Nailing Shut the Coughin’: GPAADAK as the First Step to Improving the Musical Experience

By Jet Dee (St. Louis, Missouri)

1934. In London, Sir Thomas Beecham conducts Fidelio; sitting in the Royal box at this performance are the King and Queen of Siam. The overture begins. Sir Beecham—immediately annoyed with talkers in the audience—hurls out, over his shoulder, “Stop talking!” Later, during the last act, he whirls around and bellows, “Shut up!” After the following night’s performance is similarly marred with coughing, he makes a threat much like that of one trapped in a car with an obnoxious child: “If it happens again, I shall halt the orchestra, wait for silence, and begin the overture all over again. And I will go on beginning it again—until it is played through in silence.”

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L’idée du Nord (The Idea of North): Contrapuntal Radio Meets Contrapuntal Theatre

by Dr. Penny Johnson, GGF contributing author


From 14 January through 12 February, Gould enthusiasts of France will have the opportunity to attend several performances of L’idée du Nord, a new play inspired by the radio documentary of the same title (The Idea of North) produced in 1967 by Glenn Gould. Showing at three different venues, the play offers an innovative approach to contrapuntal theatre (multiple actors in simultaneous dialogue), in particular, the isolation of the Canadian north and the role it plays in the quest for solitude as a means of creative survival.

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North American Counterparts: El Sistema Inspires Projects in Ottawa & New York

An interview with Tina Fedeski and Anne Fitzgibbon by Dr. Penny Johnson, GGF contributing author


With the recent appointment of Maestro José Antonio Abreu – founder of the Venezuelan youth orchestra sensation, El Sistema – as the laureate of the 2008 Glenn Gould Prize, it seems fitting that we here at The Glenn Gould Foundation take this opportunity, to share some of the El Sistema-inspired educational programs that have been initiated by individuals across North America. Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with Tina Fedeski and Anne Fitzgibbon, two delightful individuals who have initiated, from their homes in Ottawa and New York City respectively, music education programs for underprivileged youth.

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Celebrating the Laureate of the Eighth Glenn Gould Prize: A Visit to Caracas

A Special Report by Brian Levine, Managing Director of The Glenn Gould Foundation

 “El Sistema Up Close”

 Many visitors to the Glenn Gould Foundation website will be familiar with El Sistema, the life-transforming system of children’s and youth orchestras developed across Venezuela by the 2008 Glenn Gould Prize Laureate, Maestro José Antonio Abreu.

El Sistema has received massive coverage in the international media recently, both because of its achievements and the fame of its celebrated alumnus, incoming L.A. Philharmonic chef d’orchestre, 27-year-old Gustavo Dudamel. From two profiles (in a single season!) on CBS’s 60 Minutes, to the New York Times, to The Guardian and CNN, El Sistema is a hot story these days.

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