Reviews

Media Reviews

CLASSICAL SONOMA, Recital Review, Sunday, February 27, 2011

“Mr. Spooner’s Chopin pianism featured subtle meter shifts and equally subtle colors, both central to an artistic Mazurka reading. His rubatos were many and old fashioned, a la Paderewski. The two-movement (Haydn) Sonata received the pianist’s close attention to the improvisatory opening’s slowly-unfolding theme, and the closing second movement was effervescent with Haydn’s ubiquitous humor, clear scale playing…Wonderful music, expertly played.

Liszt’s sweeping Second Legend (St. Francis Walking on the Waves), from 1863.. Mr. Spooner had the endurance to push the broken octaves in the left hand to maximum volume and the feeling of rolling waves was palpable. This is program music that demands a bravura technique, the religious ecstasy evident at the end when the pianist created the great saint on his cloak crossing the roaring ocean… the glittering fast-speed octaves and orchestral chord playing are the result of long work and thought on the Sonata (Liszt Sonata in B Minor). The bucolic chorale sections interrupting surging parts of the single movement were a transfiguration, calling a listener’s attention to celestial space and repose. He was never in a hurry to get anywhere and his rhythmic mastery was complete. Mr. Spooner’s chordal weighting and pedal control was superb, the music sonorous but fleeting, and there was a ten-second hush beyond the final bottom B note.

If an encore was demanded, and it was, it had to be something diametrically opposed to the storms of the Legend and Sonata. Mr. Spooner presented Chopin’s “Farewell” Waltz in F Minor, Op. 69, No. 1. It was an understated performance, perfectly capturing the melancholy and nostalgia.”

THE WASHINGTON POST, Review of the American Liszt Society National Festival.
Washington D.C. 5/2008

“At the same time, there was already plenty to listen to — and watch — during a performance Saturday at Catholic University’s Hartke Theatre of the composer’s transcription of Schubert’s “Erlkoenig.” Anything added to Steven Spooner’s dazzling, blurry-handed sweeps of the entire piano would have been dizzying.”

THE MANHATTAN MERCURY, Review of Schubert’s Winterreise, 1/18/10.

“And pianist Steven Spooner was as near perfection as it’s possible to get. I’ve not witnessed such collaborative finesse since watching Oleg Maisenberg help Robert Holl deliver a near-flawless Die Schone Mullerin in Vienna’s Musikverein back in 1997.”

SAVANNAH TIMES, Review of Hilton Head International Piano Competition winner’s recital.
10/25/1996

“American Steven Spooner had everything: polished technique, musical intelligence, innate sensitivity, and a personality that reaches across the keyboard. Spooner’s Scarlatti (Dominico, Sonatas K. 213 and 184) were perfectly sketched pieces of understatement highlighting the 26-year-old’s clarity, sensitivity and simplicity of statement. But Spooner has plenty of what Maestro Claudio Abbado calls the Big Utterance. Spooner used pedal technique rather than force to coax immense sound, achieving dense volume from the middle voice, and a growling resonance in the low voice. Accuracy was commendable throughout.”

THE HERALD TIMES, Review of all Liszt concert. Bloomington, IN
11/13/2002

“Spooner, victor in the Liszt Competition in Russia, took on music of what was referred to as the ‘virtuoso Liszt,’ music of the composer as a young man…There were flourishes galore and chordal clusters and runs and resounding climaxes…One heard phenomenally agile pianism along with temperamentally sensitive musicianship.”

GAZETA WROCLAWSKA, (THE BRESLAU NEWS), Wroclaw, Poland
10/5/2002

“The competition (The International Liszt Competition) on Thursday afternoon was ruled by the very professional, serious, and beautiful performance of Steven Spooner from the U.S.A. His playing was thought through to the finest detail from the beginning to its perfect conclusion. His Transcendental Etudes, Wilde Jagd and Harmonies du Soir were virtuosic and emotionally stirring. The Schubert Serenade in Liszt’s transcription was both lyrical and clearly conceived.”

THE HERALD TIMES, Review of duo concert with violinist Leor Maltinski. Bloomington, IN
8/6/2002

“Following a break, Maltinski turned to Beethoven and Franck. The Beethoven A Minor Sonata for Violin and Piano, Opus 23, brought forth an appropriate energy mixed with reserve. From both the violinist and pianist Steven Spooner one heard a warmth of touch and temperament that gave the sonata just the right adornment. Here was well-executed Beethoven.”

“The Franck Sonata in A Major sounded just as embracing Sunday as it did Friday. What a delicious musical confection it is, and what a test for both instrumentalists. Maltinski’s interpretation was a winning one, generous in floating tones as well as flaming passage work, where called for. In total, his reading – beautifully complemented by Spooner – left a dreamy impression, almost other worldly in nature.”

THE HERALD TIMES, Review of Bellini/Liszt “Norma” Paraphrase.
Bloomington, IN
2/26/1999

“The final pianist of the evening was Steven Spooner. He played Liszt’s reminiscences of Norma, a clever summary of music from Bellini’s most famous opera. And a complex one too. Spooner gave no ground to the challenges posed. Every trill, every sweetness, every climax was brought forth crisply and with sweeping authority.”

CAROLINA MORNING NEWS, Review of Hilton Head International Piano Competition winner’s recital
10/1996

“Louisiana-born Steven Spooner, 26, rounded out the program with enchanting interpretations of two Sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti–some of the most interesting pianistic characterizations of these harpsichord compositions one is apt to encounter… enchanting.”

Reviews from distinguished pianists.

ALAN WALKER, British pianist, musicologist and renowned author of the three-volume biography of Franz Liszt:

“I always enjoy hearing Steven Spooner play the piano. He is a born musician. Too many pianists know only how to play the piano fast and loud. Spooner makes you listen to the nuances. And that makes him interesting. It is also what places him among the best interpreters of Franz Liszt.”

MAURICE HINSON, concert pianist, renowned author, Review of CD Steven Spooner Plays Liszt Transcriptions Schubert Sonata D. 537. 2002.

“Absolutely gorgeous playing–Bravo! I have no favorites–they are all superb!!!”

EMILE NAOUMOFF, concert pianist, Sony recording artist, composer, Associate Prof. Indiana University, from letter of recommendation, 2002.

“It is an honor and almost a duty for me to be able to fully recommend Steven Spooner. He is among more than the top 1% of his generation as an auspicious pianist, musician, scholar. His stage presence is striking, his ear and his fingers have an amazing complicity. He has the enlighted touch of a Lipatti, the power of a Richter, both mental and physical, the articulation of Michelangeli…he becomes ‘one’ with the instrument, carving the sounds into meaningful rests as well. He is an inspiration to all of us around him.”

VIKTOR MERZHANOV, concert pianist, Professor, Moscow Conservatory, from letter of recommendation, 2002.

“His performance possesses the deep understanding of the contents of Liszt’s works, organic and instinctive feeling of form and outstanding virtuosity. His programs for the first and second rounds of the competition were very demanding, requiring not only technical perfection but the ability to create colorful artistic images. The crystal-clear enunciation of each tone and the feeling of phrasal climaxes and structure are also worth mentioning. All of the above made Mr. Spooner’s playing very memorable. His pianistic art must attract more attention from concert organizers around the world.”

DALTON BALDWIN, concert pianist, EMI recording artist, Review of CD Steven Spooner Plays Liszt Transcriptions Schubert Sonata D. 537. 2001.

“I haven’t heard such “flair” for that composer (Liszt) since Jorge Bolet–Bravo!”

TON HARTSUIKER, Jury Chairman, International Liszt Competition, Director of Amsterdam Conservatorium, 2000.

“The first time I could listen to Steven Spooner’s piano playing was in my position as chairman of the 5th International Franz Liszt Competition 1999 in Utrecht. At that occasion he made a very good impression on me and aroused my interest because of the personal characteristics of his interpretations. In my opinion he was one of the most interesting participants of the competition…”

RUTH LAREDO, concert pianist, review of Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Sonata, op. 36. 1996.

“Bright, colorful, well phrased…he plays with interest and conviction-very gifted performer.”

GYOERGY SANDOR, concert pianist, Prof. at the Julliard School, review of a Masterclass, 1995.

“Thank you, Steven for a most impressive Liszt B Minor Sonata!”