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Glenn Herbert Gould  (September 25, 1932 – October 4, 1982) was a Canadian pianist who became  one of the best-known and most celebrated classical pianists of the  20th century. He was particularly renowned as an interpreter of the  keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach. His playing was distinguished  by remarkable technical proficiency and capacity to articulate the  polyphonic texture of Bach’s music.

Gould rejected most of the  standard Romantic piano literature and shunned the music of several of  its composers, notably Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann, and Frédéric  Chopin. Although his recordings were dominated by Bach, Gould's oeuvre  was diverse, including works by Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Brahms,  pre-Baroque composers such as Jan Sweelinck, and such 20th-century  composers as Paul Hindemith and Arnold Schoenberg. Gould was well known  for various eccentricities, from his unorthodox musical interpretations  and mannerisms at the keyboard to aspects of his lifestyle and personal  behavior. He stopped giving concerts at the age of 31 to concentrate on  studio recording and other projects.

Gould was also known as a  writer, composer, conductor, and broadcaster. He was a prolific  contributor to musical journals, in which he discussed music theory and  outlined his musical philosophy. His career as a composer was less  distinguished; his output was minimal and many projects were left  unfinished. There is evidence that, had he lived beyond 50, he intended  to abandon the piano and devote the remainder of his career to  conducting and other projects. As a broadcaster, Gould was prolific. His  output ranged from television and radio broadcasts of studio  performances to musique concrète radio documentaries about life in the  Canadian wilderness.

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