Although most Canadians are aware of Glenn Gould’s talent as a pianist, much of his personal life has remained an enigma. In The Secret Life of Glenn Gould: A Genius in Love, author Michael Clarkson reveals areas of Gould’s life that he tried to keep private.
Learning more about the women who captured the pianist’s imagination and emotions, one can’t help but wonder, is this voyeurism? And, more importantly, would Gould have created such haunting music if not for these love affairs?
His first influence was his very demanding mother, Florence Emma Greig Gold (later changed to Gould), who told her son that he “was a special gift to the world and perhaps even a reincarnation of a composer.” She has been blamed for much of his “self-worship” and numerous other problems in his later life.
While his music was personality-driven and was at the core of his existence, the people who undoubtedly had the greatest impact on his career were his muses, who included Frances (Franny) Batchen, Verna Sandercock, Cornelia Foss, Roxolana Roslak, and Monica Gaylord, among others.
Gould was a handsome man who liked an attractive lady by his side. Clarkson is the first to interview many of Gould’s loves and to fill in the gaps of his carefully controlled public image.
Cornelia Foss, his companion of five years, left her Los Angeles home and husband –– the equally dynamic composer, conductor, and pianist Lukas Foss –– to be near Gould in Toronto. However, after a paranoid situation that lasted several hours, Foss cried, “Good grief, am I going to bring up my children in this environment?” She later returned to her husband.
History has already put Gould in his rightful place as a musical genius, albeit one permeated with eccentricities and obsessions. In spite of rumours surrounding Gould’s sexuality — as well as his anxieties, pill-popping, and fixation with germs — he has been characterized as being attentive, playful, and loving with girlfriends, children, and animals. Foss and others noted that he was “an extremely heterosexual man.”
Many of Gould’s attempts at domesticity were short-lived, but together they give us a better understanding of the man behind the music.
— Beverley Tallon (Read bio)
Beverley Tallon is a freelance writer and the former Assistant Editor for Canada's History.