Steven Spooner Assistant Professor of Piano
Selected Reviews
The Breslau News, 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.
Savannah Times, 10/25/1996: Review of Hilton Head International Piano Competition winner's recital
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 use 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.
Vicktor Merzhanov, concert pianist, Professor, Moscow Conservatory, 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.
