The most renowned Canadian classical performer of the 20th century, pianist Glenn Gould remains one of the most fascinating and celebrated figures in all of music, the archetypal riddle wrapped inside an enigma wrapped inside a conundrum. A former child prodigy, his piano artistry was unparalleled, yet he often received less recognition as a virtuoso than as a troubled eccentric; a disconnected recluse notorious for such odd habits as wearing a wool topcoat in the dog days of summer, Gould was a sight to behold even in live performances — seated on a low chair and slumped over the keyboard, humming (sometimes singing) audibly to himself as he played, all the while conducting with his free hand. Gould's impossible technique and singular behavior were so hotly debated by scholars that often it seemed that his actual skills were negligible; perhaps it's not surprising that at the age of just 31, he left public performance behind forever, turning instead to broadcasting and writing, as well as an almost obsessive exploration of modern recording technology.
Gould was born in Toronto, Ontario, on September 25, 1932, the product of a musical family that included his father, an amateur violinist, and his mother, a pianist and organist; Edvard Grieg was a distant relation as well. Even at the age of three, Gould evidenced prodigious skills — in addition to his absolute pitch, he was already able to read staff notation, and just two years later he authored his first compositions. At the age of ten, he began lessons at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and in 1944 took home the piano trophy from the annual Kiwanis Music Festival, the only such contest he ever entered in response to his strong opposition to the idea of competitive performance. In 1945, Gould passed his associateship examination as a solo performer at the Royal Conservatory; that same year he offered his first public performance on the organ, a concert reviewed under the headline "Boy, Age 12, Shows Genius as Organist."
At the age of 14, Gould made his debut as soloist at a Royal Conservatory orchestral performance of Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto. His first public recital was in 1947, and featured works by Scarlatti, Beethoven, Chopin, and Liszt; his debut network radio recital followed over CBC airwaves in 1950, and marked the beginning of his long relationship with broadcasting and recording. In early 1955, Gould made his New York debut, and within hours signed with Columbia's Masterworks imprint. His first recording, a performance of Bach's Goldberg Variations, became an instant best-seller, and he went on to make over 60 more recordings for the label in the years to follow. In 1957, Gould toured Europe, and at the peak of Cold War tensions he became the first North American ever to perform in the Soviet Union. His concert career continued to great success during the early '60s, but in Los Angeles on April 10, 1964 — with no advance warning, and without fanfare — he delivered his final public performance.
Gould's decision to retire from live performances was in part a result of his desire to focus more of his energies on writing, broadcasting, composing, and conducting; his first major new project was a "sound documentary" called The Idea of North, a philosophical musing on the meaning of northern existence. Keeping in contact with the outside world primarily over the telephone, Gould was often out of the spotlight for long periods of time, but in 1981 he broke with his long tradition of not re-recording material to return to the work with which he remained most closely identified, the Goldberg Variations; his decision was motivated in large part by the vast improvements in technology during the quarter century that separated the two recordings. Months later, he formed a Toronto chamber orchestra, serving as their conductor on a recording of Wagner's Siegfried Idyll; it was his last major work — Gould died on October 4, 1982, after suffering a stroke. He was just 50 years old.

托卡塔的意大利原意是触碰，用一连串的分解和弦以快速的音阶经过交替构成的织体，而赋格是拉丁文FUGA的音译，代表着逃遁的涵义。在古典时期作曲家常把两者结合在一起形成交替循环的特征。
巴赫1703年十八岁之时，被任命为阿恩史达德的教堂管风琴师，两年后他请长假，花了十天专程徒步到吕贝克，聆听大师布克斯泰乌德的演奏。虽然巴赫拒绝大师拟将三十岁女儿嫁给他的好意，布氏幻想风格却影响了他后来的写作。这种幻想风格不受旋律主题限制，能够充分展现作曲者的才气和隐藏的和声。1705年到1714年之间，巴赫采用此类风格，写了七首《触技曲》。由于巴赫并没有将之收集成套出版，也并未当作教材，因此学者推测，应该是他自己用来演奏的实验性作品。七首曲子之中，每支曲子都具有独特的个性与设计，充分让演奏者展现华丽的触键。