Randall Goosby profiled in the Times Union for upcoming recitals

Randall Goosby makes his professional recital debuts this season at St. James Place in Great Barrington ahead of the 92nd Street Y (Photo credit: Kaupo Kikkas)

Violinist Goosby makes the most of his post-pandemic moment
By Joseph Dalton
Times Union
November 28

It’s been a good year for 25-year-old violinist Randall Goosby, who’s performing a recital on Sunday, Dec. 5, at St. James Place in Great Barrington. In June, Decca released his debut recording “Roots,” a delightful collection of works inspired by African American culture that beautifully showcases the fresh and dulcet quality of his playing. Also during the early summer, Goosby appeared on the COVID-era made-for-television production of the annual Kennedy Center Honors. Among his many recent concert bookings, he performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and conductor Gustavo Dudamel at the Hollywood Bowl.

“I didn’t expect things to start popping during the pandemic. Like so many friends and colleagues, I was at home putting virtual concerts online. But Decca had been scouting me for about a year and a half,” says Goosby.

Emerging from the pandemic shutdowns and on the heels of Black Lives Matter protests, classical music institutions across the country have scrambled to give new prominence to Black musicians and composers. It was a moment made for Goosby, a talent with stellar credentials, having studied since 2015 with Itzhak Perlman at Juilliard.

“After a summer of zoom calls and trying to make a difference behind our computers and feeling a little lost, it was great to have a more meaningful impact on the times and the movement and also the culture of classical music. Decca came along at the perfect time,” says Goosby.

That says something about Goosby’s focus, that he wanted his debut recording to have a social impact. Advocacy is a big part of Goosby’s purpose as an artist. It shows through in his thoughtful programming of music by Black composers and his active devotion to the next generation. A regular part of his schedule has been outreach events, especially informal performances in schools.

“I was always very nervous as a young boy playing classical music, which is very far from a cool thing to do,” recalls the violinist. “That’s why I’ve been so surprised to go into schools and see wide eyes and open mouths. The students were completely fascinated by this art form. That leads me to conclude, there is no inherent disinterest, but simply a lack of access and lack of sustained interaction with professionals.”

Goosby grew up in Memphis, the son of a Black father and a Korean mother. Though neither side of his family showed any particular flair for music, when their son expressed an interest and showed aptitude in violin, nothing could stop his parents from getting him the best training.

“My mom comes from Osaka and there’s a notable difference between music education in Japan and the U.S. When I blurted out that I wanted to play the violin she figured out a way, as moms do,” says Goosby. After initial studies locally, Goosby and his mom flew to New York City for one weekend a month during which he received six hours of lessons from Philippe Quint. This went on for three years.

Of Goosby’s many awards and distinctions -- debut with the New York Philharmonic at age 13, winner of Young Concert Artists -- he also was the youngest-ever winner of the concerto competition of the Sphinx Organization, which is dedicated to supporting Black musicians in classical music. In the succeeding years he’s been both a beneficiary and a contributor to Sphinx programs. During the height of the pandemic, he co-produced and hosted panel discussions on minority participation in the music industry.

It was about 10 years ago and through Sphinx programs that Goosby first met Sanford Allen, who was the first black member of the New York Philharmonic, serving from 1963 to 1979. Allen was for 18 years the artistic director of Clarion Concerts in Columbia County, which is the organization presenting Goosby’s recital in Great Barrington.

As a tribute to Allen, Goosby will be performing “Blues Forms,” a four-movement work for solo violin that Allen premiered in 1972. The composer was Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, a Black composer who died in 2004. Goosby included “Blues Forms” on his new disc, but Allen, the dedicatee of the piece, got there first. When Allen’s performance was released, a critic described the piece as “a deep reverie of black experience as seen through the filter of Paganiniesque writing.”

“Mr. Allen has a been a huge inspiration to me and for other young musicians of color to pursue a life and career in music.” says Goosby. “He was also generous enough to work with me on the piece and give me his direct and personal take on it.”

Two other pieces in the upcoming recital, Florence Price’s Fantasies Nos. 1 and 2, are also drawn from the material on “Roots.” The program will open with Mozart’s Violin Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 454 and conclude with Franck’s Violin Sonata in A Major.

The Franck, though massive and challenging, is a popular choice of virtuoso players. Goosby found it to be both rewarding and moving, saying, “It’s a beautiful piece and I’ve shed many tears over that, mainly with Mr. Perlman, my teacher for the last 10 years.” Looking at the recital as a whole, Goosby says, “We’ll experience very different takes on melody and melodicism.”

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