CD design: David Lang, 'the loser'

Artists: David Lang, composer; Rod Gilfry (baritone), Conrad Tao (piano), Bang on a Can Opera Ensemble

Released on Cantaloupe Records, 2020

This unusual opera is a ‘painful meditation on disappointment’, telling the story of a concert pianist who finds himself in the same masterclass as the super-talent Glenn Gould and realises he will never be great. The narrator is his friend who describes meeting ‘the loser’ on Suicide Mountain, a place they have both considered throwing themselves into the void. The narrator, in the staging of the opera, stands on a platform that seems to float in space before the audience. The album artwork uses an original image of the young Glenn Gould.