In 1955, Canadian piano prodigy Glenn Gould made a recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations that made him world-famous. But Gould became just as famous for his eccentricities – humming along while he played, wearing gloves and overcoat in summer, middle-of-the-night phone calls and quitting the concert circuit at the height of his career.

It’s the 80th anniversary of his birth, and Gould continues to provoke fascination, with tribute albums, books, DVDs, an app and even a Glenn Gould conference at the University of Toronto. All this raises bigger questions of Gould’s impact on the music industry – and how artists’ legacies are promoted – or maybe even exploited – after they’re gone.