Ahead of his highly anticipated first major New York City recital, we sat down with Randall Goosby, one of the most acclaimed classical artists of his generation. The 25-year-old Sphinx Competition winner, Itzhak Perlman protégé, and violin sensation shared thoughts on the music he champions, the greatest lesson he learned from “Mr. P,” and his passion for making classical music representative and accessible.
Your upcoming 92Y concert is a duo program with your superb musical partner and fellow Young Concert Artists winner, 24-year-old pianist Zhu Wang, featuring beloved sonatas by Mozart and Franck alongside selections by early 20th century African American composer Florence Price. Please tell us what excites you most about this concert and this program, and what we can expect to hear.
Chamber music is probably my favorite facet of classical music. Just being completely in the moment with another person or other people – it really forces you to listen in an intense and open-minded way, where a single note or a single turn of a phrase by your partner can completely change how you think about the music. And that’s just so much fun for me, being in the moment and being spontaneous.
Mozart has been one of my favorite composers since I was a kid, and I’m thrilled to be performing this sonata for the first time. Everyone can find something to delight in and enjoy in Mozart’s music. Price has been having a well-deserved renaissance over these last couple of years, and Zhu and I have had an incredible time discovering some of her works, which meld the influence of spirituals with Eurocentric forms and techniques and structures. The Fantasies we’ll be performing are a fantastic example of that melding of styles, where one moment you’re in a very spiritual place, and the next you’re in a world of late-Romantic harmonies. The Franck sonata is such a fabulous work, a great favorite of mine and of Zhu’s, but we’ve never performed it together, so we’re terrifically excited about that. The program is filled with favorites, surprises and firsts. Hearing the works together, you’ll experience a great variety of styles and textures, but also what they share, which is that they all touch something very human in us when we listen.
How extraordinary to have had the opportunity to study with one of the greatest violinists of all time, and from such an early age. Please talk a bit about your work with Mr. Perlman. What has been his greatest impact on you as a violinist? As a young artist in general?
I’ve known and been working with Mr. Perlman (I call him “Mr. P”) for about 10 years now. I started studying with him when I was 14, at the Perlman Music Program on Shelter Island. That was the big “light bulb” moment for me as a kid. I had been taking my studying seriously from the beginning, but that was when I knew I wanted to pursue music as a career. I remember being terrified the first time I met him, because – especially to a young violinist – he’s really a god. I was standing behind him on the lunch line on my very first day there. I hadn’t met him yet, and I had no idea what I might say when I did, and I just remember him reaching across the serving counter and grabbing a massive “Perlman handful” of chicken nuggets, and I exhaled and thought, “OK, maybe we’re not that different!” That was the sort of vibe that carried through that summer and, really, the rest of our relationship.
Mr. Perlman is approachable and funny and kind, and he has a profound way of bringing things to their most simple form. When I began studying with him, I was consumed with ideas of perfection and technical proficiency and such, and I would ask him questions about it all. I remember him once saying, “Well, what do you think about the music? How does it make you feel? We can talk about technique and bow arm efficiency all day, but if you don’t know how the music makes you feel, how are you supposed to communicate those things to an audience?” An amazing lesson for a young musician.
Your debut album, Roots, which has received tremendous critical acclaim, shines a spotlight on the work of Black composers, Florence Price among them. You’ve been one of the chief champions of her work, making the first recordings ever of the two Fantasies you just spoke about. What is it like for you to be making choices that are historic as such a young artist?
I feel so fortunate to be in the position I am at the time that I am, and to discover Price’s music, along with so many others, at a time when people are really excited about it. Her story is a captivating one. She “made it” as a successful African American female composer early in the 20th century – just imagine the kind of obstacles and boundaries that she would have had to overcome to get to the point she did. Having a symphony premiered by the Chicago Symphony in 1933 was no small feat, and it really speaks to the quality and integrity and unique nature of her work. It’s very exciting for me to be sharing her music with a wider audience.
Your advocacy figures prominently in your artistry. What do you most hope to effect with your music?
Well, to put it very simply, the future. Over the past couple of years and especially during the pandemic, when everyone was starting to ask questions like, “What do we do about DEI?” and “What do we do to ensure the future of classical music?” and “What can we do with our programming?” and “What can we do in our boardrooms,” I’m thinking, “What about the classrooms? What about the kids who are going to be the next generation of students, teachers, performers, administrators?” Because top to bottom, we have to look at who’s going to be next in line.
For me, being able to go around to schools and other non-traditional performance settings, bringing music to people who wouldn’t ordinarily experience it as part of their everyday life, always yields really surprising results. Especially in places or among demographics where people might normally think classical music wouldn’t draw interest. Going into these settings has reassured me that classical music really is for everyone. It’s simply a matter of whether or not you’ve been exposed or have access. I don’t take it lightly that I am in a position to be a kind of role model for some kids.
Going forward, I also want to keep discovering and sharing new music – not necessarily music that is new in the sense that it was written recently – but works we haven’t heard before by people we don’t often find on concert halls or on stages. There are whole lifetimes of stories encapsulated in this music we’re so fortunate to play, and I think those stories have to be reflective of everyone.
Hear Randall Goosby and Zhu Wang in concert on Thursday, December 9 at 7:30 pm, in person only, at Kaufmann Concert Hall.