Each of Steven Gerber’s works is ‘an important addition to music…its sense of evolution from previous generations welcome at a time when change seems to have become a virtue in itself’ (Fanfare). Whether meditating on Gershwin’s music or classic folksongs, paying tribute to Shostakovich or exploring the possibilities offered by a particular musical idea, his solo and chamber works can possess the imagination and haunt the memory of listeners in a way that is both authentically American yet also universal in its humane spirit.