Editing Glenn Gould (section)

===Early life===
Glenn Gould was born at home at 32 Southwood Drive in [[The Beaches, Toronto]], on September 25, 1932, the only child of Russell Herbert Gold and Florence Emma Gold (born Greig, a distant relative of the Norwegian composer and pianist [[Edvard Grieg]]),{{sfn|Bazzana|2003|pp=21, 54}} [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterians]] of Scottish, English, German, and Norwegian ancestry.{{sfn|Ostwald|1997|p=35}} The family's surname was informally changed to Gould around 1939 to avoid being mistaken for Jewish, given the prevailing [[antisemitism]] of prewar Toronto.<ref name="fnC" group="fn" /> Gould had no Jewish ancestry,<ref name="fnD" group="fn" /> though he sometimes joked about it, saying, "When people ask me if I'm Jewish, I always tell them that I was Jewish during the war."{{sfn|Bazzana|2003|p=24}}

Gould's interest in music and his talent as a pianist were evident very early. Both parents were musical; his mother, especially, encouraged his musical development from infancy. Hoping he would become a successful musician, she exposed him to music during her pregnancy.{{sfn|Ostwald|1997|p=39}} She taught him the piano and as a baby, he reportedly hummed instead of crying, and wiggled his fingers as if playing a keyboard instrument, leading his doctor to predict that he would "be either a physician or a pianist".{{sfn|Ostwald|1997|p=40}} He learned to read music before he could read words,<ref name="archives.cbc.ca_4"/><ref name="Friedrich15">{{harvnb|Friedrich|1990|p=15}}</ref>{{sfn|Ostwald|1997|pp=44–45}} and it was observed that he had [[perfect pitch]] at age three. When presented with a piano, the young Gould was reported to strike single notes and listen to their long [[Decay (music)|decay]], a practice his father Bert noted was different from typical children.<ref name="Friedrich15" /> Gould's interest in the piano was concomitant with an interest in composition. He played his pieces for family, friends, and sometimes large gatherings—including, in 1938, a performance at the Emmanuel Presbyterian Church (a few blocks from the Gould family home) of one of his compositions.{{sfn|Ostwald|1997|p=48}}

Gould first heard a live musical performance by a celebrated soloist at age six. This profoundly affected him. He later described the experience:
<blockquote>It was [[Josef Hofmann|Hofmann]]. It was, I think, his last performance in Toronto, and it was a staggering impression. The only thing I can really remember is that, when I was being brought home in a car, I was in that wonderful state of half-awakeness in which you hear all sorts of incredible sounds going through your mind. They were all {{em|orchestral}} sounds, but {{em|I}} was playing them all, and suddenly I was Hofmann. I was enchanted.<ref name="archives.cbc.ca_4"/>{{sfn|Payzant|1978|p=2}}</blockquote>

At age 10, he began attending the Toronto Conservatory of Music in Toronto (known since 1947 as [[The Royal Conservatory of Music]]). He studied music theory with [[Leo Smith (composer)|Leo Smith]], organ with [[Frederick C. Silvester]], and piano with [[Alberto Guerrero]].<ref name="canadianencyclopedia.com_2"/> Around the same time, he injured his back as a result of a fall from a boat ramp on the shore of [[Lake Simcoe]].<ref name="fnF" group="fn"/> This incident is apocryphally related to the adjustable-height chair his father made shortly thereafter. Gould's mother would urge the young Gould to sit up straight at the keyboard.{{sfn|Ostwald|1997|p=73}} He used this chair for the rest of his life, taking it with him almost everywhere.<ref name="archives.cbc.ca_4"/> The chair was designed so that Gould could sit very low and allowed him to pull down on the keys rather than striking them from above, a central technical idea of Guerrero's.{{sfn|Ostwald|1997|p=71}}

[[File:Glenn Gould and Alberto Guerrero.jpg|thumb|200px|Gould with his teacher, [[Alberto Guerrero]], at the [[The Royal Conservatory of Music|Royal Conservatory of Music]] in Toronto, in 1945. Guerrero demonstrated his technical idea that Gould should "pull down" at the keys instead of striking them from above.]]

Gould developed a technique that enabled him to choose a very fast [[tempo]] while retaining the "separateness" and clarity of each note. His extremely low position at the instrument permitted him more control over the keyboard. Gould showed considerable technical skill in performing and recording a wide repertoire including virtuosic and romantic works, such as his own arrangement of [[Maurice Ravel|Ravel]]'s ''[[La valse]]'' and [[Beethoven Symphonies (Liszt)|Liszt's transcriptions]] of Beethoven's [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|Fifth]] and [[Symphony No. 6 (Beethoven)|Sixth]] Symphonies. Gould worked from a young age with Guerrero on a technique known as [[Finger tapping (piano)|finger-tapping]]: a method of training the fingers to act more independently from the arm.{{sfn|Friedrich|1990|p=31}}

Gould passed his final Conservatory examination in piano at age 12, achieving the highest marks of any candidate, and thus attaining professional standing as a pianist.<ref name="Bazzana76">{{harvnb|Bazzana|2003|p=76}}</ref> One year later he passed the written theory exams, qualifying for an Associate of the Toronto Conservatory of Music (ATCM) diploma.<ref name="fnT" group="fn"/><ref name="Bazzana76" />

Gould's next-door neighbour as a child and lifelong best friend was [[Robert Fulford (journalist)|Robert Fulford]], who became a prominent journalist and essayist.<ref name="StarObit">{{cite news |last1=Szklarski |first1=Cassandra |title=Prolific editor, columnist Robert Fulford dead at 92 |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/prolific-editor-columnist-robert-fulford-dead-at-92/article_1a985d19-903c-5b2e-9600-5a1b5b58e871.html |access-date=October 16, 2024 |work=Toronto Star |agency=Canadian Press |date=October 16, 2024}}</ref> In 1952, Fulford and Gould founded New Music Associates, which produced and promoted Gould's first three public performances, including Gould's debut performance of Bach's ''[[Goldberg Variations]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Houpt |first1=Simon| title=Prominent public intellectual Robert Fulford was a champion of Canadian arts |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books/article-prominent-public-intellectual-robert-fulford-was-a-champion-of/ |access-date=October 16, 2024 |work=[[Globe and Mail]] |date=October 15, 2024}}</ref>