From: owner-navy-soup-digest@smoe.org (navy-soup-digest) To: navy-soup-digest@smoe.org Subject: navy-soup-digest V3 #99 Reply-To: navy-soup@smoe.org Sender: owner-navy-soup-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-navy-soup-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk navy-soup-digest Friday, June 9 2000 Volume 03 : Number 099 In This Digest: ----------------- FEATURE-Famed pianist Glenn Gould seen as autistic [Paul Schreiber Subject: FEATURE-Famed pianist Glenn Gould seen as autistic http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000607/en/music-gould_1.html Wednesday June 7 1:01 PM ET FEATURE-Famed pianist Glenn Gould seen as autistic By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian pianist Glenn Gould was renowned both for his fantastic talent and for deeply eccentric habits such as rocking back and forth during recitals, humming loudly and conducting the music to himself. Critics variously described him as ``weird,'' ``nuts,'' ''idiosyncratic'' and ``wacky,'' and some strongly suggested he was little better than a show-off. But a Canadian musical academic turned medical detective says Gould's behavior shows he was battling Asperger's syndrome, a little-known kind of autism. Timothy Maloney, director of the music division at Canada's National Library, insists the musical world needs to look again at one of its most charismatic figures.  Speak your mind Discuss this story with other people. [Start a Conversation] (Requires Yahoo! Messenger) ``Some saw his behavior as a deliberate ploy. To me he was a victim rather than someone who had set out to do something deliberate. This thing ruled him. He was in a lot of emotional pain,'' Maloney told Reuters in an interview. His controversial theory will ensure even more attention is paid to the reclusive Gould, who abruptly quit performing in public at the height of his fame in 1964 and turned to media work and recording before dying in 1982 at the age of just 50. Some 225 boxes of his personal possessions and documents have been turned over to the National Library and are regularly consulted by researchers from all over the world trying to solve the Gould enigma. 'Overwhelmed By The Intensity Of His Playing' ``Gould's superb musicianship captivated many people. Just listen to the interviews of those who saw him in concert -- there was an impact at a deeply personal level,'' Maloney said. ``People were overwhelmed by the intensity of his playing and how much he put of himself into it. He was unique. No one played like that before or after him.'' Maloney's curiosity was sparked by a U.S. psychiatrist's biography of Gould, which mentioned in passing that the odd behavior resembled the symptoms of Asperger's victims. ``I went 'Bingo.' I'd suspected for a long time that this was more than just a weirdo,'' he said. Once he started investigating Asperger's syndrome, which unlike other forms of autism does not always manifest itself at birth, he found many symptoms that made sense including intense powers of concentration, adherence to elaborate routines and rituals, inability to interact normally with others, abnormal responses to sensory stimulation and intolerance to change. ``There are tremendous assets and liabilities which go with the syndrome. These include perfect pitch, a photographic memory and exceptionally fine motor skills, with lamentable gross motor skills. Gould walked awkwardly but had a fabulous facility with his fingers,'' he said. Gould made his public debut at the age of 14 and it soon became clear he was no ordinary pianist. He soaked his hands in hot water before every performance to improve their sensitivity and showed a marked reluctance to change his routine in any way, often placing a small Oriental carpet beneath the pedals before sitting down on his own battered low-slung piano chair. He could not stand the cold and often wore a hat, scarf, gloves and winter coat, even in summer. He always complained about drafts and interrupted one concert in Jerusalem until a door at the back of the balcony had been closed. Imagined And Real Illnesses Gould developed imagined and real illnesses on tour, canceling many concerts. Eventually the pain of public performances became too great and he retired in 1964. He preferred to keep others at a distance, had few close friendships and never married. Ray Roberts, who was a close friend over the last 10 years of the pianist's life, says Maloney's theory makes sense. ``It certainly fits in with the lifestyle and the profile, how he conducted his life,'' he told Reuters. ``He was very methodical in some ways and not at all in others. When he focused on something it was so intense as to be detrimental to his health.'' This begs an important question: Did Gould have to fight off the symptoms of Asperger's to become a superb musician or did the syndrome in fact help make him a superstar? ``That's a tough question. I suspect the assets it gave him were so important to him that (without it) he may not have been as celebrated a musician and would not have been able to reach such a high a level in the profession,'' said Maloney. ``Robert Schumann (the 19th century German composer) was in the throes of a massive depression. If he hadn't had those phases, what would his output have been like?'' But Maloney's theory does little to convince Dr. Helen Mesaros, a Toronto psychiatrist who is currently working on what she calls ``a psychobiography'' of Gould. Writing in Canada's Medical Post newspaper last month, Mesaros said many of Gould's symptoms can be traced back to his childhood and the insistence of his mother that he focus on the piano to the exclusion of everything else. ``It is known in clinical practice that mental health problems, if untreated, often tend to get worse and become more complex and obscure. This is precisely what happened to Gould,'' she wrote, adding it was clear the pianist suffered from a form of obsessive compulsive disorder and, by the time he reached 30, was also in grip of severe clinical depression. ``Gould's widely publicized self-neglect, solitude, dependence on the same objects and routines are rather late complications of his mood disorder and underlying personality dysfunction, rather than the neurological deficit called Asperger's disorder,'' she wrote. Maloney remains unconvinced, so much so that he is due to present a detailed paper on Gould to the annual meeting of Ontario's Autism Society on June 9. ``I have no doubts. It could happen in a few years' time that someone comes along and proves me absolutely dead wrong but I can't see any possibility that I am,'' he said. ``I think Gould deserves admiration and empathy from us. He went through his entire life undiagnosed, yet he knew he was different. He suffered emotionally and never had the support system modern sufferers do.'' Reuters/Variety ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 10:04:07 -0400 From: "James McGarry" Subject: Re: FEATURE-Famed pianist Glenn Gould seen as autistic - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Schreiber" To: "Navy Soup" Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2000 2:37 AM Subject: FEATURE-Famed pianist Glenn Gould seen as autistic > FEATURE-Famed pianist Glenn Gould seen as autistic > > By David Ljunggren > Maloney's curiosity was sparked by a U.S. psychiatrist's biography of > Gould, which mentioned in passing that the odd behavior resembled the > symptoms of Asperger's victims. ``I went 'Bingo.' I'd suspected for a > long time that this was more than just a weirdo,'' he said. Actually, as had many people. Gould was what one would term 'high-functioning', even if he was autistic/obsessive-compulsive to a degree or simply eccentric... > Gould developed imagined and real illnesses on tour, canceling many > concerts. Eventually the pain of public performances became too great and > he retired in 1964. It was also the lack of perfection in a public performance that plagued him. There is a detailed passage in one of Yehudi Menhuin's books (The Music of Man, I _think_), a conversation between he and Gould, where Gould comes down firmly on the side of recorded performance for a number of reasons. It's a fascinating read. People seem to focus and over emphasize his eccentricities. > ``I think Gould deserves admiration and empathy from us. He went through > his entire life undiagnosed, yet he knew he was different. He suffered > emotionally and never had the support system modern sufferers do.'' If he had been diagnosed, and cured or treated, all of that suffering might never have turned into such beauty. Beyond that, he was a genius, far above the mortal ken and lesser people might like to attribute all of that to disease so as not to feel small in comparison. Thanks for posting that, Paul! James. ------------------------------ End of navy-soup-digest V3 #99 ******************************