Mother of pianist Glenn Gould.
Otto Friedrich wrote in his book, "Glenn Gould: A Life and Variations" (Vintage Books, a division of Random House, New York, 1989), pp. 13-14. "Peter Greig, one of thirteen children of a Scottish farmer, emigrated to Canada in the mid-nineteenth century. He and his wife, Emma, had ten children, one of whom was Charles Holman Greig, who married Mary Catherine Flett, whose father, a carpenter from the Orkneys, died in a fall from the roof of the Bank of Montreal. One of their children, Florence, duly met and married Russell Herbert Gould..."
Flora married Bert Gould in 1925, on her thirty-fourth birthday. Glenn Gould was born in Toronto in 1932, their only child. They were Presbyterians of Scottish extraction. (Greig is the original Scottish spelling of this name, unlike the Norwegian variant Grieg.) Florence's grandfather was a cousin of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. Florence, 42 years old upon Glenn's birth, must have thought that one of her fondest dreams was finally close to fulfillment: from her earliest youth she had lived for the idea that she would one day have a son whom she would bring up to be a musician.
It is difficult to say what effects this maternal "idee fixe" may have had on Gould's development as an artist and, more especially, as a person. All that can be said for certain is that he showed musical abilities - including perfect pitch - at an extremely early age and that he was only three when Florence Gould gave him his first regular piano lessons in the autumn of 1935, using Louise Robyn's piano tutor for children, Keyboard Town.
She remained Gould's only teacher until 1943 and certainly did not lack the necessary qualifications, playing both piano and organ and having worked as a singing teacher until her marriage. "Mothers of musical children must sacrifice and give of their time, often to the curtailment of social activity", she told a reporter in November 1951. "When Glenn practiced at noon I was always there and when he came home after school to practice again I was always home."
Glenn Gould wrote of his mother, "Florence Gould was a woman of tremendous faith, and wherever she went, she strove to instill that faith in others."
Otto Friedrich wrote in his book, "Glenn Gould: A Life and Variations" (Vintage Books, a division of Random House, New York, 1989), pp. 13-14. "Peter Greig, one of thirteen children of a Scottish farmer, emigrated to Canada in the mid-nineteenth century. He and his wife, Emma, had ten children, one of whom was Charles Holman Greig, who married Mary Catherine Flett, whose father, a carpenter from the Orkneys, died in a fall from the roof of the Bank of Montreal. One of their children, Florence, duly met and married Russell Herbert Gould..."
Flora married Bert Gould in 1925, on her thirty-fourth birthday. Glenn Gould was born in Toronto in 1932, their only child. They were Presbyterians of Scottish extraction. (Greig is the original Scottish spelling of this name, unlike the Norwegian variant Grieg.) Florence's grandfather was a cousin of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. Florence, 42 years old upon Glenn's birth, must have thought that one of her fondest dreams was finally close to fulfillment: from her earliest youth she had lived for the idea that she would one day have a son whom she would bring up to be a musician.
It is difficult to say what effects this maternal "idee fixe" may have had on Gould's development as an artist and, more especially, as a person. All that can be said for certain is that he showed musical abilities - including perfect pitch - at an extremely early age and that he was only three when Florence Gould gave him his first regular piano lessons in the autumn of 1935, using Louise Robyn's piano tutor for children, Keyboard Town.
She remained Gould's only teacher until 1943 and certainly did not lack the necessary qualifications, playing both piano and organ and having worked as a singing teacher until her marriage. "Mothers of musical children must sacrifice and give of their time, often to the curtailment of social activity", she told a reporter in November 1951. "When Glenn practiced at noon I was always there and when he came home after school to practice again I was always home."
Glenn Gould wrote of his mother, "Florence Gould was a woman of tremendous faith, and wherever she went, she strove to instill that faith in others."
Mother of pianist Glenn Gould.
Otto Friedrich wrote in his book, "Glenn Gould: A Life and Variations" (Vintage Books, a division of Random House, New York, 1989), pp. 13-14. "Peter Greig, one of thirteen children of a Scottish farmer, emigrated to Canada in the mid-nineteenth century. He and his wife, Emma, had ten children, one of whom was Charles Holman Greig, who married Mary Catherine Flett, whose father, a carpenter from the Orkneys, died in a fall from the roof of the Bank of Montreal. One of their children, Florence, duly met and married Russell Herbert Gould..."
Flora married Bert Gould in 1925, on her thirty-fourth birthday. Glenn Gould was born in Toronto in 1932, their only child. They were Presbyterians of Scottish extraction. (Greig is the original Scottish spelling of this name, unlike the Norwegian variant Grieg.) Florence's grandfather was a cousin of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. Florence, 42 years old upon Glenn's birth, must have thought that one of her fondest dreams was finally close to fulfillment: from her earliest youth she had lived for the idea that she would one day have a son whom she would bring up to be a musician.
It is difficult to say what effects this maternal "idee fixe" may have had on Gould's development as an artist and, more especially, as a person. All that can be said for certain is that he showed musical abilities - including perfect pitch - at an extremely early age and that he was only three when Florence Gould gave him his first regular piano lessons in the autumn of 1935, using Louise Robyn's piano tutor for children, Keyboard Town.
She remained Gould's only teacher until 1943 and certainly did not lack the necessary qualifications, playing both piano and organ and having worked as a singing teacher until her marriage. "Mothers of musical children must sacrifice and give of their time, often to the curtailment of social activity", she told a reporter in November 1951. "When Glenn practiced at noon I was always there and when he came home after school to practice again I was always home."
Glenn Gould wrote of his mother, "Florence Gould was a woman of tremendous faith, and wherever she went, she strove to instill that faith in others."
Otto Friedrich wrote in his book, "Glenn Gould: A Life and Variations" (Vintage Books, a division of Random House, New York, 1989), pp. 13-14. "Peter Greig, one of thirteen children of a Scottish farmer, emigrated to Canada in the mid-nineteenth century. He and his wife, Emma, had ten children, one of whom was Charles Holman Greig, who married Mary Catherine Flett, whose father, a carpenter from the Orkneys, died in a fall from the roof of the Bank of Montreal. One of their children, Florence, duly met and married Russell Herbert Gould..."
Flora married Bert Gould in 1925, on her thirty-fourth birthday. Glenn Gould was born in Toronto in 1932, their only child. They were Presbyterians of Scottish extraction. (Greig is the original Scottish spelling of this name, unlike the Norwegian variant Grieg.) Florence's grandfather was a cousin of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. Florence, 42 years old upon Glenn's birth, must have thought that one of her fondest dreams was finally close to fulfillment: from her earliest youth she had lived for the idea that she would one day have a son whom she would bring up to be a musician.
It is difficult to say what effects this maternal "idee fixe" may have had on Gould's development as an artist and, more especially, as a person. All that can be said for certain is that he showed musical abilities - including perfect pitch - at an extremely early age and that he was only three when Florence Gould gave him his first regular piano lessons in the autumn of 1935, using Louise Robyn's piano tutor for children, Keyboard Town.
She remained Gould's only teacher until 1943 and certainly did not lack the necessary qualifications, playing both piano and organ and having worked as a singing teacher until her marriage. "Mothers of musical children must sacrifice and give of their time, often to the curtailment of social activity", she told a reporter in November 1951. "When Glenn practiced at noon I was always there and when he came home after school to practice again I was always home."
Glenn Gould wrote of his mother, "Florence Gould was a woman of tremendous faith, and wherever she went, she strove to instill that faith in others."
Inscription
GOULD
FLORENCE E.
JULY 26, 1975
BELOVED WIFE OF
RUSSELL H. GOULD
Gravesite Details
Cause of death: stroke
Family Members
Children
