Perry Goldstein (born 1952 in New York City, New York) studied at the University of Illinois, UCLA, and Columbia University, from which he received a doctorate in music composition in 1986. His principal composition teachers were Herbert Brün, Chou Wen-Chung, Mario Davidovsky, Ben Johnston, and Paul Zonn.

Perry Goldstein’s recent compositions include Pieces of Elsewhere (2005) and Filaments of Yesterday (2005), both for saxophone quartet, and Sonata for Soprano Saxophone and Piano (2006) and Heaven (2005), for alto saxophone and piano. Should This Be Found: Six Songs on Scott’s Last Expedition (2004) and The Abundant Air: Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Band 2003) were composed for the United States Military Academy Band at West Point Other works include Motherless Child Variations (2002) for the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet; (W)eeeeee! (2001) for Juilliard Quartet cellist Joel Krosnick and pianist Gilbert Kalish, About Face for saxophonist William Raaiman and the Zephyr String Quartet, Against the Grain (1998), for saxophone quartet and percussion ensemble for the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet and Slagwerkgroep den Haag, and Fault Lines (1998), for alto saxophone and piano, for saxophonist Arno Bornkamp and pianist Ivo Janssen. Recordings include Michael Lowenstern’s rendering of Total Absorption (called “an I-dare-you contraption” by Fanfare Magazine) on New World Records; the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet’s rendition of Blow! (declared a “vivacious firework” by the Aachener Zeitung and “a raw-boned tour-de-force” by the Buffalo News) on Vanguard Classics and Challenge Records; Motherless Child Variations on N ew Dynamic Records; Lessons of the Master on Challenge Records; Noir on Crystal Records, and The Abundant Air: Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Band, and Should This Be Found: Six Songs on Scott’s Final Expedition on United States Military Academy Recordings.

Goldstein has been involved in a variety of activities in the service of contemporary music. In the 1970’s, he produced and hosted programs on contemporary music for NPR-affiliate WILL in Urbana, Illinois. He has written extensively for, among other publications and organizations, The New York Times, The Library of Congress, Carnegie Hall, Strings Magazine, National Public Radio, Deutschlandfunk (German radio), the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, Speculum Musicae, the League-International Society for Contemporary Music, “Music Today” of the 92^nd Street “Y,” the San Antonio Symphony, and for the Arabesque, Bridge Challenge, CRI, GM, Folkways, New World, and Vanguard Classics recording labels. He has been a National Advisor to the League-ISCM and a music panelist for the New York State Council on the Arts. In 1992, he served as the United States delegate to the UNESCO-sponsored International Rostrum of Compose rs in Paris, subsequently producing four radio programs of the event for American Public Radio.

A dedicated educator, Goldstein received the "Teacher of the Year Award in the Arts and Humanities" in 1987 from Wilmington College of Ohio (where he served from 1987-1992), and a 1997 "Chancellor’s and President's Award for Excellence in Teaching" from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He also received the 2006 “Student Life Award” for “student development and enhancement of campus life.” Goldstein has also served on the faculty of the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. Since 1992, he has been a member of the music faculty of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where he was the inaugural Director of the College of Arts, Culture, and Humanities (2003-2007) and Undergraduate Studies Director in the Department of Music, and teaches music theory, analysis, musicianship, and composition.

Reviews

On Blow! (1993) for saxophone quartet:

“The Aurelia Saxophone Quartet gave…an unbelievably virtuoso performance of Blow!, by American composer Perry Goldstein, a true firework of vivacity and perfection, in addition to rhythmic gymnastics and great timbral flexibility.”

“‘Blow!’ [is] a raw-boned tour-de force that gave each player a chance to shine both in ensemble and solo sections.”

“‘Blow!’ sounded fresh, idiomatic, and exuberant as it explored idioms from the blues to what used to be called progressive jazz.”

Blow! is “packed…full of symphonic associations, from the piercing, concentrated frenzy of Ornette Coleman to quivering big band chorales, to the modernist hop-skipping style the composer was mostly trained in. …the Aurelia’s members obeyed the title’s imperative with enough virtuosic energy and enthusiasm to make ‘Blow!’ a gas.”

On Of Points Fixed and Fluid (1995) for solo piano:

“The concert ended with Perry Goldstein’s kinetic ‘Of Points Fixed and Fluid’….Mr. Goldstein’s percussive, pummeling music was just the change of pace we needed.”

Of Points Fixed and Fluid is “a polytonal and quasi-tonal powerhouse of a piece.”

On Tableau and Talisman (1991) for flute, bass clarinet, and piano:

“The world premiere performance of Goldstein’s jazz-paced, abrasive, ultimately cathartic “Tableau and Talisman” revealed the American composer’s strong talent and considerable accomplishment. His is a name to remember.”

On Total Absorption (1994) for solo bass clarinet:

“We don’t often hear a bass clarinet exceeding 120 mph on hairpin turns and steep inclines. Definitely an I-dare-you contraption.”

On Motherless Child Variations (2002) for saxophone quartet:

“Perry Goldstein, who serves on the faculty of StonyBrook University, is closely associated with saxophone music, and his Motherless Child Variations (2002) make sure, idiomatic use of a saxophone quartet (in this case, the Aurelia). After a slightly spiky introduction, the famous, mournful spiritual is put through six variations, taking on elaborations even before the completion of its first statement. This is in no way a crossover piece, but Goldstein does call into play tricky meters and syncopation, the occasional dirty wailing of blues, and the free and highly elaborate lines of jazz. It all fits together nicely, and the result gets a fine, highly idiomatic performance from the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet.”

“The album [‘Impressions’] opens with the marvelous ‘Motherless Child Variations,’ based on the traditional spiritual, which Richie Havens performed with unnatural zeal and beauty at Woodstock back before PCs. This version [by Perry Goldstein] never loses the recognizable line, swelling and swaying through on saxophones to an almost whimsical baritone sax backbeat.”

Perry Goldstein's Motherless Child Variations for saxophone quartet make their starting point with the negro spiritual 'Sometimes I feel like a motherless child' and flow through with consummate structural and inventive artistry to a dreamlike solo ending, ten minutes of pleasure appreciating not least the expertise with which he handles the instrumental textures.