Got to go to Goto's show

Violinist Ryu Goto will make his local debut with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta this week in a performance of Paganini's Violin Concerto No1, the same work that brought him international recognition when he played it at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, aged seven.

But don't think the story in between has been one of single-minded dedication to practice. Lining up journalists to talk to Goto, 20, is probably the closest his life gets to a conveyor belt. Having graduated from the Juilliard School of Music in 2006, he's now studying physics at Harvard University but has jumped ship in his second year 'to pursue all the activities I couldn't do during the school year - musical and otherwise - and really figure out what I want to do in life'.

He seems unconcerned that the same hands that nimbly romp through musical masterpieces are also exposed to the stresses of being an active sports fanatic in general, and a karate black belt in particular. These pursuits leave him feeling 'more alive than I've ever been'.

And there's more on his agenda. 'I'm doing business things in the African continent - investments in Ghana,' he says. 'It's the place to be right now as one of the top 10 growing economies; still very shaky, but there's a lot of potential there.'

Goto acknowledges a 100 per cent commitment suits many musicians, allowing them to master superhuman technical feats, 'so there's always a wall of fire behind your back compelling you to grow'.

His own take, however, is that it's impossible in modern-day life to carry on a profession with a narrow perspective. 'I have a multitude of activities. If there's a balance in your life, each pattern ends up helping the other in creating a benign cycle. The potential danger is that I could get lost, spread myself too thin and end up doing something completely different. But I'm willing to take a chance - it's fun.'

Born in New York to Japanese parents, Goto holds dual citizenship. He spends a lot of time in Japan and eyes some sort of leadership role there. 'There's a big crisis going on - social, economic and political. If I were to have to choose a certain allegiance in the sense that I'd help one country in particular, it would be Japan. America doesn't need me right now.'