Reviews
The New York Times
Piano Sonata
Mirian Conti, Piano - Merkin Concert Hall, New York City
“Cast in three movements, it presented a strong, extroverted profile in the opening movement and in the syncopated perpetual-motion finale, with a gentle meditative movement separating them.”
- Allan Kozinn
The New York Times
Close Enough for Jazz
Wonderhorse Theater, New York City
“Mr. Keenan has set lyrics to music by Scott Steidl. The best of their seven songs - ''Somebody Else,'' ''Anyone Else'' and ''Nobody Else'' - show the two song writers doing a very capable parallel to the Stephen Sondheim songs of ''Company,'' a kind of talent that Mr. Sondheim himself has shown in creating songs representative of the 20's and 30's.”
- John S. Wilson
The New York Times
Poems of the Night
Marc Ponthus, piano, Marshall Coid, violin and Diane Chaplin, cello - Merkin Concert Hall, New York City
“In 'Poems of the Night,' a cycle of eight Lorca settings (in English), Mr. Steidl's vocal lines are attractive and direct and are supported by graceful accompaniments that illustrate the texts.”
- Allan Kozinn
The New York Times
Sonata for Violin and Piano
Carnegie Recital Hall, New York City
“Scott Steidl's Sonata had its virtues in an angular, long-limbed, all-American kind of way”.
- John Rockwell
The New York Times
The Monkey’s Paw (an opera in one act)
Bruno Ferrandis, conducting - Merkin Concert Hall, New York City
“The Monkey’s Paw - 'The Monkey's Paw,'' an opera by W. W. Jacobs based on the old horror story of wishes gone awry. The dialogue in Edward Berkeley's libretto strikes the perfect tone - terrified, but not overdone - and Mr. Steidl has couched it in music that is colorful, well paced and richly detailed.”
- Allan Kozinn
The New York Times
Piano Trio
Marc Ponthus, piano, Marshall Coid, violin and Diane Chaplin, cello - Merkin Concert Hall, New York City
“The interplay and integration of the disparate elements were immensely more persuasive.”
- Allan Kozinn
The New York Times
The Young Dead Soldiers
Bruno Ferrandis, conducting - Merkin Concert Hall, New York City
“A haunting setting for chorus, orchestra (a string quintet here) and solo flute of Archibald MacLeish's ''Young Dead Soldiers'' closed the program. Its harmonies were open and velvety - nothing that would have shocked Vaughan Williams or Faure - and captured the spirit of the poem unequivocally.”
- Allan Kozinn