Media Commentary

Maurice Steger, todo un prodigio de la técnica en las flautas de pico brilló con toda la espectacularidad en dos los conciertos para flauta de pico y orquesta que degustamos, asimismo, la impecable técnica respiratoria del solista suizo permitió unos fiatos extremadamente largos y poderosos.

Pero el elemento diferenciador del concierto lo encontramos en ese bucĂłlico duelo sonoro entre los dos solistas, convirtiendo a la flauta de pico en un encantador y virtuoso pĂĄjaro que dialoga con la soprano. Destacaron sobremanera las cadencias ejecutadas a dĂșo por los dos solistas, en donde la complicidad, el virtuosismo y la dulzura nos dejaron recuerdos sonoros realmente imborrables.

Ritmo.es, Concert in the National Auditorio Madrid, March 2021

For some time now, the adjective ‘galactic’ has been applied to someone who stands out above the rest, relating it to the brilliance of the stars. No one can play the recorder like Maurice Steger. And I have serious doubts that someday a human being will appear on the orb who can surpass him.

Eduardo Torrico in Scherzo (Spain) after a concert in the Audio Nacional Madrid, February 2021

De un tiempo a esta parte, el adjetivo ‘galĂĄctico’ se aplica a alguien que destaca por encima de los demĂĄs, relacionĂĄndolo con el brillo que desprenden las estrellas. Nadie es capaz de tocar la flauta de pico como Maurice Steger. Y tengo serĂ­as dudas de que algĂșn dĂ­a aparezca sobre el orbe un ser humano que pueda superarlo.

Scherzo.es, Concert in the National Auditorio Madrid, February 2021

Die Dramatik, die in den beiden SĂ€tzen steckt, kam auf jeden Fall sehr plastisch zum Tragen, weil trotz aller RĂŒcksichtnahmen die Stimmen sehr individuell und erzĂ€hlend gestaltet waren, weil die die Spannung vermittelten, die in den Situationen der beiden Werke steckt. Da klangen scharf angeblasene Akkorde wirklich gefĂ€hrlich, da strahlten lyrische Momente große Ruhe aus. Das war im Rahmen des außergewöhnlich breiten dynamischen Spektrums außerordentlich gut durchdacht und musiziert.


 Nein, diese Sinfonie in diese Fassung und mit diesem ausmusizierten Schwung (ein Kompliment an die Pauke!) machte bei aller Ernsthaftigkeit einfach großen Spaß. Man ging vergnĂŒgt nach Hause und hatte seine OhrwĂŒrmer wieder.

Thomas Ahnert, Main-Post, Maurice Steger dirigiert Beethoven, Staatsbad Philharmonie Kissingen, November 2020

Wenn der Begriff „schwungvoller Abend“ jemals eine Berechtigung gehabt haben sollte, dann fĂŒr das jĂŒngste Barock-Konzert, zu dem das Folkwang Kammerorchester in die Villa HĂŒgel eingeladen hatte. Mit dabei als musikalischer Leiter: Maurice Steger aus der Schweiz, der als „Paganini der Blockflöte“ gilt.

WAZ, Steger in Essen, November 2020

Blockflöten-Star Maurice Steger aus der Schweiz tat sich im Duo mit Cellist Julian Steckel zusammen bei einer Ra­ritĂ€t von Dirigenten-Legende Leonard Bernstein: “ Variations On An Octatonic Scale“ , virtuos, klangsensibel, facettenreich.

Hamburger Abendblatt, November 2020

Maurice Steger, le chef, est aussi animĂ©, facĂ©tieux et inventif que Maurice Steger, le flĂ»tiste. Ceci nous vaut une premiĂšre qualitĂ© : un rythme soutenu, qui traverse le programme, avec, cependant, des variations d’ambiances fort bienvenues, formidable!

Christophe Huss in Le Devoir, février 2020

In fact the conversion of Maurice Steger as a conductor is of great interest. The musician being interesting, the contribution is always good to take, but, above all, as his performance is no longer centered solely on his role as soloist, it undermines the importance and omnipresence of virtuosity (the phenomenon and „Paganini side of the recorder“) for a much more serene and balanced contribution, passing through several expressive facets.

Les Violons du Roy seemed to enjoy the experience. So did the audience.

Christophe Huss, Montreal, Canada, 2020

The experiment was successful! Steger played on a baroque alto recorder, and so stunningly that one was not sure whether a camera trick was being used.

Live Stream Christmas Concert 2020 with Zuger Sinfonietta by Haymo Empl

Steger und Prego hĂ€tten sicher auch damals Furore gemacht und den ĂŒblichen Wettstreit unter Musikern gewonnen. Denn was sie hier in einigen StĂŒcken ĂŒber eine Basslinie erfinden, ist schiere Zauberei . (gn)

Luzerner Zeitung, Dezember 2019

„Der Seesturm“ – zog innerhalb von sechs Minuten ĂŒber das Publikum im Sendesaal hinweg und war damit kĂŒrzestes Werk des Abends und zugleich Namensgeber des gesamten „Barock-plus“-Konzertes. Der italienische FrĂŒhklassiker Carlo Monza konzipierte dieses dicht gewobene und rhythmisch Ă€ußerst plakative Werk und machte es deshalb zu einer glĂ€nzenden Miniatur im reichhaltigen RaritĂ€tenkabinett italienischer Musik.

Matthias Gerhart: Maurice Steger dirigiert das hr-Sinfonieorchester, November 2019

Denn im Paket gebucht, ĂŒbernimmt Steger auch die musikalische Leitung. Anton Webers Bearbeitung von Bachs «Musikalischem Opfer» gerĂ€t ihm so zu einem stringent durch die Instrumentengruppen des grossen Orchesterapparats gefĂŒhrten, blĂŒhenden Geflecht des Bachschen Themas.

Braunschweiger Zeitung, 2019

Nahtlos gestaltete Steger den Übergang zu Franz Schuberts 8. Sinfonie, der ebenso «Unvollendeten». Ein toller Kniff, der den leisen, aber dĂŒster-drĂ€uenden Einstieg des Allegro moderato nur umso eindringlicher verstĂ€rkt und mit knisternder Spannung in das vordergrĂŒndig leichte, aber tragische Werk des zu frĂŒh Verstorbenen einleitet.

Sebastian Barnstorf | Schubert, Bach, Webern, 2019

Und: Der Beethoven war, wie auch die anderen StĂŒcke des Abends, in fast jederlei Hinsicht vom Orchester bemerkenswert gut gespielt. So gehört ist Steger eben keineswegs ein typischer dirigierender Solist. Dieser Mann kann sehr wohl ein Orchester fĂŒhren und motivieren!

Reinald Hanke, Beethoven mit Maurice Steger und dem Staatsorchester Braunschweig, November 2019

The album would be worth it for Steger’s gentle, flawlessly intoned pastoral Handel slow movements. But it’s when you get to the Flute Concerto in G major of Francesco Geminiani that things really get cooking.

In short, you may not know it from the packaging, but what you’re getting here is the virtuoso recorder event of the year, or perhaps some longer period than that.

James Manheim in allmusic.com, 2019

Steger made a seamless transition to Franz Schubert’s 8th Symphony, the equally „unfinished“. A great trick, which only intensifies the quiet but gloomy opening of the Allegro moderato all the more insistently and introduces the ostensibly light but tragic work of the too-early deceased with crackling tension.

Sebastian Barnstorf | Steger conducts Schubert, Bach, Webern, 2019

Dank ihm ist die Blockflöte zum vollwertigen Konzertinstrument geworden. Heute spielt ein Teil der jungen Generation Blockflöte nicht, weil sie muss, sondern weil Maurice Steger gezeigt hat, wie cool und sexy das ist (wenn man es kann). Wo immer der Musiker auftritt, bringt er mit seinem hoch virtuosen, ausdruckstiefen Spiel das Publikum aus dem HÀuschen.

Der Bund, November 2019

Ungemein wach und agil musizierte Orchestersuiten | Es elektrisiert und beflĂŒgelt, es fĂ€hrt ein, wie den frierenden Hirten auf dem Felde der ĂŒberraschende Aufzug jubilierender Engel Beine gemacht haben muss.

«Auf dass 2021 in jeder Hinsicht besser werde»: DafĂŒr ist ihm tosender Applaus sicher. Auch wenn man ihn nicht hört.

Bettina Kugler nach dem Livestream Weihnachtskonzert 2020 mit dem Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen

Indeed, extreme ensemble virtuosity, and the crackest of crack continuo units, are absolute non-negotiables when Steger’s around and La Cetra deliver on these throughout in joyous spadefuls.

I’m really not sure what Steger can do to top this album. Although, knowing him, I suspect he might.

Gramophone 2019 for Mr Handel’s Dinner

On trouve de trĂšs belles pages pittoresques, magnifiquement rendues comme dans le concertoLa Notte. Fondamentalement, Maurice Steger reste le mĂȘme: voltigeur, capricieux, bondissant.

Elisabeth Haas in 24heures

Die Entdeckung

Maurice Steger ist nicht nur fĂŒr sein phĂ€nomenales Blockflötenspiel zu rĂŒhmen (das hiesse, Eulen nach Athen zu tragen), sondern ebenso sehr fĂŒr seine instrumentalen Einrichtungen all dieser handschriftlich ĂŒberlieferten Werke, die allesamt durch eine fein differenzierte Klangfarbenvielfalt fĂŒr sich einnehmen.

Dr. Werner Pfister in Musik und Theater

Der Zauberflöter

>OhrwurmqualitĂ€t meets zirzensische VirtuositĂ€t… Wie sich solche lupenreine Technik auch in tieferen Lagen entfaltet, demonstriert Maurice Steger in der tosenden viersĂ€tzigen “Sonata” von Nicola Fiorenza (1700-1764), die sich nach einem melancholischen Largo-Intro zu ĂŒbermĂŒtiger Freude und reinem Jubel aufschwingt.

SPIEGEL Online

Mit Witz und Verve in vielen schnellen, aber ebenso mit geradezu erotisch besetzten Klangfarben in manch langsamen SÀtzen entsteht solcherart ein musikalischer Kosmos, dem man sich als Zuhörer nicht entziehen kann. Dabei trifft sich der Solist mit den Spielern seines Ensembles kaum je einmal bloss in der gefÀlligen Mitte, sondern hÀlt mit ihnen einen stets lebendigen, oft auch kontrastreichen Dialog, in welchem sich das Hin und Her in schillernden KomplementÀrfarben ergÀnzt.

Christian Albrecht in BĂŒndner Tagblatt

But that’s the thing; Steger is never dull, and while he may go for maximum velocity and more-is-more ornamentation, his attack and articulation are always varied, repeats are never the same and there’s warmth and thought behind his every note, regardless of its speed… In short, it’s another Steger cracker of a recording. Well worth seeking out.

Gramophone, Magazine 2/17

Der Blockflötenkönig Steger gibt seinem Instrument Seele, Witz und Melancholie im Übermaß mit und adelt damit auch manche Durchschnittware.

Kölner Stadtanzeiger

Auf dem Meer der Sinnlichkeit

Es gleicht immer wieder einem freudigen Schock zu erleben, wie plötzlich jemand aufs Podium tritt und so musiziert, als wĂŒrde ein grosses Tor aufgestossen, das endlich den Blick frei gibt ins weite Reich der Musik… Es war eine Erfahrung von VirtuositĂ€t ganz im Sinne des grossen Cellisten Emanuel Feuermann: “Virtuose sollte ein Ehrentitel sein, und ich glaube, dass selbst unter den Grössten auf dem heutigen Podium nur wenige ihn verdienen. Virtuose zu sein bedeutet: das grösste Spielvermögen zu haben, das Kunstwerk zu achten und ĂŒber die FĂ€higkeit zu verfĂŒgen, die eigene Persönlichkeit sinnvoll in das Kunstwerk einzubringen.

Harald Eggebrecht, SĂŒddeutsche Zeitung 16.12.2015

Den grössten Applaus im Publikum löste jedoch der Schweizer Maurice Steger aus. Er erhielt die Auszeichnung „Instrumentalist des Jahres/Flöte“. Warum man ihn „den Indiana Jones der Flöte“ nennt, konnte man in seiner Wiedergabe von Vivaldis Concerto per Flautino in G-Dur nachvollziehen.

Das ZDF ĂŒber die Gala ECHO KLASSIK im Konzerthaus Berlin. Nov. 2015

Steger nahm sich das Flötenkonzert von Babell vor und verwandelte seine C-Flöte zu einer Art Naturereignis, menschlich geschaffenem, dabei höchst kunstvollem Vogelgezwitscher aus ĂŒberbordend virtuosen Arpeggien, LĂ€ufen, Kaskaden des Wohlklangs. Ein Wunder! Das Publikum raste.

Donaukurier, 11. Oktober 2015

Wie kaum ein anderer Flötist versteht er es, mit seinem Instrument ganze Welten entstehen zu lassen: vergangene Welten, Innenwelten und Ausdruckswelten…. Maurice Steger wird nicht zu Unrecht „Rubinstein der Flöte“ gefeiert. Er ist ein Mann, der fĂŒr seine Leidenschaft brennt: technisch brillant und in seinem Spiel immer voller Aussage und Inhalt.

Crescendo, 1. Oktober 2015

The biggest applause in the audience, however, was triggered by the Swiss Maurice Steger. He received the „Instrumentalist of the Year/Flute“ award.

Maurice Steger receives the ECHO CLASSIC AWARD, November 2015

It s the bustle and the carnival of Venice … he plays a whole range of different instruments and brings colour and vitality, and, quite frankly, some craziness to the proceedings … it s exciting, the changes of tempo are quite drastic and astonishing sometimes; the virtuosity on display is at times remarkable … it s brilliant isn t it, and very enjoyable … it s so precise at times and then at others he knows how to play with wild abandon … there s still space for ornamentation, there s space for the music to breathe … just quite breath-taking …

Andrew McGregor & Hannah French CD Review, BBC Radio 3, 15th November 2014

Anyone who goes to a Maurice Steger concert really gets offered something special for their money – this was proven in particularly impressive fashion during his performance with the Akademie fĂŒr Alte Musik on Tuesday evening. Of course the event offered the opportunity to hear the recorder player who can perform so loudly and yet still so beautifully better than anyone else. And on this evening, he of course even outshines an entire orchestra…. And when, like in Johann Adolf Hasse’s Sonata in B-Flat Major, Steger summons up a huge wall of sound and builds giant waves of tension – all whilst barely ever being disrupted by the hiss of his breathing through the tiniest parting between his lips – it is impossible not to be enraptured.

Berliner Zeitung

Champagne pour la flĂ»te! Le «nouveau Maurice Steger»:un Ă©merveillement! 
 VirtuositĂ©, donc, oui. Mais l’interprĂšte est au service de la musique, pas l’inverse. Dans La notte intrigante, La pastorella et son bourdonnement de viĂšle, Il gardellino et ses cadences ou encore le virevoltant Concerto RV 443 qui ouvre le disque, les effets sont plus lĂ©gers que dĂ©monstratifs. Et il faut Ă©couter les mouvements lents, le soin portĂ© Ă  l’ornementation, la profondeur des timbres, la conduite des phrases: un grand bonheur d’écoute.

La Liberté

Virtuosissimo Vivaldi und Steger: Hier fanden sich zwei in ihrer Passion fĂŒr betörende Kantilenen und virtuoseste Koloraturen, in ihrer Liebe zu den tausend Klangfarben der Blockflöte. Maurice und Antonio, ein ideales Paar!

Hansuli von Erlach

Blockflötengott Steger Gemeinsam mit dem Orchester I Barocchisti unter Diego Fasolis ist ihm eine atemberaubende Einspielung von sieben Concerti aus der Feder des «Prete rosso» Vivaldi gelungen
 Die ĂŒberragende virtuose QualitĂ€t von Steger findet in der Begleitung durch die Barocchisti unter Diego Fasolis eine packende ErgĂ€nzung.

Basler Zeitung

OUTSTANDING

Recorder virtuoso Steger’s latest recital traces the history of the Corelli cult of Georgian London, Edinburgh and Manchester. Adored for its simplicity by gentleman amateurs, orchestrated by Geminiani and flamboyantly decorated by professional soloists (usually violinists), Corelli’s music outlived its creator, dressed up or down according to taste and ability. Steger’s performance is a thrilling hybrid, dazzlingly embellished yet pure and true of tone. The English Concert match Steger’s Ă©lan, with glorious solos from the ensemble.

Independent on Sunday by Anna Picard (2010-04-11)

Steger is a wonderfully deft player, with absolute clarity of note an line, even in the most virtuosic variations, of which there are many. Nonetheless, one of the most interesting pieces comes at the very end of the disc, when … he plays the gentle variations by Jacques or James Paisible upon the Sarabande of the original sonata. This is a large-scaled ground-bass piece that increases in intensity as it goes along, without giving way to the flashy cascades that are a feature of most of the rest of the pieces.

Fanfare USA by Alan Swanson, 2010-11-05

Still, it has to be said that the star of this show was the snappily dressed, willowy figure of recorder player Maurice Steger. Anyone who thinks the recorder is fit only for school assemblies would have been forced to think again by Steger’s amazing virtuosity, which somehow soared over the instruments limitations. The rapid passagework in Corelli’s F major Concerto emerges as a barely audible bird-like twittering, but Steger made it so crystal-clear that it pushed through the orchestral sound without difficulty.This offered the “wow” factor, but more striking was the way Steger draped expressive ornaments over the melodies of the slow movements, creating a luxuriant melancholy at each dying fall by leaning on the dissonant notes. Even grandeur isn’t beyond his reach, as was shown by a riveting performance of the Sarabande from Corelli’s 7th sonata. The unknown arranger added to the sense of unfolding majesty by bringing in more instruments (though I imagine director Laurence Cummings had a hand in this too), while over the top Steger floated a lovely line, fragile and droopingly expressive and dignified all at once.

The Telegraph – Ivan Hewett’s 5-star review – 2011-04-06

Les Violons du Roy, recorder soloist Maurice Steger light up Shriver Hall. I don’t think of the typical Shriver Hall Concert Series crowd as very likely to do a lot of enthusiastic hooting and hollering over baroque music, but that was the reaction given Sunday evening to Les Violons du Roy. No wonder.

The Baltimore Sun – 2012-01-31

Les Violons du Roy, recorder soloist Maurice Steger at Nichols School’s Flickinger Performing Arts Center, Buffalo

To say Steger is the world’s leading recorder virtuoso does not begin to describe it. He’s like a pied piper, standing bowlegged as he turns out those bubbly, brisk solos, each more astonishing than the last, lightning quick, every note distinct. His breaths go on forever. Several times, I found myself whispering, “Incredible!”

BuffaloNews.com / December 2012

From the first note of this CD one is transported into a rainbow of scintillating colour and deep passion. Everything about it is perfect: the ensemble performance, the tempi, the ornamentation (a delight) and the musicianship, which is spellbinding.

CD Spotlight UK – recommended by Jennifer Paull

Now the world’s leading recorder virtuoso, Steger delivered what must be the fastest ever account of Telemann’s Suite in A minor for treble recorder and strings. Ravishingly phrased, with heady swirls from Cummings’ harpsichord, saucily swung notes inegales, piquant decorations, Steger’s prestissimo performance adumbrated interpretative sophistication and technical show-offery, bringing broad smiles to the faces of a packed Wigmore Hall audience in this and the Sammartini Concerto in F.

Anna Picard, The Independent, after a concert with The English Concert in Wigmore Hall London

The rapid passagework in Corelli’s F major Concerto emerges as a barely audible bird-like twittering, but Steger made it so crystal-clear that it pushed through the orchestral sound without difficulty.<br/><br/>This offered the “wow” factor, but more striking was the way Steger draped expressive ornaments over the melodies of the slow movements, creating a luxuriant melancholy at each dying fall by leaning on the dissonant notes. Even grandeur isn’t beyond his reach, as was shown by a riveting performance of the Sarabande from Corelli’s 7th sonata. The unknown arranger added to the sense of unfolding majesty by bringing in more instruments (though I imagine director Laurence Cummings had a hand in this too), while over the top Steger floated a lovely line, fragile and droopingly expressive and dignified all at once.

Highest Ratings***** – THE TELEGRAPH, 6. April 2011, Concert in Wigmore Hall London

The stiff labels don’t make Maurice Steger sound that exciting, you know? But listen to this guy play—which is precisely what the rapt audience at Rackham Auditorium did Saturday evening, when Steger appeared with the Canadian chamber ensemble Les Violons du Roy, conducted by Bernard Labadie, in a University Musical Society concert—and it’s a whole other story.

Who knew recorder virtuosity could be that thrilling? But Steger, a man of elfin charm who virtually dances with his instrument and offers blissed- out smiles between extended licks that would wind a marathon runner, is a phenom. Musical in the extreme, witty, clearly having the time of his life, and bending a column of air to his will to make his instrument sing, trill, dip and soar like some sweet unreal bird.

ANN ARBOR.COM, CONCERT REVIEW – US Tour with LES VIOLONS DU ROY, 2012

Maurice Steger embodies in his unique, colorful, technically brilliant and exuberant manner a new, pathbreaking definition of what it means to play the recorder. The popularity that he enjoys in Switzerland and abroad has reached dimensions usually restricted to other music genres. Maurice Steger is a resolute master and a wonderful performer with profound understanding of the music he performs; his successes are as numerous as the partners with whom he has performed …

Christian Berzins in ‘RadioMagazin’

Hahn’s musical temperament never goes astray in trivial nuances but takes off in an unbridled drive. At times that can seem somewhat conventional and motor-driven, particularly in comparison with Maurice Steger (in the double concerto), who playfully splashed Bach’s music with fitting ornamentation …

Rising Stars: with Hilary Hahn at the Lucerne Concerts

Maurice Steger is without a doubt an artist who pushes the recorder to its physical and expressive limits. Dedicated as few others, he presents music as a pulsing, throbbing moment, breaking the chains of notation and transforming notes into living entities. That music is more than just the patient reading of a score, that spontaneous, imaginative turns are the essence of music, Maurice Steger embodies this platitude anew: his playing is not merely spectacular but also is driven by the desire to give shape and form in the tradition of Harnoncourt …

Early music Magazine

The star of the evening was Maurice Steger, for this brilliant young musician provides living proof that all of the clichĂ©s about the recorder are not true. To hear Maurice Steger perform is to experience how he can scatter acrobatic cascades of notes as Vivaldi’s capricious finch throughout the Tonhalle, how he can combine a weave of lines in an Adagio to create a perfect rainbow, how he can embody musical communication with subtle humor and wit, how he can utilize the interaction between work, ensemble and soloist to form a musical theater of the most entertaining kind – and together with the “Academie” to be answered in return by the warmth of the audience’s affection. Such charismatic performances are typical of popstars, but this is Maurice Steger, and his exuberant performances of Vivaldi or Telemann would not be out of place in the hit parade, and his cascades of notes have just the right frequency even to reach techno-ears …

Reinmar Wagner, ‘Musik & Theater’, Concert with the Akademie fĂŒr Alte Musik Berlin at the Tonhalle in Zurich

The star of the evening was Maurice Steger, for this brilliant young musician provides living proof that all of the clichĂ©s about the recorder are not true. To hear Maurice Steger perform is to experience how he can scatter acrobatic cascades of notes as Vivaldi’s capricious finch throughout the Tonhalle, how he can combine a weave of lines in an Adagio to create a perfect rainbow, how he can embody musical communication with subtle humor and wit, how he can utilize the interaction between work, ensemble and soloist to form a musical theater of the most entertaining kind – and together with the “Academie” to be answered in return by the warmth of the audience’s affection. Such charismatic performances are typical of popstars, but this is Maurice Steger, and his exuberant performances of Vivaldi or Telemann would not be out of place in the hit parade, and his cascades of notes have just the right frequency even to reach techno-ears …

Reinmar Wagner, ‘Musik & Theater’, Concert with the Akademie fĂŒr Alte Musik Berlin at the Tonhalle in Zurich

The phrases just run off his fingers, whether jumping through the octaves or gracing every note with an ornament; he is able to conjure up the most whispered pianissimo, the most profound emotion, the most forceful tone; at times Maurice Steger blows into his recorder as if he is trying to draw more out than is physically possible …

CD Telemann’s Flute Quartets with Musica Antiqua Köln and Reinhard Goebel

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