Struggling for Perfection: The Story of Glenn Gould

Desmond Maley is the music librarian at the J.W. Tate Library,
Huntington College, Laurentian University, and editor of the CAML
Review.

This thoughtful portrait of Canada’s greatest musician is intended for
young readers. In clear and simple prose, Vladimir Konieczny recounts
the Gould story through a series of vignettes. Particular attention is
paid to the early years. Konieczny shows how Gould’s childhood
experiences shaped his personal and artistic formation and laid the
foundation for his subsequent multi-faceted career. The two pivotal
figures were his mother, who taught him piano until age 10 and to whom
Gould remained deeply attached until her death in 1975, and Alberto
Guerrero, who oversaw Gould’s musical tutelage during his increasingly
rebellious teenage years.

Konieczny, a long-time Gould fan, is clearly sympathetic to his
subject, but the narrative is not sentimental. The facts are allowed to
speak for themselves, and the reader is engaged because of their
intrinsic interest. (The only error I noticed was the claim that Gould
always wrote the liner notes for his recordings.) The accompanying
reproductions of photographs and concert posters, as well as the
drawings by Chrissie Wysotski, help to illuminate the tale. A chronology
of events and a list of books and websites complete the volume.
Struggling for Perfection convincingly demonstrates that Gould remained
true to himself in striving to bring a new dimension to whatever area of
artistic endeavour he touched. Highly recommended.