Album Notes

Stephanie Varozza's piano music has been described as evocative, energetic, engaging, and passionate. Varozza draws on her extensive classical training and blends pulsating rhythms with her own personal jazz explorations.

CRITICAL COMMENTS:

“Varozza is a formidable talent, a dazzling performer, whose original material throbs and pulses with exciting rhythms and motifs. It’s a kind of jazz ⎯ but an unimprovised jazz that only a top-flight classical performer and composer could develop.” - Pacifica Tribune

“Classically trained, Varozza has ventured into the jazz arena with a unique kind of music that packs a powerful punch. Her strong, sophisticated style is characterized by a gorgeous lyricism, a dazzling technique, intricate, agile passagework, and vigorous, strangely (and appealingly) tactile rhythms.”
- East Bay Express

“a delightful fusion of classical and jazz styles” - Trinity Chamber Concerts

FAN COMMENTS:

"Varozza's music really get to my soul...her music never fails to move me."

"...a pianist of unlimited creativity and impassioned intensity."

"I love the varied textures of her compositions. Every time I listen to them I hear something new".


Stephanie has performed extensively in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento, CA regions. In addition to performing her own work, Stephanie has frequently performed the classical repertoire in solo recitals and with orchestras and choral groups. Her compositions for piano and small instrumental groups, including commissioned works, have been heard in such settings as the New Music Showcase at Hertz Hall and the Berkeley Piano Club.

Stephanie attended U. C. Berkeley, where she earned her B.A. in music and completed two years of graduate study in composition. While at U. C. Berkeley, she received several prizes for performance, including the U. C. Berkeley Hertz Fellowship and, twice, the Eisner Prize for Music.

In 2005, Stephanie released her second recording of her original compositions, entitled FIRE & GRACE. Both Fire & Grace and Storyteller feature original solo piano pieces composed, performed, and produced by the artist. Stephanie’s recordings are available on-line thru CDBaby and iTunes or by mail order at www.stephanievarozza.com