“[Radical Light] is a study in wondrous sonorities: thick string clouds, incandescent brass, chattering and glittering winds. Fast music invades slow music but doesn’t overpower it. The end is one big rapt, rich sound, with the strings shimmering, rippling, a grand but still muted sunrise. The piece has the feeling of Sibelius’ sound but provides a sensual pleasure all its own.”
– Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times
“[Second Concerto for Orchestra is] a colorful, delight-bringing score, it has the feel of music we know well lovingly replanted to charm new surroundings ... a perfect fit for an orchestra, conductor and audience. It is music expertly designed to show off the Philharmonic, Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Disney acoustic at their dazzling best.”
– Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times
“... a distinguished addition to [his list of works created for the Los Angeles Philharmonic]. ... a fascinating amalgam: color, rhythm, propulsion ... bright solo instrumental writing and breath-stopping dark sonorities.”
– Alan Rich, LA Weekly
Son et lumičre has “... a great deal of energy, brilliant orchestration and thematic interest.”
– Tim Smith, Baltimore Sun
“Stucky writes for the orchestra with great flair and confidence and the piece delivers exactly what the title promises: interesting sounds featuring an enjoyable interplay of light and shade.”
– David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
“Dreamwaltzes is both stylish and substantial, a neatly shaped 15-minute work whose dynamic energy is considerable and whose orchestration is consistently well-crafted.”
– James Wierzbicki, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“... a clever, affectionate collage that puts some old stylistic skeletons through provocative new paces. Dreamwaltzes left little doubt that past-tense creativity, when applied with craft and imagination, can be amusing as well as engaging.”
– Martin Bernheimer, Los Angeles Times
“... Stucky, with his feeling for big gestures and love of timbral variety, is at his best – or at least at his most free – when writing for full orchestra ... imaginative, affecting.”
– Mark Lehman, American Record Guide
“Mr. Stucky set off Purcell’s music [Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary] in as if in quotation marks, with a sense of distance built in. Sometimes the melody dwindled to a mere outline, like a bald patch in an old tapestry; at other times it withdrew behind a gentle overlay of modern harmonies, which slightly distorted it, as if viewed through rippled glass.”
– Anne Midgette, New York Times
“The lush sonorities of Pinturas, inspired by five paintings by 20th century Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo, fell easily on the ear ... Pinturas is that rare achievement, a piece of programmatic music that is neither too abstract nor too literal ... The audience paid Stucky the ultimate compliment.”
– Wynne Delacoma, Chicago Sun-Times
“... there’s always the chance of hearing something that will survive the lifetime of its composer ... Boston Fancies by Steven Stucky may be one of those special works ... clear structure of the alternating sections ... a marvelous migration of instrumental highlighting ... what is so impressive about Stucky’s achievement is that the declaration of immediately obvious structure allows him to delight the listener with breathtaking transitional passages between sections.”
– Jeff Dunn, San Francisco Classical Voice
“[Nell’ombra, Nella Luce (In Shadow, In Light)] was a piece with far more light than shadow in it and great arcs of tensely radiant harmony, beautifully imagined for the medium.”
– Paul Griffiths, New York Times
“Nell’ombra, Nella Luce is a significant addition to the repertoire. ... As the title’s visual metaphor suggests, it is concerned with the contrast between darkness and light. The composer uses the full palette available, from basics such as high and low notes to less common techniques, including harmonics and sul ponticello ... But unlike most color-study pieces of music, Stucky’s new quartet satisfies the listener with an inner coherence undoubtedly strengthened by his close study of the music of the late Polish composer Witold Lutoslawski.”
– Mark Kanny, Pittsburgh Tribune Review
“The 20-minute, four-movement [Concerto Mediterraneo for Solo Guitar and Orchestra] rarely raises its voice above an inviting, relaxed mezzo forte. Modernist techniques in the score blend with the often lovely guitar lines and soft-edged support from the orchestra ... exquisite phrases ... delicate and fragile touches ... It’s a work well worth hearing again.
– Pierre Ruhe, Washington Post
Additional reviews and complete information about Steven Stucky’s compositions are available from Theodore Presser Company.
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