Applause for Ray Roberts, Glenn Gould’s Friend

By Stephen Posen

In Memoriam, Ray Roberts
18 March 1939 – 5 December 2020

All of us at The Glenn Gould Foundation are deeply saddened by the loss of Ray Roberts.

Ray was a trusted friend, helper and confidant to Glenn Gould. Ray worked with Glenn to make it possible for him to realize his artistic vision, handling the myriad details needed to clear the path so that his creativity take flight without distraction or impediment. It was Ray who received the call from Glenn to come to the Inn on the Park the fateful night he suffered the stroke that ultimately felled him, and it was Ray whom he trusted to get him to the hospital while preserving his privacy and dignity.

Later, Ray became a valued and trusted director of The Glenn Gould Foundation, and served with loyalty for more than three decades. He was always a voice of reason, gentle by nature, and always ready to bring a spirit of warmth, good sense and calm to the board table, even at tense moments. Ray was motivated always by the desire to serve the legacy of Glenn Gould, his friend. Ray climbed from modest beginnings to a position of respect and success in the insurance business, where he became a trusted counsellor to clients, many of whom he served faithfully for many years. Ray was also a loving and dedicated family man, leaving behind his beloved wife Cathy and his three sons, Stephen, Gordon and Wayne.

We mourn his loss. Here is an appreciation by Stephen Posen.

In the early morning of 27 September 1982, two days after his 50th birthday, Glenn Gould called his most trusted friend and assistant, Ray Roberts, to drive him to the hospital. Glenn suffered a stroke and never recovered. He passed away on 4 October 1982.

While Ray and I were dealing with the emotional shock of losing Glenn Gould, Ray rightly stated that we had our work cut out for us. Because of his knowledge of Glenn’s recordings and the public’s reaction to them, Ray correctly noted many times that Gould’s recordings and reputation would not atrophy or be forgotten over a 10-year period, as predicted by the “experts.” 

Glenn was thought by many to be a loner and something of a recluse. This was because largely of his giving up his concert career in 1964 and retreating to the recording studio and to the philosopher’s/writer’s desk.  

In truth, Glenn was a very sociable person. I overheard a man, apparently a neighbour, speaking at a nearby table shortly after Glenn’s passing: “They say Glenn Gould was a recluse but he was one of the most social people I knew.” The way in which Glenn expressed his full social life was mostly by telephone, but also as a hub of a wheel with many spokes. As I learned after his passing, he had many close relationships, but few of them were known to the others.

Having inherited a relationship with Glenn from colleagues in my law firm in 1972, I became aware of Ray Roberts working with Glenn, but we rarely met or spoke with each other. I learned after Glenn’s passing that Ray played a critical role in Glenn’s life and career. After Glenn’s passing Ray came to me and in effect pledged his loyalty to Glenn through me as Glenn’s executor.

I learned that Ray was involved in Glenn’s day-to-day life and activities, assisting Glenn in his recording career and in the details of his professional and personal life.

When he passed, Glenn had been at the pinnacle of his recording career. For various reasons, Glenn had considered reducing or even ceasing his recording career as a pianist and taking up a career as a conductor. It was then up to Ray Roberts and me to collaborate with the various relevant entities to ensure that Glenn’s recorded legacy would be shared around the world and long into the future.  

Working with CBS Masterworks and its successor, Sony Classical, and CBC to renew contracts, suggest and motivate recording and film projects and many books, while ensuring that other artists and scholars had access to Glenn Gould’s legacy, became an ongoing job combined with Ray’s and my other full-time jobs. In addition, Ray put together a team to properly catalogue and archive all of Glenn’s holdings, which are now permanently housed at Library and Archives Canada.  

Glenn’s friends, former colleagues and passionate admirers also wanted to be part of his legacy.  In or around 1983, John Roberts and Joan Chalmers came to us with the idea of starting a Glenn Gould Foundation. Without much effort, Floyd Chalmers provided the seed money and the Glenn Gould Foundation was born. Ray provided the materials and insights so that the Glenn Gould Foundation could present Glenn Gould Gatherings, while I oversaw the business dealings. Ray continued to communicate with Glenn’s contacts and introduced me to a vast and diverse group of people who helped us to share his legacy with others.

Ray Roberts was Glenn’s “conscience” in his advice to me on many matters. A simple example, which set the tone, is that soon after Glenn’s passing, I asked Ray to return for refund a brand new dark green flannel shirt still in the package; he refused to do so, saying the Glenn would not want us to do that. He was the Glenn Gould conscience in many other and more significant decisions as well. I thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from our subtle and gentle disagreements which led to decisions that were in the best interests of Glenn’s estate, while remaining true to Glenn’s sensibilities.

Ray frequently reminded me that we had a responsibility to represent Glenn at important Gould-related events. One of the more memorable of such events was a film/video Gould festival at a prominent auditorium in Manhattan. We planned to combine our attendance with one of our periodic business meetings with Sony Classical. As it happened, the meeting was cancelled because New York City was all but closed due to a hurricane. Ray and I were already in New York and agreed to meet on our way to the festival. I recall us walking up the centre of Fifth Avenue in the middle of the storm with not a car in sight. We bragged to each other that we would be attending the festival to “fly the flag,” assuming that there would be very few in the audience. We were astonished to see upon our arrival at the auditorium that there were very few empty seats, despite the weather. 

Ray’s thoughtfulness has been a part of keeping Glenn Gould’s flame shining brightly through the years. As part of the sale by the estate of Glenn Gould’s rights to Primary Wave, and continuing to this day, Ray has continued to assist and partner in preserving and enhancing the legacy of Glenn Gould. 

It has been with Ray’s guidance and assistance that the Estate was able to sell Glenn’s amazing legacy to Primary Wave. It is my hope that, through Primary Wave and with the ongoing inspiration of Ray Roberts and me, the story of Glenn Gould’s mark on classical music and his legacy will expand through generations and territories so that it may be said generations from now that in the year 2020 the Glenn Gould story has only just begun to be told.  

With the continued wisdom and input from Ray Roberts, the Glenn Gould Estate has been able to establish and maintain long-standing relationships with CBS Masterworks and then Sony Classical, CBC, and the Glenn Gould Foundation. Along with these partners we were able see Glenn’s music and ideas being shared with new listeners from all four corners of the world over the decades since Glenn’s passing, and this is still going strong.

As an assistant and confidant of Glenn, Ray knows many of his professional and personal secrets, not all of which have become known. Ray continues to treat such secrets in the confidence with which Glenn shared them with Ray.

In the Jewish language a “tzaddik” is a truly righteous person. Ray is a modest, wise and truly just person. As I have told him, he is one of only two truly righteous people that I know – a tzaddik.

Stephen Posen is a partner in the Commercial Leasing Group and is chair of the department, at Minden Gross LLP. He is named as one of Canada’s most frequently recommended property leasing lawyers by the Canadian Lexpert Directory and the Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada. He is also ​ranked by his peers in Best Lawyers in Canada. He is the executor of the Estate of Glenn Gould.