Steven Gutheinz has been hailed by critics as "one of the most promising young film composers on the scene today" and "at the forefront of a new generation of film composers." Steven is a graduate of Rice University, the University of Southern California, Aspen Music School, and the ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop, where he studied with such legendary film composers as David Raksin, Elmer Bernstein, Leonard Rosenman, Buddy Baker, and Christopher Young. His music has been featured and reviewed in a number of web and print publications, some of which are listed below:

Review of "Songs of Travel" in the Kansas City Star:

Chamber Orchestra Goes Exploring:

Paradise Explored, the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra's spring program, took in uncharted musical territory with the world premiere of the gifted young film composer Steven Gutheinz's Songs of Travel.

Set to the text of a series of poems by Robert Louis Stevenson, Gutheinz's quintet of sweeping melodies captured a sense of adventure and yearning for what lies just beyond the horizon.

Under the sensitive direction of conductor Bruce Sorrell, and with the able assistance of mezzo-soprano soloist Debra Scroggins Sowerwine, Gutheinz's work was brought to vibrant life. From the majestic opening of "Once Only by the Garden Gate," through the melancholy longing of "Snow and Roses" and finally to the burnished horns of "The Vagabond," Gutheinz's composition did not disappoint. The composer's flowing themes and recurring musical motifs evoked a cinematic fluidity in structure. But there was also a solid sense of theatricality and emotion in the brightly melodic work that made it accessible without being condescending.

mp3x magazine review of "The Crossing" The Crossing is either a short version of a full symphonic work, or screaming out to be the closing scene to a film. Either way, it doesn't stop you enjoying a very beautiful piece of music. The opening is very much a proud procession of power and glory, which all of a sudden pulls away into a soft beautiful melody, lead by the oboe and balanced by the cellos. This is an extremely well balanced piece of orchestral writing and the composer manages to utilize his orchestra in so many ways to create the stunning sound that you hear. If this was a part of a larger orchestral work, then there is plenty of material here to develop, as well as the very well written classical brass parts.

Gods Of Music.com

Review of "Cracking Shadows"

Steven Gutheinz is one of the most promising young film composers on the scene today. Combining flawless technique, existential beauty, quirky dementia, and fabulous chops, Steven creates music that is funny, sad, insane, etc ,etc. His ability to capture human emotion is almost unmatched in the sea of today's formulaic, paper cutout film scores.

Gutheinz, unlike most film composers, prefers the sound of small chamber ensembles as opposed to full orchestra. These small ensembles (piano trio seems to be his chosen "core" ensemble), give his scores an intimacy not often heard in film. His piece "Cracking Shadows", written for the film of the same name, is one of these pieces. Scored for cello and piano only, the soaring, lush music invokes the longing, sorrowful spirit of Brahms. However, this piece is not to be confused with the current trend of neo-romantic works that are mere pastiche. This music is all Gutheinz.

"Cracking Shadows" is simplicity at it's best. The piano plays a lush series of rising lines, always with pedal down, creating beautiful sonorous, ringing harmonies. The cello plays soaring, weeping sustained tones over this blanket of sound. I don't think this piece could have been constructed any better. Any longer, and it would start to wear thin. Any shorter would leave the listener unsatisfied.

Gutheinz builds the piece into a tear-jerking climax about a third of the way through, and then lets the piece fall back into itself. The progression of this music sounds so natural, it's as if it wasn't composed at all. It's as if it grew out of thin air by itself. The performance and recording quality is something composers would line up to kill for. The piano is rich with sound, overtones, and sonority. The cello simply wails with emotion. The lush, huge, reverberated recording is the perfect choice for this music. I told myself that I would never give a perfect score to a piece, but I see no reason why I shouldn't in this case. I can find absolutely no flaw in this music. Gutheinz is insanely talented, and I fully expect to see his name on the big screen along side the Newmans, Elfman, Williams, Hermann, etc etc etc. Please go download this immediately!

Gods of Music.com

Review of "The Crossing"

Color me impressed.

Dynamics.
Melody.
Verve.
Brevity.
Real instruments.

This track has all of those things. This is well composed film-styled classical music which manages to sound familiar without being derivative; in a matter of just over two minutes it goes from a powerful driving climactic sequence to a more sedate, stately section. It then ends with a minor flourish. BAM! Thanks for the memories.

As a stand-alone piece, it's a little disjunct; it doesn't really say much, and it's over before you get a chance to identify with it. But I get the feeling that this is an excerpt of a larger piece, perhaps a calling card or "audio resume" of sorts. Even so, it stands out as a strong piece of what I imagine is a consistent body of work.

Nice. Very nice.

Gods of Music.com

Review of "With or Without You"

"With or Without You" is a very well done piece that brings out a lot of imagery and atmospheres through the music. It is a very slow moving work, but nonetheless keeps the listener interested through subtle changes in the music. Overall very well put together.

The three voices it's scored for; soprano, piano, and flute blends together very well. Maybe too well. It being film music, it is supposed to stay in the background, thus there's no real memorable theme or lines that comes with it. But then again maybe it's not supposed to. When reviewing these types of works I always have trouble wether or not to treat them as they were intended or as a piece that should be able to stand on its own.

As a classical work it could have some trouble finding performances, especially since the parts are way easy and consists of mostly loooong held notes (footballs, as film performers like to call them) that would bore most players. But this doesn't stem from lack of skill, since a lot of his other works can get quite complex. (I enjoyed listening to a lot of his faster works, like "The Night Ferris Bueller Died" and "Red, Fast, and Furious") So a 10 minus a little bit should be a fair compromise maybe?

As a film music score "With or Without You" is excellent in every way. If you're looking for a mellow and atmospheric track, or if you like film music in general look no further. I wouldn't stop at just this track, his website is an impressive collection of very well done film scores.

Riffage.com

A USC alumnus, Steven Gutheinz is at the forefront of a new generation of film composers. While trying to maintain the film scoring tradition of the past, Steven puts out incredibly vivid, colorful and inspiring works. His scores range from being cool and distant to tense and powerful, but either way they showcase his utter mastery of orchestration. Highest recommendations to fans of symphonic and chamber music.

Stormwaltz's Asheron's Call Dev Soundtrack:

Review of "Cracking Shadows"

This is my personal and unofficial theme song for writing Jarilyn, a character who lost her daughter to the Shadows in my latest story for the Zone. I can't listen to this without getting sniffly and misty-eyed. It's so sweet, beautiful, and sad... Steven Gutheinz is GOOD.

Review of "Tristesse"

The first time I heard this, I got the image of a beautiful and sad young woman staring out a rain-streaked window, at a world gone grey. As it turns out, that's exactly what the movie Tristesse is about. Steven Gutheinz is REALLY good. I mean Thomas Newman (Little Women, How To Make An American Quilt) good. I actually don't know if he likes Newman's scores... but I do.

"Going Places" 30 Minute Radio, by Steve Layton:

Review of "With or Without You"

Steven Gutheinz is a young film composer working in Hollywood. There seem to be two kinds of composers for film these days; composers that really work as a "sound designer" (making lots of perfectly useful in-studio "atmospherics"), and those whose vison is in notes on paper played by real performers. I'm afraid that currently the former is overtaking the latter, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Gutheinz is proof of that, with sensitive writing that works just as well outside the film as in it. "With or Without You" is an excellent example: rather than tell you what the film this music came from was about, the first time through just LISTEN. The emotion is direct from the beginning (almost TOO so, we think); but what happens is an absolutely wonderful example of constantly delayed resolution, subverted expectation, and melodic ritual. A bit like you sped up some Morton Feldman and clothed it in a seemingly more goal-directed progression, but kept the transcendental spirit intact. If this (as the composer says) was his first film score, he's going to do O.K....

Listen.com:

Gutheinz is a young composer who has worked his way through the necessary horror films to write excellent film music, which adeptly conveys cinematic emotion. His scores range from bombastic, over-the-top, full orchestrations to sparse, rhythmic and spooky chamber group music..

Pigeonholes Aside, an Internet music review station:

Review of "Tristesse"

Described as being in the vanguard of the next generation of Hollywood film composers, Steve Gutheinz's music is something that today's movie going audiences can be very grateful for. Gone are the days where in old films film score was simply about a few bells and whistles here and there to go with the movements on screen. Of course, film score is just that, something to under-score- the action on screen. But it is perhaps thanks to the hunger of modern audiences for film music that can't be broken down to a formula, that we have score that is both functional and inspiring. Not surprisingly, it's this type of music that the audience takes away from the theatre with them, that they can listen to outside of the context of the film, and still be inspired. It's perhaps an emotive, crowd-pleasing theory, but hey, why shouldn't the crowd be pleased? At the end of the day, film is very much more than just light shining up on a canvass in a dark room. In today's world film and television are what people (like it or not) are using to make meaning of the world, and if music like this is inspiring people in their day to day lives, the future's looking pretty nice. Enjoy this beautiful yet intelligent track, and don't hesitate to check out his other pieces, all are equally inspiring.

Fearsmag.com

Steven Gutheinz is a talented young music composer who is on the right track to make it in the film world. His music crosses the threshold of emotion and he has a real gift for taking classical music and shaping it for films. He's worked on films with a variety of subject matter and his music reflects this.

Interviews:

Interview at bsospirit.com

Interview at Gods of Music.com