Randall Goosby profiled by Berkshire Eagle for his distinctive career

*Photo credit: Kaupo Kikkas, courtesy Decca Classics*

CONCERT PREVIEW: Violinist Randall Goosby, pianist Zhu Wang at Saint James Place December 5
By David Noel Edwards
The Berkshire Edge
November 24, 2021

"I've spent my entire life practicing music by white, European composers. It wasn't until later in life that I was awakened to the fact there is a whole world of classical music out there that we don't know anything about and haven't given the respect and play time it deserves."

People have been “discovering” violinist Randall Goosby for years. The Jacksonville Symphony discovered him when he was 9 years old, the New York Philharmonic and Sphinx Competition when he was 13, and his legendary mentor Itzhak Perlman soon thereafter. At age 22, Goosby won first prize in the Young Concert Artists (YCA) auditions and was signed to Decca Classics in 2020 at the age of 24. And on Sunday, Dec. 5 at 3 p.m., when Clarion Concerts presents Goosby at Saint James Place, you will have the opportunity to discover him for yourself and hear why Decca Classics chose to award a recording contract to him instead of one of the other gazillion 20-something violin virtuosos seeking recognition in the year 2020.

Joining Goosby on piano December 5 will be YCA artist Zhu Wang, who is the violinist’s ideal accompanist because his touch is as exquisite as Goosby’s tone. The two will perform a program of Mozart, Price, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, and Franck.

In an interview with the New York Times, label director Dominic Fyfe spelled out Decca’s rationale for signing Goosby, describing him as “a supremely eloquent player and an equally articulate advocate for the value of classical music.” (Such qualities would narrow the field considerably.) Then, Fyfe hit the nail on the head: “In his playing, Randall looks back to a golden age of violin greats, as befits a student of Itzhak Perlman.”

Fyfe is correct. Goosby’s distinctive sound, Perlman informs us, “immediately hits the listener,” and when you hear any of the performances on Goosby’s first Decca release, “Roots,” or YouTube videos, that’s the sound you get. You’ll get it, too, if you catch any of his upcoming performances of the Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, or Brahms violin concertos in 2022.

The words “golden age” seem to be the operative language whenever industry people try to describe Goosby’s sound. Writing for the New York Times, Joshua Barone wrote of the “alluring lyricism of Goosby’s playing, which has a tinge of golden-age tenderness and expressive portamento.”

I spoke this month with Goosby about his Decca contract, his artistic growth under pandemic lockdown, his trademark fiddle sound, and his upcoming show at Saint James place. He cheerfully ran the gauntlet and withstood one of the most challenging questions a Black artist can face in the white-dominated world of classical music. Our conversation has been condensed and edited.

How did you benefit artistically from the pandemic lockdown?

I was fortunate enough to benefit in some really big ways, actually, but I mean personal ways. I think that everyone would agree that we all appreciated the time — the sort of forced time to just sit back and kind of reflect on what we’re doing, what we’ve been doing, what we want to be doing going forward, where we are in the world and in life.

So I really appreciate the time and freedom to say, maybe, not practice four hours on a given day, knowing that I didn’t have the pressures of a deadline or concert coming up. Nevertheless, there was a lot to reflect on, certainly, and one of those things for me — as with many, many others — was this uprising in social justice initiatives and awareness, specifically the Black Lives Matter movement — and I was one of many people who were doing virtual concerts in solidarity, and tributes on Facebook, to people who were murdered at the hands of police.

It feels good to do in the moment, but after doing so many, and seeing so many, I kind of got tired of it and started questioning whether or not I was actually making any sort of an impact on the movement, and I was feeling a bit lost.

Suddenly, at the end of summer 2020, Decca comes knocking on the door with an exclusive contract offer. With all of their artists, with a debut album they really emphasize the importance of a story and something that’s unique to the artist — and boy did I have something for them. So that first album, “Roots,” came pretty much out of the pandemic, and it was a really amazing process for me to discover and rediscover some old works by African American composers, and it just kind of … it put things in a different perspective for me in terms of what I am and how I relate to that part of myself, being an African American in classical music, which is obviously such a white-dominated field. And so it was really a fantastic experience and one of the things I’m grateful for, actually, coming out of lockdown.

Why did Decca sign you?

I have some speculations, of course, especially given the world that we’re living in. Unfortunately, for us black artists there’s always the question that looms in our head when we get asked for something: Am I being pursued entirely because of the tens of thousands of hours, blood, sweat, and tears I put into this? Or am I being pursued also because of things that are out of my control? And for me, it doesn’t really do much good to ask myself that question, because at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter.

What I do is entirely dependent on the work that I put in by myself and the fact that I absolutely love with a passion what I do. And so, whatever the reason is that they approached me, I’m incredibly grateful, and I am committed to making absolutely the most out of it, not taking it for granted.

Critics have raved about your sound — and for good reason: your playing has a rich, old-school quality reminiscent of the old masters. I would think you’d be pretty confident about that.

*Photo credit: Atlanta Symphony Orchestra*

Yeah, I would say so, being a student of the godfather of tone, Itzhak Perlman. He always impressed upon us that there’s a difference between tone and sound, that everyone has their own unique sound in the way that they have a unique speaking voice, different from anyone else. And tone is what you do with that inherent sound that you have.

Mr. Perlman has always placed great emphasis on the basis of what we do being the quality of the sound that we produce. It’s something that he focuses a lot on, and it’s something that I continue to focus on, because we human beings evolve, and I think our speaking voice, our tone of voice, the way that we inflect when we speak or play, evolves over time, as well. So I am comfortable with the natural sound that I have, but I’m certainly always searching and exploring for different ways to add nuance and to add character — to add substance to that sound, which of course changes, depending on the piece you’re playing and the context.

What you take in as you develop into an adult — both as a person and as a musician — I think that seeps into your own perception of how you want to sound and how you hear yourself. And for me, obviously, Perlman was a huge inspiration growing up. And I listen to a lot of these old-school guys, Heifetz and Milstein, all the way back to Elman and Szeryng, and there’s a directness, and there’s a … I don’t know … almost a matter-of-factness to the way that they approach music and the way they approach sound. I mean, it’s so, so natural to them. It really is as if they’re speaking in their normal tone of voice — that all of those different sounds and all of the different things that they did in their interpretations of any given piece were things that, I like to think, kind of seeped into my own creative mental space and time.

What is the difference between the mindset of a soloist and the mindset of a section player?

I won’t claim for a second to be a seasoned, experienced orchestra player. Most of my orchestral experience came from Youth Symphony when I was growing up, and then, of course, from my masters studies at Juilliard. But obviously, the main difference is that the interpretation of the music doesn’t come 100-percent from the player. Obviously, there’s a conductor involved, and the conductor is a unifying force for everyone in the orchestra.

And there is a kind of listening that’s maybe more necessary in ensemble playing than it is in solo playing. I think there’s a bit of a stigma, where you are the soloist and whoever is playing with you is accompanying, or they’re following you. And that’s not necessarily an idea that I like to take with me onstage. I really highly value the collaborative aspect of music. Otherwise, why would we play with other people? I would just play by myself if I didn’t want to listen to someone else and be influenced by what they’re doing. So, for me, really, there’s a massive difference in mindset, other than perhaps the fact that it’s a lot more exposed, and everyone can hear everything that you’re doing, which is not the case in an orchestra. But, again, it’s really that collaborative spirit and the listening, and the spontaneity that’s involved in playing in an ensemble that I think is very different in orchestral and ensemble playing than solo playing.

And does ego strength figure in?

*Photo credit: Kaupo Kikkas, courtesy the artist’s website*

I would think so, and I’ve always — my parents and my whole family — we really value a humble and modest mindset, and that was something I prided myself on growing up, and that’s something that I do my very best to carry with me today.

I am blessed to be surrounded by really world-class musicians, and I have been so ever since I attended the Perlman music program, the first time in 2011, and I can always look around to friends and colleagues, and listen to them play, and I can hear something that I wish I had in my own playing. I can appreciate the uniqueness of everyone’s playing. For me it’s never been about ego in the sense of being better or worse or more or less authoritative than someone else. For me it’s about taking everything that I absolutely can, from anywhere that I can, and trying to find the best parts of whatever it is I hear or take in, and to try to infuse that — over time, of course — into my own playing.

But I can’t disagree. There has to be something of an ego, I suppose, to get up in front of an orchestra or a solo recital and have all eyes on you and understand that there is an expectation of a certain level of playing, a certain quality of playing, and I guess it does take an ego to believe that you do possess that level of skill.

Where did you learn to play blues licks?

I actually never really learned how to play blues licks. I mean, I’ll certainly never pass as a jazz violinist at all. I’m classically trained and that’s what I do, and that’s what I’ll continue to do until I have the chance and the time to really dive into jazz.

I’m referring to Xavier Foley’s “Shelter Island.” Those were blues licks you played, but they sounded transcribed.

They were transcribed. Yeah, every note was written out, thankfully [laughs]. I’m not as adept an improviser as I hope to be someday, but I guess the closest I got was a jazz improv class at Juilliard. It was all classical musicians, and so all the extended harmonies and chord charts were difficult for us, or at least for me as a classical musician. I’m used to seeing every note written out, though we ended up just playing and improvising over blues — basic, basic blues charts — for a semester. And that’s the closest I got. But you’re talking about “Shelter Island.” Those licks were made possible by Xavier Foley. If it weren’t for him … some of that stuff obviously is transcribed, but some of it, listening to it myself, really does sound sort of improvised. And I think it just speaks to Xavier’s compositional talents and being able to really create that kind of an atmosphere in classically notated music.

It speaks also to his notational talent, don’t you think? You can hear those parts in your head, but to get ’em on paper is just a whole other deal.

Oh! Anytime I’ve tried to take on any sort of even a small scale composition project, usually being for class credit, I’ve just been incredibly humbled.

*Photo credit: the artist’s Facebook page*

How many other Black violin soloists are putting Black composers in the spotlight the way you have done on your “Roots” album?

There’s a lot more than you’d think, and that’s a big part of the climate around classical music here in the U.S. — that people just don’t know where to look for those people. They don’t know where they are, and certainly a lot of them are in high-profile, big-platform positions like I’m lucky enough to be in. It could have been anyone. I have 20 friends who could be doing the same thing, and are, but in their own ways and in their own circles.

I’ve spent my entire life and still spend most of my time practicing music by white, European composers. I’ve got a Beethoven concerto next week, I just played the Bruch concerto, I played a Brahms concerto a few weeks ago … This is how I fell in love with classical music. It wasn’t because of music by African American composers, but like so many — I would say the vast majority of classical musicians in the industry — it was not until later in life that I was awakened to the fact that there is a whole world of classical music out there that we don’t know anything about and that we haven’t given the amount of respect and play time it deserves. And this album, “Roots,” was just the first step, really, for me, in wholeheartedly committing to adding that [body of work] to what I do in the hope of making it and its composers (if it’s not too optimistic to hope for) part of the canon.

It’s been hundreds of years that the canon has formed itself, and it’ll probably be another few hundred years before we really see the canon, as a whole, look very differently — perhaps the way that we want it to look. And by that I mean, representative of all the people who have told their stories in classical music and all the people who are still figuring out how to tell their stories through classical music.

There are people, certainly, who have dedicated their lives — and have been doing this for decades — digging up and researching and studying and performing works by Black composers. I’m new to the scene. [“Roots”] was a first step, and I look forward to continuing to unearth more and more of this music — and not only by Black composers, either — Asian composers. Native American composers. Laotian — you know, whatever it is. There are so many stories and experiences that are told through classical music that we’ve yet to discover, and I think that’s really, really exciting.

Should the scope of your interest include marginalized white composers lacking academic pedigrees?

That’s a great question. I don’t really have the expertise or the experience to speak on that, especially contemporary composers — I’m still very, very fresh in terms of getting on that bandwagon. But for me, it’s really not all about color — and people will say “I don’t see color when I listen to music, blah, blah, blah.” But it’s not something that we can avoid. I’m not trying to lie to myself and say that there is no color in classical music, that it’s just about the music. I know it can’t be, because of the way the world is and the society that we live in.

But what this is about is experience and feelings and emotions that people can relate to and that are translated back and forth between the stage and an audience. And I think that’s what makes this art form so exciting. It’s why people who love classical music love it. It’s not because a certain composer looks a certain way. It’s because a piece of music makes them feel a certain way, and they want to keep coming back. They want to keep being affected in that way, the same way you do if you watch a movie, or see a play. It’s just a different language. It’s a language that we’re all learning and will continue to learn till the day we die, and I’m so grateful to be able to call it a career that I can make out of learning this language and figuring out ways to connect with people, cause I think — especially in this digital age — that’s becoming more and more difficult. And it’s something that I value more and more every day.

Can you give us a few highlights of your next 12 months?

Sure! Well, I’ve got some performances of both of Florence Price’s violin concertos, which I’m really excited about. I actually haven’t learned them yet — I’ve heard them, and I’ve checked out the music, but I’ve yet to commit them to my hands. I’m very excited to add those concertos to the repertoire. I’ve got a few Tchaikovsky concertos on the docket for next season, which is very exciting. Those will be my first performances with orchestra. I studied the concerto growing up as a teenager and an undergrad, but I’ll have the chance to pull it back out and dust it off and take it out on stage with a full orchestra, which is very exciting.

But I’m most excited about things that actually aren’t on the schedule and haven’t been fully figured out and fleshed out yet. Obviously, all these big performances with orchestras and recitals are very exciting, but a big part of my passion for music, what I want to do with it, is to connect with different parts of the community outside of the concert hall, with those who don’t often find themselves in seats of a big concert hall listening to music; communities that are largely underserved and don’t necessarily enjoy regular easy access to classical music; kids in schools who may not have a music education program.

I’m really interested in the future of classical music in that regard and growing it in a way that inspires the next generation to perhaps pick up an instrument or get excited about classical music, because it’s never been the cool thing to do. It wasn’t when I was a kid, and it’s still not now. But my life has benefited in ways that I can’t even quantify because I’ve had the opportunity to play an instrument and perform, and all of the things that come with it. So I’d like to do everything I can to open some eyes of young people to the fact that this is an incredibly valuable, meaningful, fulfilling way to spend your time and to build a career, to build a life. So that’s a big part of my focus. And as I grow, and as my platform gets a little bigger, I’d like to really manifest that in a big and longstanding way, whether it be a music festival, educational music programs, concert series — in places where it’s needed or in places where it doesn’t exist — so that’s a big passion of mine going forward, and I don’t exactly know how that’s going to play out, but it’s something I’ll always have in the front of my mind.

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