Glenn Gould Hereafter : Reviews roundup

The Guardian, August 4 2006

Since Glenn Gould's death in 1982, there has been a stream of films and documentaries about the great pianist, constantly recycling the archives of Gould's own TV programmes and the precious filmed performances. The latest comes from Bruno Monsaingeon, who has made some acclaimed films about other performers (notably Sviatoslav Richter) and who worked with Gould towards the end of his life. Monsaingeon 's Hereafter stitches together a range of archive clips with present day interviews with Gould fans and admirers, as well as some scripted interludes. None of that adds much to our appreciation of one of the most extraordinary artists of the 20th century, but any chance to see Gould in interview and performance is always compelling. The extracts range across his repertory, from Orlando Gibbons to Hindemith and Schoenberg, and includes several of his own compositions, one of which is a rather impressive string quartet. Gould's own observation are as articulate as his piano playing, and both leave indelible memories.

This DVD was awarded 4 stars

Chicago Tribune, September 26th 2006

Legendary pianist and broadcaster Glenn Gould died a quarter century ago next year but is more present in recordings, writings and documentaries than at any time in his one-of-a-kind career. Bruno Monsaingeon made 23 television shows with him, published four books, on him and created a remarkable performance film of the work with which he was forever associated , J.S. Bach's "Goldberg Varitions". Here he presents Gould almost entirely through his own words, without talking-head interviews except for a quintet of ordinary people whom he impacted in extraordinary ways. The staged portions involving one actor driving Gould's car and another approximating his voice are less successful than the documentary bits that have Gould talking on many of his favorite subjects-including the concertizing he recoiled from and the recording he embraced. Best of all are the excerpts of his playing, which draw upon rare tapes made at home, of the music of Mendelssohn, Chopin, Richard Strauss and Beethoven. Like Francois Girard's brilliant mosaic, "Thirty-two Short Films About Glenn Gould" (1993), this affectionate portrait is irresistible.

Sacramento Bee, September 24 2006

Other films have tried to capture the elusive essence of pianist Glenn Gould, who died in 1982 in his hometown of Toronto, but this one may come the closest. Perhaps that's because director Bruno Monsaingeon, like Gould, choose to go down the road less traveled. A concert violonist who has directed two documentaries on Gould, Monsaigeon moves away from the standard documentary format and into a more impressionistic filmic vein with "Hereafter". He does so by smartly employing the use of Gould's letters, in the form of voice-over narration, to underscore extensive archival and concert footage (some of it previously unreleased), interviews and dramatic re-creations.

What emerges from this curious interweaving of media is an intimate musical portrait of Gould that allows us to get inside his mile-a-minute brain. It's like visual bio-polyphony.

There are some priceless moments, such as when Glenn Gould, in an interview, eloquently defends his disappearance from the concert stage. In another scene, we learn how a russion woman who had suffered two strokes regained he will to live upon hearing Gould play Bach's "Well -Tempered Clavier". And then there is the concert footage of Gould as a youg man, still innocent but already showing signs of his trademark brooding presence at the keyboard.

Ultimately, the best thing about this DVD is that it fires the desire to listen to Gould's performance of Bach's "Goldberg Variations". Instilling that desire of course, is the very effect Gould was trying to engender with his playing uring his illustrious and often misunderstood career.