Every so often MT poses 60 questions to a local or visiting artist in Toronto who has made our classical music community that much more interesting. They pick and choose. The minimum response is 20 answers. A kind of Rorschach personality test, if you will.

Recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2008, violinist Karen Gomyo established herself with appearances around the world including the New York Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic, the Danish National Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony, and the Sydney Symphony.

Gomyo is deeply interested in the Nuevo Tango music of Astor Piazzolla, and plays on a 1703 “Aurora, ex-Foulis” Stradivarius violin given to her by a private sponsor.

Readers can hear Karen Gomyo perform Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra this weekend on Saturday and Sunday.

Your favourite sound?

Silence

Your least favourite sound?

Ticking of the clock

Your favourite smells?

Flowers

Your least favourite smells?

Cigarette smoke

First thing that comes to your mind when you think about Toronto?

TSO!

If you could board a plane this afternoon, where would it be taking you?

Home

The three books that you read that made an impact on you in your formative years?

Narcissus and Goldmund (Hesse), Lord of the Flies (Golding), The picture of Dorian Gray (Wilde)

Whose musical style do you covet?

David Oistrakh, Yehudi Menuhin, Nathan Milstein

Where was the last place you traveled to for work or pleasure?

Iceland for pleasure

The cliché that you overuse?

Life is short

Shoe of choice?

Tango shoes

The different career path that you could have gone on?

Researcher in the field of nature or helping people in some way

Your ancestry?

Japanese French Canadian

Your three favourite films?

Vertigo, Splendor in the Grass, My Neighbor Totoro

Your most regrettable purchase ever?

A pet python I bought when I lost a bet

The character flaw in others that you can’t abide?

Arrogance

How do you know when you can trust someone?

Instinct

What are you the most proud of?

Having wonderful, interesting friends

What is the best thing about your work?

The never-ending journey of discovery

What is the worst thing about your work?

Airports, air travel, jetlag

The talent that you wish you possessed?

Cooking

What are you listening to as you answer these questions?

People talking around me on the airplane

What musical instrument do you secretly long to play?

Bandoneon

Your favourite word?

Gratitude

The thing that makes you the angriest?

People hurting each other

To read more from our Q&A Series, click HERE.

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