The Gould Standard

Vraidden von Strykenbach is a self-taught composer and pianist, and a good friend of The Glenn Gould Foundation. His grandfather was a member of the Tahltan First Nation in British Columbia, and Vraidden experienced an abusive childhood and spent his teen years living with poverty, homelessness, trauma and despair. Meet this extraordinary man and artist, as he recounts how he discovered the power...

Legendary musician Loreena McKennitt sat down with The Gould Standard to recount the journey for her illustrious career that has taken her from Morden, Manitoba to the far reaches of the globe. Known for her unique blend of Celtic, Middle Eastern, haunting melodies and poetic lyrics, she reveals her early inspirations and the vast array of cultures and musical traditions that have influenced her w...

Best-selling novelist Charles Palliser is best known for his debut novel, The Quincunx, a vast mystery set in Regency England that deftly combines Dickensian elements with contemporary techniques such as the use of unreliable narrators. Published in 1989, after 12 years of research and writing, this 800 page tour de force became an international best-seller. The Anglo-American Palliser was praised...

Award-winning science fiction writer, blogger and activist Cory Doctorow rallies the creative class against an ever-expanding industry of monopolies and monopsonies. Co-written by Australian scholar Rebecca Giblin, Chokepoint Capitalism unveils the tricks Big Tech and Big Content use to lock-in users and suppliers, eliminate competition, and extort creators and producers, and extract value so that...

This month we talk to acclaimed children’s author Sarah Ellis and Illustrator Nancy Vo, who made the life story of Glenn Gould accessible to a younger audience through their new children’s book, As Glenn as Can Be. Sarah Ellis is an acclaimed Canadian children’s author of over 20 books and has won numerous prizes, including the Governor General’s Literary Award and TD Canadian Children’s Literatur...

Legendary trumpeter, composer and educator Wynton Marsalis takes us on a journey through his early life and formative influences. He discusses his evolution into one of the most influential jazz musicians of our time, how he learned to love the pioneers of jazz, his triumphs as the director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, his experiences with classical music and how he brought all these elements togeth...

The outstanding Canadian stage and film actor Colm Feore is among the most accomplished Shakespearean performers of our time, but has appeared as everything from a mad scientist ( Gotham ) to a Frost Giant of Jotunheim ( Thor ) and from German rocket scientist Werner von Braun ( For All Mankind ) to a Renaissance Pope ( The Borgias ). Colm shares fascinating insights into his remarkable career, in...

Kevin Bazzana is the world’s leading authority on Glenn Gould, and one of the most perceptive, wry and interesting commentators on music anywhere. The author of the Gould biography Wondrous Strange and the past editor of Glenn Gould Magazine, he joins us for an insightful conversation about Gould, his continuing impact on the arts, and the significance of his 90th birth anniversary. This is anothe...

Glenn Gould was propelled to stardom by his 1955 recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations. After a lifetime of study and contemplation, and in anticipation of his 50th birthday, Gould decided to return for another trip to the summit of this musical Everest. His radical rethinking of the Goldbergs became a new masterpiece, admired by music-lovers around the world. It was also a valedictory statement...

Join us for an inside look at the making of a Canadian film classic, Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould, which was shot 30 years ago. Renowned film, theatre and opera director François Girard is joined by actor, screenwriter and director Don McKellar as they reveal the creative process behind one of the most memorable and structurally daring works about a musician ever committed to film—thei...

New from Tapestry Opera, Gould’s Wall is a contemporary opera from Canadian composer Brian Current. This audacious work invokes Glenn Gould’s dizzying pursuit of artistic perfection, defying expectations as well as gravity by literally shifting the plane of reality from horizontal to vertical. Performed in The Royal Conservatory’s atrium, Gould’s Wall runs from August 4th to August 12th, 2022 in T...

I n a special encore presentation, we’re highlighting one of our most popular episodes with Laurie Anderson and Bob Ezrin, originally published in February 2021. Two of the most transformative musical forces of our time—Laurie Anderson and super-producer Bob Ezrin—sit down for a talk with host Brian Levine. This intimate conversation is one of old friends reminiscing on career highlights, the crea...

In the annals of world cinema, a select group of artists—the composers of film music—have earned a special place of honour. Their work unlocks the inner emotions of films, builds suspense, and drives the action in masterpieces as well as mass market franchise features. In this select company, Howard Shore holds a unique position. His creations showcase immense psychological depth, and his stylisti...

Jordi Savall is the greatest living specialist in Early Music. As a conductor, composer, and viola de gamba player, he studies music pre-dating Bach, performed with its specific instruments and styles. Savall has placed his passionate stamp on a repertoire spanning 1,300 years and ranging across Europe, the Middle East, the Balkans, Africa and the Americas. From rocking dance rhythms to sacred spl...

In Part II of our conversation with pianist and YouTube sensation Nahre Sol, we explore how she creates her hugely successful online content. Nahre also dives deep into her stint as a PBS cohost, the creative process underpinning her debut album, and the triumphs and tribulations involved in her daily life as an artist and creator. In a tribute to Glenn Gould on his upcoming 90th birth anniversary...

Nahre Sol is a real pathfinder. A classically trained pianist, she has swapped the concert stage for a very different platform, becoming a hit Youtuber with over 460,000 subscribers. Now a successful composer and broadcaster, Nahre breathes fresh life into the classics with her blend of wit, musical brilliance and incisive explorations of everything from musical styles to mini-concerts on toy pian...

Academy Award-winning director of ground-breaking documentaries such as Roger and Me and Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore joins us for a revealing conversation about the early experiences that shaped his worldview. As a kid growing up in Flint, Michigan, Michael learned about standing up for his principles, resisting censorship, corruption and greed, and battling systemic injustice. Long before he s...

TGS025: Patricia Ward Kelly - On Gene Kelly’s Dance Revolutions Gene Kelly remains one of the most beloved and iconic stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, renowned for his dancing and singing in musicals such as An American in Paris, Singin’ in the Rain and On the Town to Brigadoon. But Gene Kelly was also a hugely influential innovator, who transformed dance on the screen from tie-and-tails elegance...

In a career studded with dramatic and directorial milestones, Sir Kenneth Branagh has scored an artistic triumph with his most personal film ever, Belfast—the fictionalized story of his own childhood amidst the Troubles in Northern Ireland. In this candid and wide-ranging conversation, the virtuoso actor-director takes us inside his exploration of childhood under siege, along with other career hig...

Kat von D, by any measure, is one-of-a-kind. One of the world’s most celebrated tattoo artists, Kat defies the idea that while life is short, art is forever, choosing a medium that is inherently perishable: the human body. She rose to fame for her starring appearances on two popular TV shows, Miami Ink and LA Ink, and parlayed that recognition into a wildly successful entrepreneurial career throug...

Today Canada marks the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. As we reflect on the painful history and ongoing impacts of the residential school system, we are grateful to present Part 2 of our conversation with Glenn Gould Prize Laureate Alanis Obomsawin — visionary Abenaki artist and one of Turtle Island’s most passionate advocates for Indigenous Peoples. In Part 1 we spoke with Alanis...

Alanis Obomsawin is the laureate of the 13th Glenn Gould Prize. She is also a transformative artist, often hailed as the “grandmother of Indigenous cinema.” Her 53 documentary films chronicle a vast range of Indigenous experience — incendiary outrage at generations of colonial injustice, the path toward reconciliation, and joyous celebrations of love and solidarity.   Alanis is also an inspired vi...

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If the mark of a great actor is the ability to transform herself completely, then Tatiana Maslany is one of the finest of her generation. With her Emmy-winning breakout playing multiple cloned “sisters” in the TV series Orphan Black, Tatiana not only showed the world her incredible versatility but her ability to infuse her characters with compassion, diverse experiences, and an intense longing for...

Has technology ushered in a Brave New World of creativity, connectedness and individual empowerment — or has it created an invisible tool to enable surveillance, manipulation and the invasion of our privacy? Few people alive speak more clearly and provocatively to these issues than Cory Doctorow, award-winning science fiction writer, blogger and activist for a more open, accountable and human-righ...