By Penny Johnson, Contributing Author

Fifty-three years have passed since Glenn Gould gave his historic series of concerts in the former Soviet Union cities of Moscow and Leningrad. The first North American pianist to touch ground there since the death of Stalin in 1953, Gould's two week tour in early May 1957 is listed on a new website called St. Petersburg Music Guide as one of several significant musical events in the history of the city. This new website chronicles important musical events and figures that helped shape the cultural development of a city which has survived three name changes, a revolution, two world wars, one million victims to the Nazi regime and extreme oppression under communist rule.

Founded by Peter the Great (r. 1682-1725) in 1703, St. Petersburg has always been and will remain "one of the musical capitals of the world," according to pianist and conductor, Vladimir Ashkenazy. Few cities can boast the level of artistic splendor that has defined St. Petersburg throughout its more than three hundred year existence. Home to the birth of Russian ballet, the Hermitage Theatre, the St. Petersburg Conservatory (founded in 1862 by Alexander II), the Mariinsky Theatre, the Russian Museum and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, music has remained at the heart of the city and its audiences are amongst the most astute and intelligent in the world. As Kevin Bazzana writes in Wondrous Strange: The Life and Art of Glenn Gould, audiences "tended to be musically perceptive, with real devotion and love for music, and represented a cross-section of the population, not just cognoscenti."

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By Penny Johnson, Contributing Author

Like most classically trained pianists, my exposure to the piano consisted mostly of acoustic instruments. My actions resonated the conservatory tradition into which I spent many years studying, a tradition which views acoustic pianos - namely Steinway & Sons of the model B or D type - as the single most effective piece of equipment with which to recreate the music of the masters.

And so it was that I blissfully existed in my ivory tower (pun intended) of acoustic splendor, nose upturned to the possibilities of digital instruments. I had of course used electric pianos on occasion, grudgingly, and with a feeling of "Well, if I must." While part of my deep-seeded antipathy had a kernel of validity, in actuality I had not a clue as to the capabilities of digital technology and what it can do for interpretations of the great master works.

Earlier this year, I was introduced by Glenn Morley, President of The Glenn Gould Foundation, to a line of software called Ivory Synthogy. Glenn had me over to his studio where, among other things, there was a digital piano on a stand, two computer monitors, many speakers, a pair of headsets, and a pedal connected to the piano with a cable. This was not the typical practice environment I was used to! Thinking back to my days in the practice rooms of the Manhattan School of Music and the Eastman School of Music - cherished days that I would live again in an instant - the only piece of electrical hardware that I could recall were the outlets on the walls. What was I in for at this digital studio?

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The Glenn Gould Foundation announces its first podcast episode.

Learn more about the Sudbury Youth Rocks after-school music program recently featured in an article last April.

Listen online or download the episode. 


By Penny Johnson, Contributing Author

Maquette of Glenn Gould portrait designed by Ruth Abernethy. – Photo by Ellen Hadley"In order for a figure portrait to be personal and interactive it must first be perceived by pedestrians as logical."

These are the words of Canadian sculptress, Ruth Abernethy, who is well known for creating the sculpture of Glenn Gould located outside of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Studios on Front Street in Toronto.  For Gould trekkers planning a pilgrimage to famous sites in Toronto, the bronze figure ranks high on the list of must-see locations. In fact, the Front Street icon is such a popular attraction, that The Glenn Gould Foundation created a gallery for fans worldwide to share snapshots from their visit. 

Commissioned in 1998 by The Glenn Gould Foundation to commemorate the Glenn Gould Gathering--an international symposium held in Toronto in 1999--this cloaked figure, clad in his trademark hat, gloves, scarf, and rubber toe boots has an interesting story of it’s own.  From Abernethy's quest for an oversized pair of rubber toe shoes to her need to consult video footage in order to capture that Gould's chewing muscle, the Waterloo-based artist tells the story of the Glenn portrait. 

Shortly after the unveiling of Abernethy’s first bronze figures, as an extension of her prop building at the Stratford Festival, she was invited to sculpt Glenn Gould by John Miller, then Managing Director for The Glenn Gould Foundation. 

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