Documents and illuminates Glenn Gould's groundbreaking radio composition, The Idea of North.
Matter of North collects essays and source material related to Glenn Gould's landmark 1967 radio documentary The Idea of North. The most famous product (other than his studio piano recordings) of Gould's 1964 decision to abandon the concert stage for the recording studio, it combines Gould's interests in the contrapuntal (by the simultaneous layering of speaking voices) with philosophy and a life-long fascination with the Canadian Arctic. Because the documentary is a multivalent work, the contributors approach the documentary from unique perspectives (sociological, philosophical, music-theoretical, ethnomusicological), each illuminating a salient aspect of the work. The source-material section includes for the first time the complete interview responses by Gould's five participants, along with other important documentation.
Edited by:
Brent Wetters,
Anthony Cushing
Imprint: State University of New York Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Weight: 467g
ISBN: 9798855803150
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 02 January 2026
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Foreword Ethan Kleinberg Acknowledgments Introduction Anthony Cushing and Brent Wetters Essays 1. A Conflicted Soundscape: Glenn Gould's Idea of North Lucille Mok 2. Glenn Gould and the Non-Imagined North Jeffrey van den Scott 3. Rails of Protest Christopher DeLaurenti 4. ""That Incredible Tapestry"": Revisiting Pilgrimage to Solitude, The Idea of North, and the Landscapes of Glenn Gould Mark Laurie 5. When a Fugue Isn't a Fugue: Glenn Gould's Musical Semiotics of Contrapuntal Radio and The Idea of North Anthony Cushing 6. North, History, and the Shadow of Hanslick: Glenn Gould's Ideal of Musical North and Northern Listening Markus Mantere 7. The Genius Is in the Genesis: Demythologizing the Idea of Gould as Creative Outsider Anthony Cushing and Brent Wetters 8. De-Northing North: Thematic Continuity in Glenn Gould's Solitude Trilogy Paul Sanden 9. Monstrous North Brent Wetters Appendix 1. Letter from Jim Lotz Accepting Gould's Interview Request (7 September 1967) 2. Gould's Interview Questions for Jim Lotz 3. Introduction to Transcripts 4. Jim Lotz Interview Transcript 5. Walter ""Wally"" Maclean Interview Transcript 6. Frank Vallee Interview Transcript 7. Robert Phillips Interview Transcript 8. Marianne Schroeder Interview Transcript 9. Gould's Preliminary Sketch of Form 10. Janet Somerville's CBC Publicity Memo (15 November 1967) 11. Scene-by-Scene Analysis 12. ""Eskimo at the Piano"" [""Eskimo am Flugel""] 13. Anthony Cushing in Conversation with Marianne Schroeder Bibliography List of Contributors Index
Brent Wetters is Adjunct Professor of Music at Clark University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Providence College. Anthony Cushing is an independent researcher based in Toronto, Canada.
Reviews for Matter of North: Essays on Glenn Gould and The Idea of North
""An inspiring and wonderfully rich and interdisciplinary volume exploring deeply and broadly an iconic work by a legendary artist and thinker of the twentieth century: Glenn Gould."" — Sabine Feisst, author of Schoenberg's New World: The American Years
