The AllMusic review by Thom Jurek states, "ECM has raised the bar once more by recording and releasing a truly compelling, curious, maddening, and provocative Edition of Creative Musicians with Stoa.

"[1] On All About Jazz Budd Kopmann stated "With no melodies and virtually no harmony, but with plenty of constantly internally clashing rhythm, this music's motivic development pushes you one moment and pulls the next.

"[3] On the same site John Kelman noted "Stoa is an important album that stands to expand the way we look at the junctures between repetitive motifs, insistent rhythms and form-based improvisation.

He is joined by his remarkable band, Ronin: drummer Kaspar Rast, 6-string bassist Björn Meyer, percussionist Andi Pupato, and reedsman, Sha.

Bärtsch's piano is the axle, as he double-handedly plays contrasting, interlocking patterns in real time, often punctuated by Sha's woodwinds (bass clarinet and tenor saxophone) accents.