“William Mayer’s music speaks to the heart, the gut and the mind ... one of the outstanding composers of our time.”
— David Dubal, Faculty, The Juilliard School
“Mr. Mayer’s work sings out with real beauty, both in the vocal writing (he is especially known for his operas and song) and the instrumental settings.”
— John Rockwell, The New York Times
“Mayer has written superbly lyrical music, and is still doing so.”
— Fanfare
“Mayer’s vocal selections are serious but real fun; what a rare and welcome quality fun is these days.”
— Music Journal
“... Mayer’s work is spunky, unself-conscious, and as rich in humor as it is in substance.”
— Susan Elliott, New York Post
Enter Ariel for Soprano, Clarinet and Piano:
“... his settings of poems by Hart Crane, e.e. cummings, Sara Teasdale and Langston Hughes were sensitive, actually augmenting the power of the texts, something not always true today.”
— Byron Belt, The Star-Ledger
Dream’s End:
“... an attractively and brilliantly scored nineteen-minute work... Dream’s End once again affirms Mayer to be an inventive composer whose imaginative touches are found everywhere in his works.”
— Jerome Rosen, Notes
Brass Quintet:
“Mayer’s Quintet is a busy, brassy and well-crafted piece that is good to listen to.”
— Music Journal
The Eve of St. Agnes Dramatic Oratorio:
“...The Eve of St. Agnes gives us several levels of experience, each one balanced against the other... The blend of the effects... is what one remembers after the amusing virtuosity of the different elements has receded.”
— D. Moore, American Record Guide
Good King Wenceslas for Narrator and Orchestra or Chamber Ensemble:
“I am totally enchanted with [Mayer’s] setting of Good King Wenceslas. The witty combination of traditional and original themes, the clever scoring, and perhaps most of all, the imaginative way [the] music complements the whimsy of the A.A. Milne text add up to a piece that seems to give equal delight to performers and listeners. ... the work has proved equally successful with youngsters and adults, much in the way that Milne’s ‘Winnie the Pooh’ stories have a universal appeal for readers of all ages.”
— Robert Sherman
Messages:
“Unabashedly accessible ... inventive and exciting.”
— Michael Manning, Boston Globe
“Messages cheerfully explores the ideas suggested by its movement titles. In it Mayer’s delightful way of looking at musical things found its perfect medium.”
— Music Journal
Of Rivers and Trains:
“... a bright score with hints of Stravinskian neo-classicism amid nostalgic Americana.”
— Donald Rosenberg, The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Scenes from “The Snow Queen”:
“... proved a jolly, often exciting and brilliant exposition of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale ... it is a work one would like to hear again.”
— Harvey Southgate, Democrat and Chronicle
“... beautifully written, with an evocative and infectious quality. I am happy to recommend this work.”
— Thomas Nee, New Hampshire Music Festival
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