THE RUSSIAN JOURNEY follows Glenn Gould's 1957 visit to Russian, a trip which would influence generations of Russian musicians. Gould's lecture and recital at the Leningrad Conservatory is featured, as well as previously unseen documents and photographs. Interviews with celebrated contemporary musicians, musicologists and film and theatre directors show the huge impact that Gould's visit had on a sheltered and passionate nation.

Presented on DVD for the first time, this unique film in four parts presents Glenn Gould both in performance and in interviews with Bruno Monsaingeon. Filmed in 1974 in Toronto, it gives us a rare opportunity to see Gould performing some ten years after his retreat from the concert platform. The material has been lovingly restored using the finest state-of-the-art technology and includes a fascinating bonus filmed in the 1950s.
Repertory:
Bach Partita No.6 in E minor Schoenberg Suite Op.25: Intermezzo Gibbons Lord Salisbury Pavan Byrd Galliard No.6 Webern Variations Op.27 Berg Sonata for Piano, etc - Toronto, 1974 Bonus: The Piano Revealed On Film.

Instead of Leonard Bernstein, the Columbia Symphony Orchestra was fronted this time by Vladimir Golschmann. Born in Paris to Russian emigres in 1893 and head of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra from 1931, Golschmann was one of the few conductors with whom Gould apparently never had problems, and vice versa. In the Beethoven concerto Gould played his own cadenza - with a noticeable nod to Max Reger...

The very combination of these two concertos was willful, still more Gould’s playing of Mozart, with its extra embellishments and even new counter-melodies in the piano part. What seemed revolutionary at the time has become a matter of course in today’s age of “historical performance practice.” In contrast, the Schoenberg Concerto sounded, in Gould's hands, almost as familiar as Mozart …

The extraordinarily talented Canadian pianist Glenn Gould defined ecstasy as a "delicate thread binding together music, performance, performer and listener in a web of shared awareness, of innerness."
Brilliant but controversial, Gould did not always enjoy unanimous support, and his performances were occasionally criticized. Marded by obsessive behavior and at times considered cold and distant, he was nonetheless a favorable influence for many people.
Extasis helps us better understand Glenn Gould the man, and Glenn Gould the musician, In addition to recalling different stages of hid life, the film focuses in particular on the passions he was capable of unleashing as well as on the sensitivity and intensity which this eminent musician would draw on to "recerate" the works he was performing.
Combining images and music, this remarkable documentary almost brings back to life one of the greatest pianists of all times.
Includes special bonus performance footage of Fantasy for Organ by Sweelinck.