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from Steven Blier: I came home from the Met’s Otello last night in a bit of a funk. The opera got a strong, rich musical performance from the chorus and orchestra, a bit on the mellow side for my taste but sophisticated and deeply musical. I esteem Yannick...
From Steven Blier: Today I want to honor Renata Scotto in honor of fiftieth anniversary of her Met debut. Her singing has meant a great deal to me in the course of my life. I was lucky enough to hear her at the old Met as Lucia. A friend of my parents offered to take...
From Steven Blier: As I work on the NYFOS@Juilliard show, "Harry, Hoagy, and Harold," I have been falling in love all over again with their music. I'm at the anguish point of my programming where the selection of any given song means the omission of another. I peruse...
Steven Blier is back DJing Song of the Day this week! Catch him in person TONIGHT at NYFOS After Hours, 10pm, at HENRY's Restaurant. Make your reservations at 212-866-0600 or walk in to sit at the bar! from Steven Blier: It’s typical for this time of year. I am...
from Steven Blier: To commemorate this sad, solemn day, I turn to the things that have comforted me during my life. One of them is the Verdi Requiem, a towering work of art. I first fell under its spell when I was thirteen; the Price-Bjoerling recording was a bar...
from Steven Blier: For the last few years my spouse and I have been separated on his birthday, and last April we were apart on our anniversary too. By now I’ve gotten used to postponed celebrations, and find they’re sometimes even better than the perfectly-timed ones....