"Vali is a composer of wonderful clarity, precision and effectiveness."

 

Mark Kenny,Tribune-Review, April 20, 1999.
 

 

"Leave all conception of belly dancing and new-age syncretism at the door in Reza Vali's "Persian Folklore" a thoughtful collection of compositions by an artist who has been cited as an Iranian Bartók in bringing a deep understanding of his native folk music in consort with Western classical techniques."

Phillip George, 20th Century Music , March 1999.
 

 

"Reza Vali creates a music that appeals to the entire world."

Now , February 15-21, 1996.
 

 

"Vali's eclectic craft makes him a unique voice on the contemporary music scene."

Karl Stark, The Syracuse Herald American , January 7, 1996.
 

 

"Had Bela Bartók gathered folk material from Persia, his string quartets might have turned out something like Reza Vali's Folk Songs for string quartet."

Karl Stark, The Syracuse Herald American , January 7, 1996.
 

 

 

"Vali's pieces are haunting. They also are full of pungent sonorities, and ingenious combinations."

Donald Rosenberg, The Plain Dealer , December 24, 1995.
 

 

 

"Song by Iranian Reza Vali is an intriguing oriental flavored voice and instrument duet for a single player, one of the most effective singing/playing wind pieces I've come across."

Michael Dervan, The Irish Times , December 17, 1994.
 

 

"Vali's String Quartet No. 2 is a bold, uncompromising emotional journey with motivic material that undergo striking transformation...Every gestures in this dark, violent piece serves to advance the expressive content."

Donald Rosenberg, The Pittsburgh Press , April 8, 1992.
 
 

 

 

"Reza Vali's ear-opening 'Persian Folklore"... dominated the event, as a lion dominates a landscape of zebras. Urgent, cogent and tautly dramatic."

Los Angeles Times : review of Persian Folklore , February 20, 1989.
 
 

 

 

"Reza Vali's 'Seven Persian Folk Songs' ranged in mood from childlike simplicity to near terrifying force, in a highly successful blend of Western music with Vali's native Persian folk music."

Christian Science Monitor : review of Seven Persian Folk Songs , October 27, 1986.
 
 

 

 

"'Seven Persian Folk Songs' by Reza Vali is a memorable song cycle, with sensuous and beautiful sonorities as well as brutal forcefulness."

Pittsburgh Post Gazette : review of Seven Persian Folk Songs , September 22, 1986.
 
 

 

 

"'Four Persian Folk Songs' by Reza Vali were exotic gems... The songs made up a balanced set- the plaintive chant wail of the voice over steady drip of piano in 'Rain,' the lusty vocals over raucous motoric piano dance of 'Kurdish Folk Song,' the haunting sadness of 'Lullaby,' beautifully sustained, and the harsh mockery shrill anger and untamed percussion of 'Folk Song from Luristan."

The Buffalo News : review of Four Persian Folk Songs , June 6, 1988.
 
 

 

"Reza Vali's 'Vazena' was not only a fascinating study of color, the majority of the timbres being bell-like or tinkly, but also had rich substance... The calm but mournful expressiveness, like the passing of events on the breath of wind, makes the work all the more compelling."

Market Square : review of Vazena , May 11, 1983.