The Globe and Mail
“Heather Schmidt excels as both a composer and performer… it was fascinating both to hear a fine pianist perform her own works, and to bring a composers’ mind to the works of others… This young and talented musician is worth hearing, both as a performer and composer, and one can only wish that more of her contemporaries were doubly blessed as she has been.”
Toronto Star
“Heather Schmidt’s music… is both grateful to perform and pleasurable to listen to… works that succeed admirably on their own terms, written with skill and a fine ear for effect. Schmidt the performer dispatched them with flair. As a pianist, she commands a secure technique and sound musical instincts.”
Helsingin Sanomat (Helsinki, Finland)
“Heather Schmidt was introduced both as a pianist and a composer. She has a sensitive touch, elegant sense for nuances, clearly flowing, exact technique and lively sense of rhythm.”
The Chicago Tribune
“[Her composition was] neo-romantic, expansive and lushly-textured… her playing was a study in vim and vigor.”
American Record Guide
“Heather Schmidt, an accomplished pianist who earned a doctorate in composition from Indiana University at age 21 and has been garnering prizes ever since… her Piano Quintet showed a remarkably confident handling of the medium…”
The National Post
“…Schmidt keenly feels the compositional consequences of every choice that a composer makes as the piece unfolds. In Schmidt’s own compositions, one is struck first of all by the distinctiveness and appeal of her primary musical ideas… and by the vigour and irresistibility of her rhythm. Her orchestration is bold and confident.”
The Calgary Herald
“Schmidt is certainly as much a pianist in the professional sense as she is a composer. Her program featured an elegant balance between traditional piano music andcontemporary repertoire… A beautifully poetic account of Liszt’s Consolation in D-flat… She brought to her performance [of the Liszt B minor Sonata] a full understanding of the work’s complex musical structure which emerged with clarity and unusual musical force… The concert finished with a gripping account of Prokofiev’s 7th Sonata…”
“The special element for this particular concert came in the form of a first performance of a work called In Canadian Woods by one-time Calgary composer Heather Schmidt. Based on words by Susanna Moodie and Catherine Parr Traill, sisters who chronicled their impressions of pioneer life in Canada, the roughly 10-minute cantata-like work painted the emotions of the text in vivid musical ideas that were suited for choral performance. Filled with contrasting feelings and themes, the work builds to a high point, before its quiet conclusion. Schmidt’s musical idiom is naturally modern, but within the parameters of harmonies and melodies that are grateful for singing, and exploit the various vocal combinations possible. Complete with an expressive piano part, played by Schmidt herself, the work made a strong impression and was well received. A commission by Irene Kyle in memory of her parents, In Canadian Woods should quickly enter the growing repertoire of excellent Canadian compositions.”
Winnipeg Free Press
“It was refreshing to hear a new music composer who also happened to be an instrumentalist – and a very good one at that… Even from the declamatory opening bars, it was clear that this was going to be a riveting performance.”
The Vancouver Sun
“[Her Cello Concerto] is an elegant, seamlessly crafted mainstream work that has the mark of sincerity all over it. It is, if there’s any justice, destined for a long life.”
The Ottawa Citizen
“The big news yesterday evening was the premiere by Heather Schmidt… evocative… one can think readily of… beautiful things while listening to this music.”
The Hudson Gazette
“Schmidt’s [music] was at once striking and intriguing as interpreted by the Montreal Chamber Orchestra… [As a pianist] Schmidt received standing ovations for her performances. The talented player and composer excelled in the performance of both a classic and modern repertoire.”