Rave review for Randall Goosby’s Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra debut
American violinist Randall Goosby performed Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on Jan. 21 (Photo credit: Mark Lyons)
REVIEW: Violinist Randall Goosby electrifies in Tchaikovsky with CSO
By Janelle Gelfand
Cincinnati Business Courier
January 22, 2023
Remember this name: Randall Goosby. The 20-something American violinist wowed with an electrifying performance of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on Saturday.
But it wasn’t only his technique that impressed in one of the most difficult violin concertos in the repertoire. It was the ease and pure joy that he radiated as he played. Small wonder the large audience in Music Hall rose cheering for several minutes after the first movement – and again after the third. Goosby, a champion of African American composers, provided an encore: “Louisiana Blues Strut” by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, combining blues and lightning-quick feats of fiddling. The response was deafening.
Louis Langrée was on the podium for what he described as an “intriguing” program. Indeed, it was. He opened with Julia Perry’s rarely heard “Homunculus C.F.” for percussion ensemble, harp and piano, and concluded with Prokofiev’s lesser-known Symphony No. 3.
Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major has been a staple of great artists for more than a century. However, it was at first deemed impossible to play by its dedicatee, the great teacher Leopold Auer. Nevertheless, Auer taught it to his star students, including Mischa Elman, who performed the concerto with the CSO in 1919.
Goosby, who was making his CSO debut, has already appeared with major orchestras across the United States and Europe and has a recording contract with Decca Classics. (His first album, “Roots,” includes music by Florence Price, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson and William Grant Still.) He made his solo orchestral debut at age 9 with the Jacksonville Symphony, and his awards include first prize in the 2018 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. Currently, the Juilliard graduate is pursuing an artist diploma with violin legend Itzhak Perlman and Catherine Cho.
He communicated with warmth and beauty of tone from the first notes of Tchaikovsky’s concerto. The violinist’s lyrical themes were deeply expressive, and he dispatched its fireworks without breaking a sweat. The first movement’s cadenza had muscular intensity, and he reached for the high harmonics with pinpoint precision.
In contrast, his phrasing in the second movement, “Canzonetta,” was straight from the heart. Here Goosby communicated with singing tone on his instrument, a 1735 Guarneri del Gesu. Langrée and the orchestra were in complete communion with the artist.
The finale sparkled. Throughout his nonstop technical wizardry, Goosby’s playing was always musical. He often turned toward the orchestra, communicating with the players and appearing to enjoy the moment. The orchestra’s tutti passages were robust, yet Langrée was careful not to overpower the violinist in this winning performance.
Read the full article here.