“Anything added to Steven Spooner’s dazzling, blurry-handed
sweeps of the entire piano would have been dizzying.”

“Such a breadth and variety of difficult pieces made me wonder at first if this (Dedications box set) was a hoax. But, no, the DVD proves that Steven Spooner is the real deal, a pianist of apparently limitless raw technique that’s almost note perfect.” “He might be the best faculty pianist I’ve heard”

“His performances evidence Richter’s peerless focus, Gilels’s gold-plated sound, Cliburn’s urbane aesthetics, and Horowitz’s outgoing personality and his occasional tendency to play to the gallery.” “The performances of Brahms’s Fantasies op. 116 and selections from Grieg’s Lyric Pieces are simply to die for.” “I have to say that not only is Spooner a phenomenal pianist, he is also a compelling entertainer in the best sense of the word. He draws the audience in not just with his spell-binding music-making but with his magnetic personality.”

“This is a huge, laudable project in which pianist Steven Spooner plays recitals of repertoire associated with pianistic deities. Arensky’s rarely heard Elegie is gloriously shaded while Spooner’s own input comes in the form of his Concert Etude for Vladimir Horowitz (on music by Queen).” “Special is the disc of Schubert/Liszt Lieder (tenderly done) and Liszt’s Legend No. 2, a performance of terrific power.” “This is a fascinating collection with an intriguing spread of repertoire.”

“Steven Spooner has produced a magnum opus, in his huge set of 16 cds, on the label A Life of Music. This recording includes his own 2014 Concert Etude for HOROWITZ-a delightful piece of high-wire virtuosity. It should be noted that Steven Spooner’s audio liner notes are revealing and full of pianistic lore. He takes his humble and proud place in the great traditions of world pianism.”

David Dubal, Author of the Art of the Piano

“Steven Spooner thinks big. His considerable pianism evokes wide open landscapes, where music unfolds, sings out and breathes. He has the genuine passion, the encyclopedic repertoire, and the physical, conceptual and spiritual capacity to bring off ambitious cyclical programs convincingly. And through his exemplary music making and inspired teaching, Spooner creates a sense of community, leaving his audiences and students uplifted. In this sense, Steven Spooner embodies the legacies of Egon Petri and Gunnar Johansen, and the piano world is all the better for it.”

Jed Distler, composer/pianist, writer, radio host of Between the Keys