Reviews...
"Andrew Waggoner is a gifted practitioner of a complex but dramatic and vividly colored style"
The New Yorker
"Waggoner's timbral combinations were particularly inventive: a roiling passage driven by pounding roto-toms was followed with a lyrical stretch for alto saxophone paired with bowed cymbal and wobbly flexatone; not long after that, icy lines on piano and guitar backed a growling tenor saxophone and groaning cuica."
Night After Night Blogs, New York
"Andrew Waggoner's Collines parmi étoiles... lives up to its Messiaenesque title, conjuring vast vistas of sound."
The Strad
"A promising premiere by Andrew Waggoner should convince any listener that this music will prosper into the 21st century."
Pittsburgh Newseekly
"...eloquent...seemed to end far too soon, leaving the listener wanting more."
Winnipeg Free Press
"...the concert featured back-to-back performances of Waggoner's brief but tremendous Aubade."
NewMusicBox
"...Waggoner's music is richly varied."
Syracuse Herald-Journal
"Waggoner's 'Song' is the most substantial work on the
disc, with an imposing structure..."
Village Voice
"Also impressive was Waggoner's The Train, a subtle work that eschewed obvious choo-choo effects in favor of an unstoppable sense of momentum."
Denver Post
"...effectively understated...deep tolling chords contrasted with sparkling flashes of passagework lightning in the evocative second movement."
Los Angeles Times
“Legacy...uses a smart melodic technique: Waggoner unleashes lines in hesitating, fractured portions, stretching the emotional waiting time before arrival points. The first movement is brightly lit, with harmonics poking out from a busy texture.”
Philadelphia Inquirer
“Symphony no. 2 is a grand affair, with broad, sweeping melodies...a composer of significant potential”.
American Record Guide
“An in memoriam piece, the symphony is clearly a deeply felt work, which makes no apology for its overtly emotional content. The two string quartets make a similar direct appeal to the emotions, the first utilising more or less overt references to the textures and visceral impact of non-classical forms, the second leading the listener through a sensual journey of dream and imagination...”
Records International
"Similarly, Waggoner's Variations... entice the listener with frequent mood changes and facile, idiomatic, colorful string writing."
Sonneck Society for American Music Bulletin
