Finally, some new performances from a surprising source. It’s been 40 years since Glenn Gould died; but while other pianists (even people like Horowitz) seem to suffer at least partial eclipse once they’re no longer with us, Gould seems just as strong a presence as ever. Even so, this cornucopia of live recordings, most of them previously unissued, was an unexpected windfall. The repertoire, from Bach to Webern and Krenek, is familiar, but the performances are not—and given Gould’s mercurial character, virtually all of them reveal something new about both the performer and the music. Not everything works—Gould was always an artist-in-progress, someone who always took chances, not all of which came out well. But everything is at least interesting, and some of the performances—including the Beethoven Third Cello Sonata with Leonard Rose and the Beethoven “Ghost” Trio with Rose and Oscar Shumsky—are spectacularly good. Unless you’re allergic to Gould (and many people are), this may well be the historical release of the year. © 2012 Fanfare