Steven Blier

  Steven Blier enjoys an eminent career as an accompanist and vocal coach. Among the many artists he has partnered in recital are Samuel Ramey, Lorraine Hunt, Susan Graham, Frederica von Stade, Kurt Ollmann, William Sharp, Suzanne Mentzer, Dwayne Croft, Roberta Peters and Arlene Augér. His collaboration with Cecilia Bartoli, begun in 1994, has continued with appearances at Carnegie Hall, thoroughout the US and Canada, where Mr. Blier played both piano and harpsichord. In concert with soprano June Anderson, he was most recently heard at La Scala, Milan. He began a new recital collaboration in winter, 1999 with soprano Renee Fleming, with concerts throughout North America and Europe and also with bass Samuel Ramey. In the 1999-2000 Mr. Blier will collaborate with soprano Jessye Norman and baritone Wolfgang Holzmair in the US, including a recital at San Francisco Performances and in Chicago.

Mr. Blier is the co-founder and co-artistic director, with Michael Barrett, of the New York Festival of Song (NYFOS). Since its inception in 1988, he has programmed, performed, and annotated over fifty vocal recitals, with a wide-ranging repertoire from Brahms and Janácek, to Gershwin and Lennon-McCartney, as well as music from South America, Scandinavia and Russia. A champion of American music, he has participated in world premiere performances of works by John Corigliano, Ned Rorem, William Bolcom, John Musto, Richard Danielpour, Bright Sheng and Lee Hoiby, many of which were commissioned by the New York Festival of Song.

In keeping the traditions of American popular music alive, Mr. Blier has brought back to the stage many of the rarely-heard songs of Gershwin, Arlen, Kurt Weill, and Cole Porter. He has also played ragtime, blues, and stride piano works from Eubie Blake to William Bolcom, both as soloist and in duo-piano evenings with John Musto. His discography includes the premiere recording of Leonard Bernstein's Arias and Barcarolles (Koch International), which won a Grammy Award; the NYFOS discs of Blitzstein, Gershwin, and German Lieder ("Unquiet Peace"); Gershwin's Lady Be Good!! for Nonesuch Recordings; and the songs of Charles Ives on Albany Records (in partnership with baritone William Sharp). Soon to be issued is a disc with cellist Dorothy Lawson, including premiere recordings of music by Busoni and Borodin. Mr. Blier's recent engagements have included Ned Rorem's full-length song cycle Evidence of Things Not Seen , commissioned by the NYFOS and the Library of Congress.

The highly acclaimed premiere has been followed by performances across the United States, as well as a recording on New World Records. The music of George Gershwin also figures prominently in Mr. Blier's 1998-99 schedule, including centenary concerts in New York and Washington, D.C.

Mr. Blier is on the faculty of the Juilliard School, and has been active in encouraging young recitalists at summer programs including the Wolf Trap Opera Company and the Chautauqua Festival. His writings on opera have been featured in recent issues of Opera News magazine. He has also been a regular guest on the Metropolitan Opera's broadcast intermissions. A native New Yorker, he received an Honors Degree in English literature at Yale University.