Program Notes
Suite de Pièces, op. 3 (1892)
Composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, the son of a physician from Sierra Leone and a woman from England, was born in London on August 15, 1875. In his early years, Coleridge-Taylor studied the violin and singing. Later, he pursued studies in composition at London’s Royal College of Music under the tutelage of British composer Charles Villiers Stanford.
During his lifetime, Coleridge-Taylor was celebrated both as a composer and conductor who succeeded in a wide variety of genres. ColeridgeTaylor, who made three visits to the United States, took a great interest in African American music. In many of his works, Coleridge-Taylor offered a compelling synthesis of African American folk melodies and classical music. His tragic death from pneumonia at the age of only 37 cut short a brilliant and promising career. Coleridge-Taylor’s tombstone reads:
TOO YOUNG TO DIE
HIS GREAT SIMPLICITY
HIS HAPPY COURAGE IN AN ALIEN WORLD HIS GENTLENESS
MADE ALL THAT KNEW HIM LOVE HIM
Coleridge-Taylor was 17 when he composed his Suite de Pièces for violin and piano. The collection of four brief works (Pastorale, Cavatina, Barcarolle, and Contemplation) celebrate the violin’s lyrical beauty.
Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, op. 100, “Thun” (1886)
During the summers of 1886–1888, Johannes Brahms vacationed at Hofstetten, near Thun, Switzerland, staying in a villa overlooking the lake. It seems the idyllic setting inspired Brahms’s creative powers. During his initial summer in Hofstetten in 1886, Brahms composed three great chamber works—the Cello Sonata No. 2 in F Major, op. 99; the Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, op. 100; and the Piano Trio No. 3 in C Minor, op. 101. Brahms and violinist Josef Hellmesberger gave the premiere of the Violin Sonata No. 2 in Vienna on December 2, 1886.
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I. Allegro amabile—The piano initiates the presentation of the first principal theme. Many commentators have noted the similarity of the melody’s opening portion to Walther’s “Prize Song” in Richard Wagner’s opera, The Mastersingers of Nuremberg (1868). Brahms acknowledged that the Sonata’s wide-ranging second principal theme was related to his song Wie melodien zieht es mir, op. 105, No. 1 (1886). But the spirit of another work is also evident in the Sonata’s opening movement. The triple meter, omnipresence of a three-note motif introduced at the outset, and prevailing lyrical and sunny mood (note the unusual tempo marking, Allegro amabile), all bear a strong kinship to the first movement of the Brahms Second Symphony. The central themes undergo the expected development and recapitulation. The coda provides a spirited conclusion.
II. Andante tranquillo–Vivace—The second movement combines two traditional movements into one. The opening section (Andante tranquillo) serves the function of a slow-tempo movement. The ensuing 3/4 Vivace—in the spirit of a folk dance called the ländler—constitutes the scherzo. The two episodes alternate, with a brief repetition of the scherzo having the final word.
III. Allegretto grazioso, quasi Andante—The violin introduces the rondo finale’s recurring broad theme, marked espressivo. The noble, reflective mood of the opening measures pervades throughout, leading to the majestic closing bars.
Suite for Violin and Piano (1943)
William Grant Still, often referred to as the “dean of African American composers,” was born in Woodville, Mississippi. He studied at Wilberforce College and the Oberlin Conservatory. Still worked with W. C. Handy and studied privately with George Whitefield Chadwick and Edgar Varèse. Still composed successfully in a wide variety of genres, including symphonies, operas, sacred music, assorted instrumental works, and popular songs, as well as television and film scores. Still also conducted and created arrangements of spirituals.
Still composed his Suite for Violin and Piano in 1943. Each of the movements takes its title and inspiration from a sculpture created by an artist associated with the Harlem Renaissance. The first movement, African Dancer, is based upon a 1933 Richmond Barthé sculpture. Still’s music conveys the dancer’s beauty, nobility, and athleticism. The second movement is inspired by Sargent Johnson’s 1930 sculpture, Mother and Child. In the spirit of a lullaby, Mother and Child serves as the Suite’s slowtempo movement. The final movement, the briefest of the three, is a tribute to Augusta Savage’s 1929 sculpture, Gamin. The music celebrates the energetic streetwise youth depicted in the sculpture.
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Fantasie No. 1 in G Minor (1933)
Fantasie No. 2 in F-sharp Minor (1940)
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Florence Beatrice Price studied at Boston’s New England Conservatory, where she earned an artist’s degree in organ and a teacher’s diploma in piano. After graduation, Price taught music at various institutions in Little Rock and Atlanta. In 1927, Price moved to Chicago. There, she earned recognition for her talents as a composer and concert pianist. In 1933, Frederick Stock and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed Price’s Symphony in E Minor. This was the first time a major American orchestra had performed an orchestral work by a female African American composer. Numerous performances of Price’s music soon followed, both in the United States and abroad.
For years, Price was best known for her art songs and arrangements of spirituals, performed by such artists as Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price. But Price’s more than 300 compositions span a wide variety of instrumental and vocal genres. After Price’s death in 1953, her daughter, Florence Price Robinson, took possession of her mother’s scores, most of them unpublished. When Robinson died in 1975, it seemed that the scores were lost. But in 2009, property renovators uncovered the scores in an abandoned house. The University of Arkansas acquired the scores, and eventually made them available to the public. In recent years, Price’s concert music has become a regular and welcome part of the repertoire.
Price composed her two Fantasies for Violin and Piano—No. 1 in G Minor and No. 2 in F-sharp Minor—in 1933 and 1940. Both Fantasies display Price’s characteristic masterful synthesis of traditional classical elements and folk material. The Fantasies, richly satisfying compositions, explore both the violin’s lyrical and virtuoso capacities.
Violin Sonata in E-flat Major, op. 18 (1887–1888)
Richard Strauss composed his Sonata for Violin and Piano in E-flat Major, op. 18, during the years 1887–1888. It was a pivotal time in the young composer/conductor’s life. Strauss was then an assistant conductor at the Munich Opera, a position that brought him at least as much frustration as fulfillment. But during this period, Strauss met and fell in love with soprano Pauline de Ahna. The two wed on September 10, 1894. During their courtship and marriage (both tempestuous on occasion), Pauline was an inspiration for many of Strauss’s finest compositions. Strauss died on September 8, 1949, two days before the couple’s 55th wedding anniversary. Pauline died eight months later.
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Strauss was a prolific composer in his early years. During that time, he explored genres that had been embraced by such late-Classical and Romantic-era predecessors as Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Brahms. These included numerous chamber works, concertos, and symphonies. But as the 1880s drew to a close, Strauss found himself ever more drawn to forms of musical expression that embraced a specific narrative. On August 24, 1888, Strauss wrote to his mentor, the conductor and pianist Hans von Bülow:
If one wishes to create a work of art consistent in mood and structure, if such a work is to give the listener a plastic impression, then what the author wanted to say must have been formed plastically in his own mind. That is only possible through the fructification by a poetic idea, whether or not the program is furnished along with the composition.
A year earlier, Strauss’s orchestral tone poem, Aus Italien, op. 16 (1886), inspired by the composer’s travels to Italy, had an unsuccessful premiere in Munich. But on November 11, 1889, Strauss’s Don Juan received its triumphant first performance in Weimar, conducted by the composer. From that point forward, Strauss was celebrated as a master of narrative works, including orchestral tone poems, operas, and songs.
The Violin Sonata received its premiere in Elberfeld, near Düsseldorf, on October 3, 1888, performed by violinist Robert Heckmann and pianist Julius Buths. In contrast to such programmatic works as Don Juan, the Violin Sonata does not embrace and advance a specific narrative. And its three-movement structure would have been familiar to Strauss’s predecessors. But the Strauss Violin Sonata manifests the voice of a composer who would soon dazzle the world as a brilliant, revolutionary musical storyteller.
I. Allegro, ma non troppo—The piano’s bold proclamation provides the motivic foundation for the violin’s extended presentation of the Sonata’s first principal theme. A lyrical theme, marked espressivo, and a stratospheric appassionato episode in 3/4 time, conclude the exposition of the movement’s central thematic material. An extended and varied development of the themes ensues. The violin’s recapitulation of the opening theme is now subdued. The remaining themes follow, leading to the closing measures, predominated by the opening melody, and capped by a pair of emphatic chords.
II. Improvisation. Andante cantabile—Strauss completed the Sonata’s slow-tempo movement last. It was also published as a separate work. Titled Improvisation, the movement embodies traditional A–B–A
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© Ollie Ali
structure. The violin immediately sings the beautiful principal melody, very much in the tradition of Felix Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words. The Improvisation’s “B” section, marked appassionato, provides dramatic contrast, as the piano evokes the stormy nocturnal ride depicted in Franz Schubert’s 1815 song, Erlkönig. A wistful reprise of the opening section brings the Improvisation to a delicate close.
III. Finale. Andante; Allegro—The third movement opens with a hushed, slow-tempo introduction (Andante) in C minor. Suddenly, the piano introduces the vaulting energico principal theme; in E-flat Major, and emblematic of the composer of such works as Don Juan and the opera Der Rosenkavalier (1911). As in the opening movement, contrasting themes soon follow, along with the traditional development and recapitulation. A Finale notable for its high spirits and virtuoso writing for both instruments sprints to the joyous final bars.
—Program notes by Ken Meltzer
Randall Goosby, violin
“For me, personally, music has been a way to inspire others.” Randall Goosby’s own words sum up perfectly his commitment to being an artist who makes a difference. Signed exclusively to Decca Classics in 2020 at age 24, American violinist Randall Goosby is acclaimed for the sensitivity and intensity of his musicianship alongside his determination to make music more inclusive and accessible, as well as bringing the music of underrepresented composers to light.
Highlights of Goosby’s 2023–2024 season include debut performances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Andris Nelsons), National Symphony (Thomas Wilkins), Pittsburgh Symphony (Manfred Honeck), and Seattle Symphony and St. Louis Symphony both under Christian Reif, with European debuts including a European tour with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra under Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Danish National Radio Symphony (JukkaPekka Saraste), Oslo Philharmonic (Ryan Wigglesworth), and Lahti Symphony (Roderick Cox).
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During 2023–2024, Goosby will be Artist in Residence at London’s Southbank Centre, which will include a return to the London Philharmonic Orchestra, performing Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 under the direction of Gemma New, and feature both recital and chamber concerts. Other upcoming recital appearances include Chamber Music Cincinnati, Elbphilharmonie Recital Hall in Hamburg, Perth Concert Hall in Scotland, and La Società dei Concerti in Milan.
Summer 2023 included Goosby’s debut at the Mostly Mozart Festival under Louis Langrée performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto as well as at Marlboro Music. Previous engagements have included the Philadelphia Orchestra (Yannick Nézet-Séguin), San Francisco Symphony (Esa-Pekka Salonen), returns to the Philharmonia Orchestra (Santtu-Matias Rouvali) and Los Angeles Philharmonic (Dalia Stasevska), Royal Scottish National Orchestra (Tabita Berglund), and Dallas Symphony Orchestra (Karina Canellakis). Goosby made his debuts in South Korea in recital and in Japan with the orchestra ensemble Kanazawa (Kahchun Wong) performing Bruch Violin Concerto in G Minor. In summer 2022, he returned to the Hollywood Bowl with his mentor, Itzhak Perlman, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
In spring 2023, Goosby’s debut concerto album was released for Decca Classics together with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra performing the violin concertos by Max Bruch and Florence Price. Gramophone magazine observed, “There’s an honesty and modesty . . . This playing isn’t dressed to impress but to express.”
Goosby’s first album for Decca, titled Roots, is a celebration of African American music, which explores its evolution from the spiritual through to present-day compositions. Collaborating with pianist Zhu Wang, Goosby curated an album paying homage to the pioneering artists that paved the way for him and other artists of color. It features three worldpremiere recordings of music written by African American composer Florence Price, and includes works by composers William Grant Still and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, plus a newly commissioned piece by acclaimed double bassist Xavier Foley, a fellow Sphinx and Young Concert Artists alumnus.
Goosby is deeply passionate about inspiring and serving others through education, social engagement, and outreach activities. He has enjoyed working with non-profit organizations such as the Opportunity Music Project and Concerts in Motion in New York City, as well as participating in community engagement programs for schools, hospitals, and assisted living facilities across the United States. In 2022–2023, Goosby hosted a residency with the Iris Collective in Memphis
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“Extraordinary grace . . . Goosby plays like an angel with nothing to prove.”
Los Angeles Times
with pianist, Zhu Wang. Together they explore how the student’s family history can relate to music and building community collaboration through narrative and performances.
Goosby was first-prize winner in the 2018 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. In 2019, he was named the inaugural Robey Artist by Young Classical Artists Trust in partnership with Music Masters in London, and in 2020 he became an ambassador for Music Masters, a role that sees him mentoring and inspiring students in schools around the United Kingdom. In 2010, Goosby won first prize of the Sphinx Concerto Competition. He is a recipient of Sphinx’s Isaac Stern Award, a career advancement grant from the Bagby Foundation, and the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant. An active chamber musician, Goosby has spent his summers studying at the Perlman Music Program, Verbier Festival Academy, and Mozarteum Summer Academy, among others.
Goosby made his debut with the Jacksonville Symphony at age nine and with the New York Philharmonic on a Young People’s Concert at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall at age 13. A former student of Itzhak Perlman and Catherine Cho, he received his bachelor’s, master’s, and artist diploma degrees from the Juilliard School. He is an alumni of the Perlman Music Program and studied previously with Philippe Quint. He plays the Antonio Stradivarius, Cremona, “ex-Strauss,” 1708 on generous loan from Samsung Foundation of Culture.
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Zhu Wang, piano
Praised as “especially impressive” and “a thoughtful, sensitive performer” who “balanced lyrical warmth and crisp clarity” (Anthony Tommasini, New York Times), pianist Zhu Wang was awarded first prize in the 2020 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions. He is also the first–prize winner of the second Zhuhai International Mozart Competition for Young Musicians, fourth Manhattan International Music Competition, Hilton Head Young Artist Piano Competition, the Juilliard Gina Bachauer International Scholarship Piano Competition, and the Juilliard Mieczyslaw Munz Scholarship. In 2019, Wang was one of three finalists in the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition, and he has been a featured soloist on WQXR’s Young Artist Showcase and WFMT’s Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts.
Celebrated for his “technical mastery and deep sense of lyricism,” (Durango Herald), Wang has appeared in recital at Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, Caramoor’s Evnin Rising Stars Series, Southampton Rising Stars, Music at Dumbarton Oaks, the Morgan Library and Museum, Hayden’s Ferry Chamber Music Series, Buffalo Chamber Music Society, Salon de Virtuosi, and Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, which made the New York Times’s “Best of Classical Music 2021” list.
An avid chamber musician, Wang has appeared with Chamber Music Detroit, Vancouver Recital Society, La Jolla Music Society, Stanford Live, Hamilton College, Howland Chamber Music Series, Chesapeake Music, Clarion Concerts, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Music@Menlo, and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Since his orchestral debut at age 14 with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, where he performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, recent and upcoming appearances include with the Columbus Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Fort Collins Symphony, Memphis Symphony, Spokane Symphony, and Aiken Symphony, as well as a performance this season at Carnegie Hall with the New York Youth Symphony, with conductors such as Rossen Milanov, Paolo Bortolameolli, Robert Moody, and Wes Kinney.
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Kevin Condon
Wang has performed throughout the world in China, Korea, Italy, Poland, and Japan; at prestigious venues including the Kammermusiksaal of Berliner Philharmonie, Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall, and Shanghai Concert Hall; and as a soloist with Salzburg Chamber Soloists, Zermatt Music Festival Orchestra, Brunensis Virtuosi Orchestra, and the Xiamen Philharmonic. This season he performs with Randall Goosby at Queen Elizabeth Hall in South Bank.
Wang has been honored to study with and perform for many influential pianists, including Gary Graffman, Arie Vardi, Fou Ts’ong, Stephen Hough, Murray Perahia, Jerome Lowenthal, Robert Levin, Matti Raekallio, and Jeremy Denk. He is also the recipient of special prizes for the best Waltz, Preludes, and Mazurka in the fifth International Chopin Young Artist Piano Competition and the 16th Asian Chopin International Piano Competition in Japan.
A native of Hunan, China, Wang started learning piano at age five. He is a graduate of the Music Middle School affiliated to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Zhe Tang and Fou Ts’ong. He received a bachelor of music degree from the Juilliard School, artist diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree from the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Emanuel Ax and Robert McDonald. He gratefully acknowledges the support of the Bagby Foundation for the Musical Arts.
“Faultless technique, beautiful expressivity, and transparent artistry.”
—Voice of Santa Barbara
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Sarah Chang, violin
Friday, September 20, 2024
Zee Zee, piano
Friday, October 18, 2024
PUBLIQuartet—Rhythm Nation
Schwartz Artist-in-Residence Program
Friday, November 1, 2024
American Railroad Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens
Saturday, November 16, 2024
Emmanuel Pahud, flute
Friday, January 24, 2025
Emory Jazz Fest
Schwartz Artist-in-Residence Program
Friday, February 14, 2025
Daniel Hope with Polish Chamber Orchestra
Friday, February 28, 2025
New York Voices
Friday, March 21, 2025
Imani Winds and Boston Brass
Friday, April 11, 2025
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