrument
and its location within the building. It took me much wandering about asking folks
where it was until one person headed me in the right direction! It is a rather confusing
building with various levels connected by spiralling staircases. Needless to say,
I got a workout that evening! (But not too much for an f_minorite...)

The lovely old Chickering is of course at the CBC building downtown in the lobby
of the GG Studio. There's a sign saying please don't touch it or rest your drinks
on it but it also says this is GG's "childhood piano" which is certainly wrong as he
"met" it through his girlfriend when he was in his late teens. I emailed them down
there saying the wording on the sign was misleading but I don't think it has been changed.

Oh well!!!

I took a pic of it, if anyone wants to see the Chickering. (What a marvellous name,
by the way, don't you think?)

Elaine


--------------------------------------------
On Sat, 1/18/14, maryellen jensen <maryellenjensen28 at hotmail.com> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [f_minor] les chaises (the chairs)
 To: "f_minor at glenngould.org" <f_minor at glenngould.org>
 Received: Saturday, January 18, 2014, 8:35 PM
  
 
 The Chair has
 become more important than the piano: that's
 hagiography.
 
 Mary
 
 
 From: pzumst at bluewin.ch
 To: f_minor at glenngould.org
 Date: Sat, 18 Jan 2014 21:24:23 +0100
 Subject: Re: [f_minor] les chaises (the
 chairs)
 

 Er. ‘ang on there for a minit.  2012 was Annus
 Mirabilis with golden 
 throats and lots of blahblah and while Elaine Parks tried to
 find The Chair in 
 Ottawa it was basically hidden from view and she had to ask
 a worker where she 
 could find it ? Eh, Canada, is that how you treat your
 National Treasures ? Ye 
 Gods, how appauling....
 
 
  
 
 From: maryellen
 jensen 
 Sent: Saturday, January 18, 2014 9:13 PM
 To: f_minor at glenngould.org
 
 Subject: Re: [f_minor] les chaises (the
 chairs)
  
 
 Happy New Year Elaine
 
 The little wooden chair with the maple 
 leaf on its back has certainly become "The Chair"
 but as is now known there were 
 others. Why people are so willing to become
 'believers' in mythology or as some 
 would say "hagiography" is beyond my ken.
 
 Showing my age here but yes 
 indeed the leaf back chair is certainly one of a quartet -
 including a 
 table - of a "bridge set"; showing my age here
 because I bought a fabulous 
 "bridge set" second hand (for a few dollars) on
 the Upper West Side NYC way back 
 in 1984, the colour scheme was green and black and the table
 too. Unbelievable 
 as it might seem, I had to transport the entire set on the
 subway to where I was 
 living. Ah but one had so much energy...  I miss being able
 to find such 
 things now. 
 
 Dismaying to
 read of your experience in Ottawa. 
 Eeek.
 
 Cheers (or
 chairs),
 Mary
 
 
 Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 
 17:27:10 -0800
 
 > From: elaine19c at yahoo.ca
 > To:
 f_minor at glenngould.org
 > 
 Subject: Re: [f_minor] les chaises (the chairs)
 > 
 > Hi 
 everyone,
 > 
 > I read
 somewhere or it was in one of the docs that 
 the chairs were typical bridge set chairs
 > which means they were probably 
 bought in a set of four. If Lorne has or had one, that would
 leave
 > 2 
 others out there somewhere, if not trashed at some point!!!
 Wouldn't it be fun 
 to find them in a 
 > second-hand shop??!!
 (I always keep an eye out for 
 them here in Ontario!!!)
 > 
 > I visited CD318 in Ottawa last year, 
 cordoned off in a corner of the National Arts Centre,
 looking
 > a bit sad. 
 It took me a half hour to find it, only one worker knew what
 I was talking 
 about.
 > 
 > Cheers,
 (or 'chairs")
 > 
 > Elaine
 > 
 --------------------------------------------
 > On Fri, 1/17/14, maryellen 
 jensen <maryellenjensen28 at hotmail.com> wrote:
 > 
 > Subject: 
 Re: [f_minor] les chaises (the chairs)
 >
 To: "f_minor at glenngould.org" 
 <f_minor at glenngould.org>
 >
 Received: Friday, January 17, 2014, 9:30 
 PM
 
 > The two chairs
 >
 "constructed" by 'Bert', GG's
 father,
 > 
 were not built by Bert - they were adapted for Glenn
 > Gould's needs. Bert 
 Gould didn't invent the chairs -
 > he
 adapted already existing chairs for 
 his son. 
 > 
 > The
 other 'aluminum'
 > chair which
 was made 
 specifically for Glenn Gould was
 >
 ordered by Walter Homburger for Glenn 
 Gould. The reason why
 > was breakage of
 the wooden chair and the weight of 
 the
 > wooden chair on airline trips. All
 that was when Glenn Gould
 > 
 was touring - which of course he quit doing in the early
 > 
 1960's...
 > 
 >
 Mary   
 > 
 > From: 
 kjb at sympatico.ca
 > To:
 f_minor at glenngould.org
 > Date: Thu, 16
 
 >
 To 
 the best of my knowledge, his father had
 > made only 2.
 > 
  
 > 
 > Why 2 though, one as a spare?
 > 
 
 >  
 > 
 > When someone constructs something like
 that out 
 of wood, you
 > do not usually construct a
 spare (as a just in 
 case).
 > 
 >  
 > 
 > I'm relatively
 certain that the 
 chair being only 14
 > inches off the
 floor, was not made for anyone other 
 than
 > Glenn!
 > 
 >  
 > 
 > Regards,
 > 
 
 >  
 > 
 > Karl
 >  
 > 
 > 
 > 
 
 > From: pzumst at bluewin.ch
 > To:
 > 
 f_minor at glenngould.org
 > Date: Thu, 16
 Jan
 > 2014 18:55:55 
 +0100
 > Subject: Re: [f_minor]
 > 109
 > 
 > 
 > 
 > 
 > 
 > Speaking of chairs,
 is it true or false that 
 his dad
 > made more than one ? I seem to
 have read that
 > 
 somewhere...there seems to be a lot of urban myth and
 > hagiography around 
 that chair....
 > 
 >
 
 >  
 > 
 > From: 
 maryellen
 > jensen 
 >
 Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2014 6:45 
 PM
 > To: f h ; f_minor at glenngould.org
 > 
 > Subject: Re: 
 [f_minor] 109
 >  
 >
 
 > "and did you notice that he 
 put
 > something on the chair?  I'd
 never seen that
 > 
 before."
 > 
 >
 Haha Fred,
 > that's the stuffing of
 the chair 
 tumbling out and when
 > all that stuffing
 was finally gone GG sat on just 
 the T-bar
 > of the chair... not so great
 for his coccyx.
 > 
 > 
 Mary  
 > 
 > 
 > 
 > 
 > Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 
 07:01:56 -0800
 > From:
 > boyboy_8 at yahoo.com
 >
 To:
 
 > 
 > Sounds like it was
 done in mono.  
 Too bad we
 > can't hear this done by
 him in stereo, or did he do 
 one
 > in that form?  The technique is of
 course amazing.  I 
 like
 > the way his body swirled around in
 circles and did you
 > 
 notice that he put something on the chair?  I'd
 never
 > seen that 
 before.  
 > 
 > 
 > 
 > 
 > 
 > On 
 Saturday,
 > January 11, 2014 3:50:25 PM,
 michael macelletti
 > 
 <mmacelletti at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
 > 
 > 
 > 
 > 
 
 > 
 > just listened to
 gould's beethoven sonata no. 30 on
 > 
 vol 4 , so you want to write a fugue, of the old vhs
 glenn
 > gould 
 complete 16 vol collection. ( still out of print
 > ???)   
 absolutely hair-raising type of exciting. those
 > sixths in the 
 variations,  wow !!  sure wish someone could
 > find that 
 performance somewhere on the net so everyone could
 > give it a 
 listen.  i simply have no idea how to do it.
 > 
 > 
 > 
 
 > 
 > 
 >  
 > 
 > 
 > 
 > 
 > 
 
 > 
 > 
 > 
 > 
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