Evolution Gould e Eldredge

Comment fait S.J. Gould, le célèbre paléontologue de Harvard, pour trouver encore, dans le septième volume de ses Réflexions sur l'histoire naturelle, qui rassemble 34 brefs essais, de nouvelles façons de présenter la théorie de l'évolution ? La prouesse étonne, et fascine. Du Frankenstein de Mary Shelley aux escargots d'Edgar Poe (qui fit oeuvre de naturaliste), de la dinomanie (adoration des dinosaures) au système sexuel de classification des plantes du grand-père de Darwin et à l'ADN du magnolia, Gould fait une fois de plus la preuve que les anecdotes ou détails en apparence mineurs, sinon insignifiants, …

Une collection d'histoires pour relater la grande aventure de l'évolution des espèces, ou Darwin expliqué par l'exemple. Quand l'extraordinaire et le merveilleux côtoient le quotidien. Livre d'initiation, Le Pouce du panda est aussi une formidable réflexion sur les mécanismes du vivant. …

This remarkable set, culled from the archives of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during the early years in which Glenn Gould emerged as a major classical pianist (1951–55), packages together five discs previously issued singly between 1994 and 1999. The only new CD in the collection is the second Bach disc, which features typically scintillating performances of the Partita No. 5, Three-Part Inventions, Italian Concerto , and the Concerto in D Minor. Of the various discs here, the only one to contain works not issued commercially by Columbia-CBS-Sony is the second Beethoven CD (originally released in 1997 as CBC 2013).

Les chroniques que S.Jay Gould publie depuis plus de vingt ans dans le Natural History Magazine ont sans doute fait davantage pour expliquer la théorie de l'évolution que des montagnes d'ouvrages savants.
L'étonnant mélange "gouldien" de science, d'histoire et de littérature a passionné les lecteurs du Sourire du Flamant Rose ou de Quand les Poules auront des Dents. …

This disc is likely to have a specialised appeal it is not just Gould but Gould on unfamiliar territory. The disc contains Haydn's last 5 sonatas, extracted on to 1 CD from a set that has only 1 more piece in an expensive 2-disc format. If you know Gould's work you will not be surprised by anything here. He was the least 'romantic' in style of all the great virtuosi, his evenness of touch was legendary and he provides a certain amount of vocal obbligato (not something that bothers me). He uses a piano you could play Rachmaninov on and that does not bother me either Richter, Serkin and Horowitz used similar.

There has been no more original genius of the keyboard than Glenn Gould, but this has ¬drawbacks as well as thrilling advantages. He can sacrifice depth of feeling for a relentless and quixotic sense of adventure. Yet love it or deride it, every bar of these lovingly remastered discs tingles with joie de vivre and an unequalled force and vitality. Try the opening of the First Suite