The Canadian pianist Glenn Gould was a musical genius - a child prodigy whose rise to world fame was jump-started in 1955 by a sensational recording of Bach's daunting Goldberg Variations. As his career continued to blossom, Gould made his mark as a world-renowned pianist, composer, and conductor but also demonstrated his talent and intelligence as an influential critic, essayist, philosopher, actor, comedian, and filmmaker. But along with his charm,...

Unlike previous biographers, who focused primarily on Nijinsky's early and most creative years, Ostwald gives equal weight to the 30 years this great artist spent in mental institutions. With access to previously untapped medical records and archival documents, the author (himself a psychiatrist) provides a clinical insight into Nijinsky's troubled life and relationships. This emphasis is timely: since the Joffrey Ballet's stunning 1987 revival of...