Max Bruch, Florence Price Violin Concertos—Randall Goosby, violin; Philadelphia Orchestra/Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Decca 4854234)
Gramophone’s Edward Seckerson says of this new release, “You can absolutely hear why Randall Goosby has been turning heads with his open-hearted, generous ‘school of Perlman’ delivery. There’s an honesty and modesty – about his playing that stands him apart. It’s so refreshing to note an absence of excess in either sound or feeling. This playing isn’t dressed to impress but to express. The European influence and amplitude of the ever-popular Bruch Concerto [No. 1] is our way here to the world of Florence Price and in these live recordings from Philadelphia, Goosby has another of her champions – Yannick Nézet-Séguin – acting like a second skin in their shared enthusiasm... Price’s First Violin Concerto may from time to time reference European models lurking in its shadows…but Price is very much her own woman and nothing about her feels second-hand. Her ability to ‘spin’ ideas as a seasoned extemporiser or jazzer is a distinctive characteristic of this big and occasionally, one might argue, somewhat rambling piece. But against that one must weigh the distinctive colour and cast of her folk-inflected melodies and the highly personal way in which she journeys with them. Goosby’s identification with the music is so strong that every departure feels like it could be of his own making... Concerto No 2 is a more exotic specimen, flecks of celesta immediately lending it a hothouse feel. But the compression and concision of it and again its improvisational manner make for something you might describe as ‘stream of consciousness’ with Goosby seizing upon phrases so ravishing that you wonder where they’ve been all our lives.”