REVIEWS

“No group in the city presents a more scintillating program of songs than those offered in this valuable series.”
THE NEW YORKER

“One of the longstanding delights of New York’s music scene.”
THE NEW YORK TIMES

“A NYFOS concert is always a revelation and a joy to experience, with artists of the highest caliber, whether well-established or newly emerging.”
OPERA NEWS

“Narrative, language, distilled emotion, melody, the personality embedded in a single voice, and the intricate interlocking of the piano part all bond in a complex chemistry.”
NEW YORK MAGAZINE

“Evenings that can feel like dream dinner parties — the kind where a group of fascinating strangers come together to have wonderfully unexpected conversations.”
OPERA AMERICA

“One of the city’s most valuable and farsighted resources for the performance of song literature: classical, jazz, musical theater, pop and all the variations in-between.”
TIME OUT NY

— On NYFOS RECORDS —

“If you’ve never had the pleasure of attending an NYFOS concert, now is your chance to hear what the fuss is about from the comfort of your home.”
OPERA NEWS on From Rags to Riches

“…incredible skill and flawless delivery.”
TAKE EFFECT REVIEWS on Black & Blue

“Committed to uncovering diverse repertoire and enlarging our appreciation of “art song” from around the world.”
SAN FRANCISCO CLASSICAL VOICE on Black & Blue

“…a total delight.”
THE ARTS FUSE on A Picnic Cantata

“An extremely well thought affair…An extremely powerful and flexible listen that can also be quite comical, themes of class struggle, feminism and immigration are highlighted in a very articulate fashion that sometimes makes it seem like you’re listening to a play, and it’s executed flawlessly.”
TAKE EFFECT REVIEWS on From Rags to Riches

“…so darned good.”
THE WHOLE NOTE on From Rags to Riches

— On ARTISTIC DIRECTOR STEVEN BLIER —

“Steven Blier is a national treasure when it comes to the art of song.”
THE NEW YORK TIMES

“Only Steven Blier could possibly concoct a program as rich, colorful, and provocative.”
SAN FRANCISCO CLASSICAL VOICE

“Blier loves the thrill of musical discovery, loves to share his cleverly designed programs with his audience, which responds by hanging on every word of his savvy blend of erudition and plainspoken cool.”
“As usual, Blier introduced the songs from the stage, contextualizing them historically and often personally, with his disarming blend of knowledge, wit, and humility.”
OPERA NEWS

“Blier’s determination to serve the music is what hits you hardest at a concert. That commitment, not to mention his disarming manner when he introduces the songs, creates an intimate bond with an audience that really does deserve the overused word ‘special.’”
THE BALTIMORE SUN

“For just a few moments we were all Blier’s ‘kids’, caught up in the joy and warmth of his musical embrace.”
SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

“[Blier] clearly takes delight in imparting his vast range of musical knowledge.”
OPERA NEWS

“What would the world sound like without Steven Blier?”
SAN FRANCISCO CLASSICAL VOICE

“One of the most engaging collaborative pianists on the planet.”
SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN

— On THE NEW NYFOS NEXT SERIES —

“A series that makes a passionate case for the art song as a can’t-live without item on any civilized traveler’s packing list.”
THE NEW YORK TIMES

“The New York Festival of Song delves into art song’s future, with composers leading the way.”
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

“Invaluable … a testament to the variety of ways composers today are treating the voice.”
THE NEW YORK TIMES

“The prestigious New York Festival of Song, which for several years has given contemporary composers room to run.”
THE NEW YORKER

“In the thirty years since its first concert at Greenwich House Music School, New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) has quietly revolutionized the song recital.”
“The result was an evening that felt like the cutting edge of experimental art song. In a word, it felt very ‘next.”
OPERA AMERICA

“While NYFOS retains its standing as a purveyor of American song, they have smartly expanded their umbrella with their NYFOS Next program through innovative and edgy artists like Sky-Pony. Rock on!”
MANHATTAN DIGEST

“There’s no other event where you’re this close to the movers and shakers in modern music and performance.”
Q ON STAGE

“An essential series for anyone interested in the art of song.”
FEAST OF MUSIC

— MORE PRESS COVERAGE —

“Every detail was designed to give the evening seamless coherence, and you left the hall feeling enriched, enlightened, entertained and grateful for the experience.”
THE WASHINGTON POST

“A hotbed of intriguing selections and rising singers.”
THE NEW YORK TIMES

“As is usual with NYFOS’ programming, the evening left us with smiles on our faces.”
Q ONSTAGE 

“That NYFOS recital was one of the best Bernstein concerts I’ve seen this year, and [Michael Barrett’s] Library of Congress performance was one of the others.”
“the insight that its polymathic and ever-engaging co-director Steven Blier brought…was illuminating.”
WASHINGTON POST

“one of the New York City vocal scene’s fundamental institutions”
CLASSICAL VOICE NORTH AMERICA

“NYFOS is celebrating itself by doing what it has been doing so well for the last 30 years–putting together wonderful programs of vocal music featuring young singers and coaching these singers to splendidly idiomatic performances.”
WASHINGTON CLASSICAL REVIEW

“an extraordinary enterprise with an exemplary mission: the celebration of the art of song in all of its melodic manifestations.”
HUFFINGTON POST

“NYFOS presents a new perspective not only on the art of the song, but on the life and influences of the people who write songs.”
CLASSICAL TV

“Sophisticated humor and self-revelatory philosophy that gave the evening a feeling of having been a gathering of friends.”
THE WASHINGTON POST

“Irrepressible song impresarios”
THE BOSTON GLOBE

“The leading vocal series in New York … wildly entertaining and emotionally compelling”
NEW YORK CLASSICAL REVIEW

“You can always depend on NYFOS to serve up probing, provocative concerts filled with worthwhile music and outstanding singers.”
TIME OUT NY

“one of the most exciting groups making music in New York today.”
THE JEWISH DAILY FORWARD

“insightful and imaginative, touching and funny.”
THE NEW YORK TIMES

“An imaginatively programmed series of concerts that at their best are both pithy and enormous fun.”
OPERA NEWS

“full of attitude, class, wit, and always, first-class music-making.”
THE BOSTON MUSIC INTELLIGENCER

“Mr. Blier’s deliciously witty introductions sew the parts together so that playful Gershwin tunes, lofty Schumann songs and hot-blooded tango numbers emerge as complementary pleasures feeding the same addition to the human voice in all its variegated splendor.”
THE NEW YORK TIMES

“Daring and dramatic programming.”
THE NEW YORKER

“The festival may be the most reliably excellent musical organization in New York. What orchestra, ensemble or opera company can make every show so special.”
NEWSDAY

“NYFOS recitals are exactly what a musical evening should be — full of wonder, beauty and an intense sense of discovery. And, equally important, a source of great hope for the future of classical music.”
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

“The ever-broadening scope of song recitals in Manhattan owes a great deal to the New York Festival of Song.”
OPERA NEWS