As Composer
“emotional & expressive”
Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Clavier, Fanfare, Amadeus, Philadelphia Music Makers,
American Record Guide and more
“immensely imagined … monumental”
Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Music Makers
“stunning”
Jewish Exponent, Raleigh Spectator, & Tucson Citizen
“riveting”
Smithsonian Associate & Philadelphia Music Makers
“intrepid”
The New Yorker
“penetrating & spellbinding”
Hofer Anzeiger/Frankenpost
“blistering passion…palpably spiritual”
Fanfare
“His compositions attain a moral dimension.
They exude a rare urgency of purpose.”
Joseph Horowitz, author of Classical Music in America & NY Book Critics Circle award winner
“His structures are vast, but tightly knit and
meaningful in every note and gesture.”
Springfield Union News
“expansive narrative ofimposing transformations and
a panoply of instrumental colors”
Gramophone
“haunting…powerful…driving…soulful”
Time Out New York
“Cacioppo creates music of one voice, informed by the
most profound musicianship — music as
accessible as it is challenging.”
Walter Parker, Program Director, Vermont Public Radio
“an inspired and adventurous American composer”
new-classics.co.uk
“beautifully arched vocal lines”
DavidPatrick Stearns, The Philadelphia Inquirer
“exciting”
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
“a national treasure”
Stefan Lano, conductor and composer
“I know — and share — the spirit that moved you…
This recording shall always have special meaning for me.”
Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-Massachusetts)
“A composer of firmly focused voice,
Curt Cacioppo has fashioned a rich language
which gives him the flexibility and range to say what he believes in musically, emotionally, spiritually.”
American Academy of Arts and Letters, upon conferring a 1997 Academy Award in Music for lifetime achievement (previous winners include Leonard Bernstein, William Schuman, Gian Carlo Menotti)
“some of the most meaningful music being written in America today”
James Ross, conductor and director, National Orchestral Institute
“musically sophisticated and substantial work…which has an especially lively inventiveness”
Allmusic.com
“He hits the right balance between mental rigor and emotion…
compositional integrity, which is without gimmick and always deeply felt.”
Debra Harder, pianist/writer
“Curt Cacioppo is a performer’s composer. His music is frequently complex, but speaks with great authority and bigness of heart; I think it reaches towards broad human emotions, gestures that move us whether we understand them completely or not. The greatest composers such as Beethoven and Brahms composed abstract music that allows for multiple meanings. Cacioppo belongs to that tradition, too.”
Karl Middleman, Artistic Director and Conductor, Philadelphia Classical Symphony
“I greatly enjoyed your composition America: a prayer. It is clearly a work borne out of deep and sincere reflection on the direction of our nation and a dream for a future of peace in this land and abroad. I was moved by the motif you likened to the eagle, representing both freedom and the perpetual struggle to nurture its development and survival. As you know, I share your passion for peace and respect for the earth and its precious resources. As I continue my work in Congress, it is heartening for me to know of your efforts…”
Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH, 10th District)
House of Representatives – Congress of the United States
“Composer and pianist Curtis Cacioppo’s passionate recital
touched our heart with inspiration.”
President, Music Teachers Association of California, in “Notations,” March 2008
As Pianist
“impressive virtuosity and infectious passion”
Fanfare
“a whirlwind pianist…commanding, secure…
heard from deep within”
Philadelphia Inquirer
“He played with such a love of this music, with such an awareness of all its quirks, shards, angles and shadows”
Tim Page, The New York Times
“a formidable pianist with a rich, ringing sonority”
Fanfare
“incisive and luminous…liquidity of sound”
Il Piccolo (Trieste)
“zest and verve…nothing less than brilliant”
Durham Herald-Sun
“virtuoso…has everything…drama, exquisite lyricism, blinding technical skills and musicality of the first order…breathtaking musically and technically ”
CUE Magazine (Raleigh-Durham)
“a virtuoso pianist”
Tim Page, Washington Post
“played not only with conviction…
but with technical brilliance”
Harvey Sachs, author of Rubinstein: A Life
“I was very impressed by your piece and your playing. I love this multi – faceted
3 – dimensional sound with full pedal control. It was the first time that I heard this kind of playing in America. I was more than delighted.”
Falko Steinbach, pianist/composer & international clinician
For a comprehensive listing of citations, please consult
the “about” section of Cacioppo’s academic curriculum vitae