Randall Goosby: Roots
Gershwin, Dvořák, Still, Price, Coleridge-Taylor, Perkinson, Foley
Randall Goosby (violin), Zhu Wang (piano), Xavier Foley (double bass) (Decca)
(scroll down for English review)
美韓混血的青年小提琴家古斯比是帕爾曼門生，在Decca第一張專輯的主題是黑人作曲家或受黑人音樂影響的作品，後者也是全碟唯一屬於主流的音樂：海飛茲改編蓋希文《波吉與貝絲》選段（軌五至八）、德伏扎克《小提琴小奏鳴曲》（軌16至19）。
先談演奏，古斯比軟綿綿又有立體感的發音，不只是在年輕的小提琴家，甚至是在現時活躍的小提琴也不多見，既然這碟不是賣炫技，而是賣小曲，有這麼好聽的發音是如虎添翼，雖然我有時懷疑是否靠後製弄出來。
然後就是曲目，黑人作曲家的部分，我覺得是William Grant Still（軌9至11）及Florence Price的作品（軌12至14）最得我心，它們令我聯想到我學琴時拉過的《中國小提琴曲集》，雖然在地球兩端，但風味相近。Still比較平鋪直敘編排旋律，Price有花巧一點的結構，所以會有更多不同的風格。
輪到白人作曲家，古斯比在《波吉與貝絲》偏重發音及造句的優美，如果再多一點歌唱的個性會更好。德伏扎克《小提琴小奏鳴曲》放在碟尾，假如放在開頭，或者不和這些有濃厚民族風的小曲放在一起都還好，古斯比拉得比較樸素，做不到用黑人音樂重新詮釋德伏扎克的效果。
Born to African-American and Korean parents, Randall Goosby is also a Itzhak Perlman protégée. His first Decca album featured works by African-American composers or works inspired by African-American culture.
Goosby’s tone was so tender and malleable, such quality made him stood out among violinists of our generation. As this is a recital of melodious short pieces, Goosby’s exceptional tone was especially enjoyable. Though at times I wonder if this has anything to do with post-processing.
Among the pieces by African-American composers, those by William Grant Still (tracks 9-11) and Florence Price (tracks 12-14) were my favourites. I felt a certain affinity to them as they reminded me of the Chinese violin pieces that I learned as a student. Still’s suite was comparably straightforward with the material, while Price’s more sophisticated sense of form allowed a myriad of styles in each piece.
The Caucasian part, on the other hand, was part of the repertoire. The Gershwin-Heifetz Porgy and Bess selections (tracks 5-8) were played with very nice tone and phrasings but I wished Goosby could inject more personal feelings. Dvořák’s Violin Sonatina (tracks 16-19) was the last item of the album. After such wonderful and soulful melodies, the work was already a letdown. If Goosby had reinterpreted it along the lines of Still and Price he might have transformed this sonatina into a satisfying finale.