In the new documentary film, Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould, the late pianist confesses that he was much more nervous about performing in Toronto than he ever was about playing in New York. “There’s just something about playing to your hometown crowd,” he says. An international sensation following the 1955 release of his revolutionary Goldberg Variations, Gould has actually sold more records since his death in 1982, at age 50, than he did during his lifetime. His musical legacy is captured forever on record and his performances are preserved on YouTube, something the pianist “would have loved,” suggests Michèle Hozer, co-director, with Peter Raymont, of Genius Within. “Gould loved the microphone, he loved the media,” says Hozer. “He lived in the image.”
The wealth of archival material meant that Hozer and Raymont had lots of footage, photographs and radio tapes to work with but they weren’t content to merely regurgitate existing footage. Then, in 2007, a Toronto Star article by writer Michael Clarkson, shone a new light on the subject by revealing the pianist’s quiet, four-year love affair with Cornelia Foss, above left, a painter and New York socialite who left her husband, composer/conductor Lukas Foss, to be with Gould.
“That was a very new spin,” observes Hozer, “because Gould had been very private about his personal life. People thought he was either asexual or homosexual, there was all kinds of speculation. So this new detail gave us an avenue to explore the man beyond the myth.”
Co-directors Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont pose with a bronze statue of Glenn Gould outside the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto
Now that they had a hook for their story, Hozer and Raymont needed to infiltrate Gould’s inner circle, a suspicious and protective group of friends and associates, all of them advancing into old age.
“When he died his friends really protected his image,” notes Hozer, “and they still do but I think now they understand that his image will live on, regardless. He touched people in such a way that they feel blessed to have shared that time with him. There’s the Glenn Gould Foundation and the Glenn Gould estate and they have to accept you, make sure you’re genuine.”
Hozer’s mission was obviously accomplished. Cornelia Foss and her two children both share their memories on camera, helping to elucidate a subject that has only recently come to light.
“I did tons of research,” recalls Hozer, “and I found that every time Gould talked or played I was mesmerized and then when someone else would come into the scene the spell would be broken. So I felt it was important that we use Gould as the narrator as much as possible.”
The device works well and the film, which debuts at the Royal Cinema, Thursday at 7 pm, provides a fine biographical portrait of a man whose genius was both a gift and a curse.
“What I try to do in the movie is to show the cost of someone going to the edge of human potential,” shares Hozer. “So whether you’re a Gould fan or a fan of classical music, you can relate to the human being at the heart of the story. He paid a high price for his talent but he was also rewarded for it. And so was his audience.”
Genius Within has been picked up for US distribution by Lorber Films.
WHERE/WHEN: December 3 – 8 (times vary), Royal Cinema (608 College Street), 416.534.5252.
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