"A well-chosen recital brings some compelling playing from a rising star."
As the high-level piano recital regrettably recedes somewhat in American concert life, it is comforting to know pianists still know how to put together smart programmes. Many have moved to disc, and this album is best understood as a recital disc, assembled with both the performer's strengths and intriguing connections in mind.  American pianist Spencer Myer has compiled a programme with variations as the theme, seen through a disparate range of composers.  Juilliard and Oberlin-trained, Myer recorded this disc as the American Pianists Association 2006 Christel DeHaan Classical Fellow.
     An excellent choice opens the "concert":  Variations on L'homme Armé by Ellis Kohs.  This remains one of the most tasteful and telling incorporations of the famous early Renaissance song that inspired multiple Masses.  The American composer wrote his variations in 1946-47, and the pleasant counterpoint at the onset turns first to an almost romantic view of war until it becomes ugly and driving.  But, with warm tone, Myer treats the halting last variation as a hymn of thanksgiving to war's end rather than depression over its ravages.  
     A work that can be stiff and severe, and was certainly viewed as such when it premiered in the early '30s, Copland's Piano Variations develop organically in the pianist's hands. In early variations the high register is a ghostly echo - a fantastic contrast to the percussive jazz-like chords that follow. It is primarily through dynamic shifts but also trough varied attack (and some subtle rubato) that Myer breathes more life into this piece than I have heard before.  It is far less angular even in the later, virtuoso variations, with Myer simply treating the work with the typical musicality one would offer to Liszt or Schumann.  The same  approach is obvious for Busoni's Ten Variations on a Prelude by Cbopin.  The prelude in question is the funereal Op 28 No. 20, but this set from 1922 is actually Buoni's reworking of earlier variations on the Prelude in 1885.  Busoni reworked them to cut down on the excess of the first set, and Myer honours that with crisp and agile playing.
     From here the disc veers from its main theme, but Debussy's Prdludes Book 2, are at least variations of images and concepts.  Myer has a delicate touch with fingers and feet, and clearly has a feel for the pacing inherent in these short works.  But listening to this album straight though, this final section is a bit of a let-down.  We were primed for a grander finish that not even the pyrotechnics of "Feux d'artifice" can provide.  But the impression was already made, recital or not: this is a compelling and artful disc by a rising talent. 
         – Gramophone, May '08 

"Pianist Displays Skill, Grace at UT Music Hall" 
     "When pianist Spencer Myer played here two years ago, in his first performance in the Young Pianist Series, his stage personality already gave more attention on the music he played than to his mannerisms. He's still devoid of any flamboyant pretenses. What he has added since that concert is a highly nuanced simultaneous management of multiple voices and textures.  And it was that which was on display in his Sunday afternoon performance that opened this year's Young Pianist Series at the University of Tennessee Music Hall.
     In a superb performance of Maurice Ravel's "Alborada del gracioso," from Ravel's 1905 collection "Miroirs," played near the end of his program, the middle section had watercolor undertones of subtle, sustained dissonances that colored the space beneath the piece's crisp Spanish dance motifs. One could also see the sunlight sparkling on the water while hearing it splash against the sides of the boat in Ravel's "Une bargue sur l'ocean" ("A Boat on the Ocean"), which Myer played a few minutes earlier.
     Myer opened the concert with one of Beethoven's less-often-played sonatas, the "Sonata No. 24 in F Sharp Major," Op. 78, written in 1809.
     Following that were Igor Stravinsky's "Four Etudes," Op. 7, written in 1908 when Stravinsky was only 26 and had not yet found his distinctive voice. In the second one, written in D Major, Myer had layers of images that had delicate shadows moving beneath the surface theme.
     There was also music by Gershwin, both in disguises of Earl Wild's etudes on "Embraceable You" and "Fascinating Rhythm," as well as Gershwin's own "Three Preludes," written with the intention of establishing himself as a serious classical composer and not just a creator of popular music.
     Always gracious on stage, Myer at the end rewarded the audience with encores that first ripped through Rachmaninoff's transcription of Rimsky-Korsakov "The Flight of the Bumblebee," then concluded with a gorgeous playing of Egon Petri's transcription of the soprano aria "Schafe konnen sicher weiden," from J. S. Bach's "Cantata," BWV 208, written in 1713 as a birthday celebration for Duke Christian of Saxe-Weissenfels. 
         – Knoxville News-Sentinel, Jan. 14 '08

"Spencer Myer gave a gloriously expressive take on the Gershwin [Concerto in F]." 
          – The Indianapolis Star, Jan. 5 '08

     "Over the years, the Young Artists Series has brought some serious talent to the Rinker Playhouse. Most of the musicians featured in the series are fresh out of conservatories and have incredible technical skills but sometime lack true artistry. Once in a while, a true outstanding performance happens, and that was the case of Tuesday's piano recital given by Spencer Myer.
     Similarly to past performers, Myer has an extensive list of prizes in competitions, famous teacher and important upcoming engagements. Unlike most, however, his recital showed not only potential talent but excellent skill and total professionalism.
     His program was an ambitious one that was almost overwhelming but delivered without flaws. He started with Ludwig van Beethoven's "Sonata in F-sharp Major, Op. 78." Written after the fiery "Appassionata", the work is said to have been one of the composer's favorites. It has a sunny sheen that is heard throughout its two movements. Myer undertook them with sensibility and stylistic awareness. It was especially refreshing to hear him take both repeats in the first movement (instead of just the one at the end of the exposition) -- a clear sign of his respect and understanding for the music of the German master.
     Next came the "Sonata-Reminiscenza, Op. 38 #1" by Nikolai Medtner. And extended one-movement work, it is typical of Medtner's conservative style.  Although Myer performed the work with imagination and sensitbility, its positioning right after Beethoven's jewel was somewhat detrimental and exposed many of the piece's weaknesses.
     Up next, the Russian selections, "Four Etudes, Op. 7" by Igor Stravinsky, fared a little better and not because they were of better quality, but because they allowed the audience to hear the pianist's virtuoso abilities in full. Indeed, these short "Etudes" are not your typical Stravinsky; they are early works more reminiscent of Scriabin and lack the originality one would find in his mature works.
     The second half of the program consisted of Frederic Chopin's Four Ballades.  Usually played as single pieces (and usually closing programs thanks to their virtuosity), they feature Chopin at his highest genius. IT is hard to envision works closer to the romantic ideals than these four pieces based on epic Polish poems. Once again, Myer delivered them in a most impressive way. Not once did he seem overwhelmed by the technical difficulties present in each piece, and he played them with romantic flair and a high dramatic sense.
     He obliged a deserving standing ovation with encores featuring transcriptions of "The Flight of the Bumble-Bee" by Rimsky-Korsakov, "Fascinating Rhythm" by George Gershwin, and "Sheep May Safely Graze" by J.S. Bach, thrilling the audience and thus ending an evening of pure musicianship." 
          – Palm Beach Daily News, Dec. 12 '07

2005 Cleveland International Piano Competition - Final Round
     In Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4, Myer was the epitome of assurance and order. He phrased the serene opening phrase with utmost clam and proceeded to set forth the first movement's luminous lines as if they were the most precious pearls. Everything was fluent, noble and clear, both in textural and structural terms. The second movement's alternating statements between pianist and orchestra found Myer using his subtlest powers to persuade the opposing forces to retreat. The finale had nimble grace and a buttery touch that drew the listener deeply into Beethoven's gleeful arguments. He won the type of standing ovation usually reserved for renowned keyboard heroes." 
         – The Cleveland Plain Dealer

     "Spencer Myer, the pianist who played Johannes Brahms' Concerto No. 1, Op. 15, in D Minor, was a top-notch artist who collaborated extremely well with the orchestra in this monumental composition. Myer displayed an intense lyricism, beautifully executed. His command of the music was flawless."   
         – The Ellsworth American (Maine)

     "Myer delivered mature, polished artistry." 
        – The Indianapolis Star

     "The sensitivity and fluency that must have impressed the various jurors were in bountiful evidence during Myer's recital. In works by a range of composers from Gluck to Cleveland's Frederick Koch, the pianist explored a wealth of colors and expressive moods as he paid fine attention to structural concerns. He appears to have natural inclinations for the music of Debussy; in Images, Books I & II, Myer captured the fleeting atmospheres in seamless lines, savoring inner voices while also emphasizing the composer's magical textures. The score of Scriabin's Sonata No. 2 found a champion in Myer, whose romantic soul generously delineated the work's special virtues."        
         – The Cleveland Plain Dealer