January 29 & 31, 2026
Atlanta Symphony Hall
Atlanta, Georgia – USA
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Randall Goosby, violin.
Leonard SLATKIN: Schubertiade
Samuel BARBER: Violin Concerto
Aaron COPLAND: Symphony No. 3
Mark Gresham | 31 JAN 2026
On a brisk Thursday night at Atlanta Symphony Hall, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra offered a thoughtfully paced and strongly played program of American works under guest conductor Leonard Slatkin, inaugurating the first program of its America @ 250 series celebrating the nation’s semiquincentennial.
Slatkin, one of America’s most recorded and decorated conductors, stepped to the podium with an evident affinity for the repertoire, opening the program with his own Schubertiade: An Orchestral Fantasy (2024). The piece, making its U.S. premiere in Atlanta, reimagines the melodic sweep of Franz Schubert for full orchestra, with playful orchestral textures and clear delineation between sections. The orchestra responded with crisp ensemble playing and fine attention to color, giving the work a radiant and communicative presence.
The concert’s centerpiece was Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto, with American violinist Randall Goosby as soloist. Goosby, frequently heard rising soloist with major U.S. orchestras, delivered a performance marked by a warm, burnished tone and precise technique. He shaped the soaring Romantic lines of the concerto’s “Allegro” with poise and rhythmic focus, brought introspection to the central “Andante,” and launched the finale’s perpetual-motion “Presto” with confidence and flair. His articulation and bow control ensured clarity across dynamic extremes, and he produced a rich, full sound without any audible inaccuracies.
While the orchestra edged toward the forefront in the more robust tutti passages, the overall support from Slatkin and the ASO remained sensitive and responsive, allowing Goosby’s expressive phrasing to emerge distinctly.
Randall Goosby (credit: Ziggy Tucker, 2024)
After receiving an enthusiastic ovation for the concerto, Goosby returned to the stage to playLouisiana Blues Strut: A Cakewalk for Solo Violin by American composer Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, a piece Goosby plays very often as an encore — one of his signature crowd-pleasers.
Goosby will return to the region in three weeks to perform with the Sphinx Virtuosi on Saturday, February 21, at the 360-seat Ramsey Concert Hall, UGA Performing Arts Center in Athens, Georgia, and again on February 24 at the Woltosz Theatre at Auburn University’s Gogue Center in Auburn, Alabama.
After intermission, Slatkin led Aaron Copland’s Symphony No. 3, the American masterwork blending sweeping lyricism with the unmistakable rhythms and brass fanfares of the Fanfare for the Common Man that the composer incorporated into the final movement. The ASO’s performance captured the work’s broad emotional arcs with disciplined dynamic control and momentum: the opening unfolds with restrained grandeur, the vigorous “Allegro molto” pulse never flagged, and the “Andantino” brought genuine lyric contrast before the finale’s triumphant conclusion — underscoring the work’s optimistic sweep and timeless resonance asa signature American masterpiece.
Throughout the evening, Slatkin’s interpretive assurance and deep knowledge of the American symphonic tradition tied the program together. In performance and programming, the ASO’s concert succeeded on multiple levels, offering both a celebration of canonical works and a reminder of the connective thread tying American music to broader classical roots. ■
The ASO is scheduled to repeat this program at tonight, Saturday, January 31, at 8 p.m., at Atlanta Symphony Hall. aso.org
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Atlanta Symphony Orchestra: aso.org
- Leonard Slatkin: leonardslatkin.com
- Randall Goosby: randallgoosby.com
Read more by Mark Gresham.
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