Whistler, Canada!

AROTL is the November pick for “Whistler Reads,” a book group in Whistler, BC, a small town two hours north of Vancouver.

Whistler appears to be a community of serious readers, with an heavily-trafficked Web site called BookBuffet.

Paula Shackleton, the founder of Whistler Reads and BookBuffet, has interviewed hundreds of authors. We had a wonderful interview for a multi-part Podcast, which is here.

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I had a wonderful evening on Thursday at the San Francisco Public Library, speaking to a group of classical music enthusiasts. I had the presence of mind to bring my little speakers with me, along with my iPod that I had loaded with the 80-CD Complete Original Jacket Collection. During the talk, I played Variation XX of the Goldberg Variations for the group so they could hear the unbelievable speed with which GG’s fingers flew, as well as one of the Brahms Intermezzi I love so much, partly because they are so uncharacteristic of Gould. Someone also requested a bit of Schoenberg, which I was only too happy to play.

A few other topics that came up:  the intriguing Disklavier re-performance of GG’s 1955 Goldberg Variations made by John Q. Walker of Zenph Studios; the Pygmy chair; and the reason GG stopped performing in public.