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Glenn Gould
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Glenn Gould

Childhood and Education

Part 1 of 4

Gould came from an average Toronto middle-class social background. His father and grandfather were in the fur business and both parents were amateur musicians. Noteworthy in Gould's family tree is the fact that his great-great-great-grandparents on his mother's side were also the grandparents of Edvard Grieg, the Norwegian composer.

Photograph of Glenn Gould, aged 7 months

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Glenn Gould at seven months, 1933

Photograph of Glenn Gould and his grandfather, both bent over, trying to perform a handstand

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Glenn Gould with his grandfather, outside, ca 1935

Photograph of Glenn Gould and his grandmother, standing on the porch

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Glenn Gould with his grandmother, on porch, ca 1939

Glenn Gould's senior progress report, grade 5, Williamson Road Public School, 1941-42

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Outside

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Inside

Tune written by Glenn Gould at the age of 8, for a school music test, June 1941

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Tune written by Glenn Gould at the age of eight, for school music test, June 1941

Cover of book, KENNEDY'S FIRST GRADE PIANO BOOK, by Margery M. and Peter C. Kennedy

Source

Kennedy's First Grade Piano Book, by Margery M. and Peter C. Kennedy. New York: Flammer, 1935 Annotated

The Toronto (now Royal) Conservatory of Music, founded in 1886, was for many decades the centre of music education in anglophone Canada. From 1943 to 1952 Gould studied piano with Alberto Guerrero (1886-1959), a Chilean musician, whose pupils also included William Aide, John Beckwith, Pierrette LePage, Arthur Ozolins, R. Murray Schafer and Malcolm Troup. He also studied the organ with Frederick C. Silvester and music theory with Leo Smith. In all examinations he obtained excellent marks and examiners such as the eminent Healey Willan predicted a brilliant future for him.

Cover of book, TORONTO CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC: GRADE II PIANOFORTE EXAMINATION

Source

Toronto Conservatory of Music: Grade II Pianoforte Examination. Oakville, Ont.: Frederick Harris, n.d.

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