<html xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium)">
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Garamond;
panose-1:2 2 5 2 5 3 6 2 2 3;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial;}
p.MsoBodyTextIndent, li.MsoBodyTextIndent, div.MsoBodyTextIndent
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-indent:.5in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Garamond;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:Arial;
color:windowtext;
font-weight:normal;
font-style:normal;
text-decoration:none none;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
</head>
<body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple>
<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'><font size=4 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>It is disappointing to hear that the Chickering is
still being referred to as Gould’s “childhood piano”; this
misunderstanding was cleared up long ago. He actually acquired it only in his early
twenties. It was being rented by a lady friend of his (actually, a lady
more-than-friend, to be completely frank: it was Fran Barrault, who was
interviewed as an old woman for the “Genius Within” documentary;
she’s the one smoking). Gould loved the piano, and even practised on it
in preparation for his 1955 New York début. He liked it so much that he
insisted on having it and took over the rental of it, and installed it at his
family’s cottage. Eventually he purchased it outright. A letter and
purchase order dated November 5, 1957, from the Paul Hahn & Co. piano firm
in Toronto, show that he had been renting the Chickering at the cottage for
some time and had chosen to buy it, for $555.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:14.0pt'> Incidentally,
an actual Gould “childhood piano” came to light in 2005, in the CBC’s
TV show “Canadian Antiques Roadshow.” It was a Mason & Risch baby
grand now owned by a man in Calgary, whose grandparents had been friends of the
Goulds. Glenn was always needing new pianos, so his father was always getting
rid of old ones, and one of these rejects was purchased by the Calgary man’s
grandparents, around the mid- to late 1940s. Appraisers have suggested that the
piano could be worth a fortune, given its provenance. Actually, this piano can
be seen in some early photos of Gould, including this famous one:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.tutti-magazine.fr/upload/record/img/Glenn-Gould-4.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.tutti-magazine.fr/test/detail/glenn-gould-hereafter-BD-fr/&h=1525&w=1200&sz=157&tbnid=HQBCMYsl9oMjlM:&tbnh=128&tbnw=101&zoom=1&usg=__jgKLymnTrGr7zy4EFVjXBfbdoig=&docid=Ye8V4cMZFTejIM&sa=X&ei=8iTcUuDbKYjsoASd6oKoCQ&ved=0CCwQ9QewAA<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>There
was a short article on this whole matter in the Glenn Gould Foundation’s
magazine, back in Spring 2005 (Vol. 11/1), p. 37. I assume this piano remains
in the Calgary man’s possession, I don’t know. (He wants to remain
anonymous.) I know of no other genuine Gould childhood piano still in
existence.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:14.0pt'> Kevin
Bazzana<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>