Of a caliber that kept this listener in a state of continual astonishment
- Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times
The guitarist's guitarist....
- Tom Schnabel, KCRW
A mind-boggling experience....
- Guitar Player
It was Microtonal Heaven
- Denver Advocate
Lou Harrison's tender Suite No.2 for microtonal guitars, skillfully played by John Schneider, made you forget all about the concept and listen to the music. Its mixture of the Spanish-inflected dances & elegies with the slightly 'off' quality of the pungent microtonal harmonies, echoing in the reverberant chapel, was a delight.
- New York Times
Schneider, whose gracious stage personality is the opposite of Patch's, nevertheless manages to convey the composer through his own voice, which is exactly what all lasting music must be capable of sustaining, even in such unique works as Barstow and excerpts from Partch's journal, Bitter Music....impressively mastered Partch's instruments...performances lyrical and theatrical, emphasized the musical side of a composer too often known for his quirkiness
- Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times
Schneider creates elegant dynamic levels and layers on his solo guitar, and he always projects the poetry of the music.
- Fanfare
truly magical...the superb musicianship should remain enchanting long after neophyte's ears have adjusted to the new tonality.
- Los Angeles Reader
performs with such elegance and élan as to put one's reservations quite beyond the pale...A delight, a treat, and, for those who care, an education (or a basis for debate).
- Fanfare
Performances are stunningly expressive and miracles of pitch control.
- in Tune (Tokyo)
Guitar recordings come thick and furious each month, and most are so much alike that 'been there, heard that' hardly begins to describe them; but Schneider's discs are something special, and certainly worth the wait.
- David Hurwitz, Classics Today.com
Thoroughly conversant with the idiom of contemporary music...performed with confidence, relish and a commendable degree of technical polish...a brilliant display of timbres and sonorities of the instrument...the range of tone colours achieved seemed to be immense—constantly changing and with a fascinating and almost sensual appeal.
- Birmingham Post (UK)
John Schneider—guitarist, composer, baritone, microtonal guru...delivered a pretty good facsimili of the old boy's stentorian growl...As long as there are John Schneiders to recreate passably the sounds of Partch, we'll have a tenuous grip on this unique byway in the annals of American innovation
- Alan Rich, LA Weekly
Exquisite. Every sound sounded considered, alive, worthy of our wonder.
- LA Times
Funny, moving, inventive and insanely theatrical...an unforgettable performance
- San Fransisco Chronicle