Glenn Gould Hereafter

So I sat down in front of the telly, and, being a science-minded sort of chap, thought I would give BBC2’s new programme Battle of the Geeks a go. Dear lord, was that ever a mistake.

 

Within sixty seconds, it came across as the bastard offspring of Top Gear mated with Rough Science. While I have a soft spot for the latter, I utterly, utterly, loathe the former. Battle of the Geeks is another perfect illustration of how to dumb down science to the lowest possible common denominator and remove every vestige of what is worthwhile. A detestable programme, I thought, as I lunged for the remote control.

 

However, every cloud has a silver lining. Frantically pressing buttons on the remote brought me into the warm embrace of BBC Four. And there was Glenn Gould Hereafter, a simply magnificent programme about Glenn Gould. I knew the name, of course, and I will have heard his recordings. But now, seeing this biographical film makes me want to start really listening to his work.

 

If you get a chance to see Hereafter, do so. You won’t be disappointed. The final moments reminded me of Ken Russell’s early work of film biographies of famous composers for the BBC’s Monitor and Omnibus programmes, back in the 1960s, and I do mean that as a compliment.