“an outstanding concert by Dana Muller and Gary Steigerwalt. . . . Their program could hardly have been more beautifully chosen or more flawlessly executed. . . . Ravel’s La valse in the composer’s own two-piano transcription concluded the program. . . . The Muller-Steigerwalt team played it with perfectly controlled abandon, as a fitting wrap-up to a scintillating evening.”
—- Mark DeVoto, The Boston Musical Intelligencer
“Their exquisite phrasing and perfectly coordinated tone production appeared to be driven by the impulse of a single mind.”
—- Clifton Noble, Springfield Union-News (MA)
“Their playing throughout was always alert and expressive. . . . a thoroughly agreeable and enjoyable concert.”
—- David Bruce, Helensburgh Advertiser (UK)
“The duo brought the audience to its feet on the conclusion of this piece [Ravel, La Valse]. Their fingers literally flew across the keyboard as the balance of soft and loud sounds of the waltz vibrated with the life the pianists gave each note.”
—- Green Valley News & Sun (AZ)
“The complexities of four-hand duets are immense. The parts often overlap, so that a pianist frequently finds himself crossing his own or his partner’s hand. Still, these pianists mesh so perfectly that such occasions are no problem. The difficulties are justified by the overall musical effect, in which the entire keyboard is producing a wonderful blend and volume of sound, exploiting an aspect of piano music which cannot be realized in any other way.”
—- Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review (AZ)
“They played up a storm in the Mendelssohn, tossing off brilliant parallel scale passages like so much tinsel, molding elegant phrases with a balance of delicacy and power as they manipulated the keyboard with the unity of a single player.”
—- Clifton Noble, Springfield Union-News (MA)
In Your Head
Navona Records 6190
“[Dreamworlds] unfolds like a Kafka short story: sometimes unnerving, with changes in pace or melody right around the corner, and a distinctly sinister undertone. Spratlan’s work (and the duo’s performance of it) captures one’s attention from the beginning and never lets go. Distinctly heartfelt playing and well-chosen programming make this a terrific album of four-hand piano works.”
—- American Record Guide
“. . . this is like a feast with avocado toast, fusion cuisine and an interesting array of spices. . . . A marvelous display of contemporary classical piano by a slew of serious award winning cats, this will open your ears to the future in fine form. Killer stuff.”
—- Chris Spector, Midwest Record
“Overall, Muller and Steigerwalt have been beyond fortunate to have such a great wealth of new works that help further enhance the piano four-hand repertoire. . . . The variety within these different explorations of this genre make this an important release of contemporary music.”
—- Cinemusical
“. . . a reminder of how much wonderful four-hands repertoire there actually is beyond the familiar material of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The works on this disc are by six American composers and present an astonishingly wide array of compositional styles.”
—- Alex Baran, The Whole Note
“David Sanford’s The Silent Hearth (2018), which ends the CD, is an unusual and unusually evocative work. . . . [It] delves deeply into the piano’s lower register in an attempt to interpret a story about an old concert hall in Boston that is no longer used but remains, in disrepair, beneath a piano showroom. . . . The work is intriguing in its repeated use of extended silences juxtaposed with music that seems to arise from the depths and return there. This CD as a whole is fascinating both for the variety of ways in which the composers explore four-hand piano music and for the high level of skill with which Muller and Steigerwalt interpret the material.”
—- Infodad
“. . . a rich and multi layered release.”
—- Darren Rea, Review Graveyard
Early Twentieth Century Works by European Composers
Centaur Records 2127
“Muller and Steigerwalt . . . display the incredible variety of musical styles needed to make the most of all these works, as well as the high level of technical fluency. An outstanding disc.”
—- Fanfare
Late Romantic Works
Centaur Records 2390
“Four-hand piano duo Dana Muller and Gary Steigerwalt are terrific players who perform all three works on the program [Josef Rheinberger, Anton Rubinstein, and Frederick Shepherd Converse] with panache and conviction.”
—- James Leonard, Allmusic
Four-hand Works of Franz Schubert
Centaur Records 2272 and 2305
"The duo played Schubert's early Grand Sonata in B-flat, D. 617 (Op. 30), with its sweet and buttery themes and harmonies, in a perfect union of aesthetics."
—- Myles Tronic, The Worcester Phoenix
Ivory II – Music of Daniel Asia
Summit Records 769
“Iris (2017), under the fingers of new performers: Dana Muller and Gary Steigerwalt, pianists who have collaborated together for some three decades. And it shows in their unanimity of attack, but also their unanimity of approach. The three movement Iris might seem light on the surface but there are darker things afoot, which one feels initially in the first movement in the feeling that things could “derail” (to use the composer’s own term) at any moment. The central panel is daringly slow (“Slow, almost lethargic,” so the performers are certainly doing as they are told), It is another triumph of concentration that leads to the impetuous, sparkling finale where wit finds a ready home.
The recording is good throughout, but it is the high standard of performances of this fresh new music that marks this disc out. Recommended with enthusiasm.”
—- Colin Clarke, Fanfare
“The level of the piano playing on these recordings is consistently high and clearly committed to the vision of the composer. This release is strongly recommended to those interested in the current state of piano music, and to music lovers generally.”
—- Peter Burwasser, Fanfare