Mark Glanville - The Goldberg Variations

Fourth Estate

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Published by Flamingo 2004

Previously published in Great Britain in hardback by Flamingo 2003

Copyright © Mark Glanville 2003

Mark Glanville asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Source ISBN: 9780007118427

Ebook Edition © JANUARY 2013 ISBN 9780007383306

Version: 2016-03-17

HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.

‘Like C4’s ‘Faking It’ makeovers, The Goldberg Variations opposes two purposes seemingly too different for one person to undertake successfully. Glanville’s ongoing battle between football and music fascinates. One facilitates the other – his first trip to OldTrafford was a reward for passing Grade 5 clarinet. One impinges on the other – concerned about protecting his opera voice, Glanville lowers it an octave on the terraces. The emerging dialectic evolves alongside traditional rites-of-passage (first solo trip abroad, first love, etc) and against a backdrop of troubled sexuality – teenage frustrations kindled by his sisters and an inability to climax with girlfriends. Glanville’s openness is seductive and his memoir is disarming.’

Time Out

‘A richly enjoyable and moving memoir.’

Tribune

‘A chilling account of life on the terraces and of the loyalty it engenders. It is also a fascinating description of the long process of having your voice professionally trained for the opera stage.’

Irish Examiner

‘A readable, funny and intelligent story of a man’s struggle to find himself among a confusion of different lives.’

Cork Evening Echo

For Joshua and Arabella

Were the wind to blow even slightly against them My eyes would refuse to close HITTAAN BIN AL-MU’ALLAA

Cover

Title Page The Goldberg Variations MARK GLANVILLE

Copyright COPYRIGHT Copyright Praise Dedication ARIA VARIATION ONE: The Football Hooligan VARIATION TWO: The Oxford Classicist VARIATION THREE: The Opera Singer VARIATION FOUR: The Jew ARIA DA CAPO: The Vedl Acknowledgements About the Author About the Publisher Fourth Estate An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk Published by Flamingo 2004 Previously published in Great Britain in hardback by Flamingo 2003 Copyright © Mark Glanville 2003 Mark Glanville asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books. Source ISBN: 9780007118427 Ebook Edition © JANUARY 2013 ISBN 9780007383306 Version: 2016-03-17 HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.

Praise PRAISE Praise Dedication ARIA VARIATION ONE: The Football Hooligan VARIATION TWO: The Oxford Classicist VARIATION THREE: The Opera Singer VARIATION FOUR: The Jew ARIA DA CAPO: The Vedl Acknowledgements About the Author About the Publisher ‘Like C4’s ‘Faking It’ makeovers, The Goldberg Variations opposes two purposes seemingly too different for one person to undertake successfully. Glanville’s ongoing battle between football and music fascinates. One facilitates the other – his first trip to OldTrafford was a reward for passing Grade 5 clarinet. One impinges on the other – concerned about protecting his opera voice, Glanville lowers it an octave on the terraces. The emerging dialectic evolves alongside traditional rites-of-passage (first solo trip abroad, first love, etc) and against a backdrop of troubled sexuality – teenage frustrations kindled by his sisters and an inability to climax with girlfriends. Glanville’s openness is seductive and his memoir is disarming.’ Time Out ‘A richly enjoyable and moving memoir.’ Tribune ‘A chilling account of life on the terraces and of the loyalty it engenders. It is also a fascinating description of the long process of having your voice professionally trained for the opera stage.’ Irish Examiner ‘A readable, funny and intelligent story of a man’s struggle to find himself among a confusion of different lives.’ Cork Evening Echo

Dedication DEDICATION CONTENTS Cover Title Page Copyright Praise Dedication ARIA VARIATION ONE: The Football Hooligan VARIATION TWO: The Oxford Classicist VARIATION THREE: The Opera Singer VARIATION FOUR: The Jew ARIA DA CAPO: The Vedl Acknowledgements About the Author About the Publisher For Joshua and Arabella Were the wind to blow even slightly against them My eyes would refuse to close HITTAAN BIN AL-MU’ALLAA

ARIA

VARIATION ONE: The Football Hooligan

VARIATION TWO: The Oxford Classicist

VARIATION THREE: The Opera Singer

VARIATION FOUR: The Jew

ARIA DA CAPO: The Vedl

Acknowledgements

About the Author

About the Publisher

I must own that I could have assured any questioner that Combray did include other scenes and did exist at other hours than these. But since the facts which I should then have recalled would have been prompted by voluntary memory, the memory of the intellect, and since the pictures which that kind of memory shows us preserve nothing of the past itself, I should never have had any wish to ponder over this residue of Combray.