"This work could only hope to be tackled by performers with a mastery of technique and consummate depth of artistry; ... Polonsky displayed both, and the results were astonishing to hear."
Oregon Music News, July 13, 2010
"The real musical highlight of the evening, though, may have been the Mendelssohn Sextet in D Major for Piano, Violin, Two Violas, Cello and Double Bass, a piece of great complexity and feeling, played brilliantly by pianist Anna Polonsky, who negotiated its treacherous passages with great dexterity while staying inside the atmosphere created by the strings. A tricky feat, really, especially at these thrilling speeds."
Portland Arts Watch, July 7, 2009
"Artist of warmth and insight... with a natural musicality and a flowing line..."
Times Argus, Feb. 18, 2009
"played with dazzling virtuosity by Anna Polonsky."
The San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 8, 2008
"Anna Polonsky's sound is so charismatic that she shines throughout."
Audiophile Audition, Jan. 10, 2009
"Polonsky had... just the right touch. Seen as a whole, Polonsky's performance was a masterpiece of classical grace. She sculpted every trill into a miniature work of art, which would have pleased Beethoven... It was a very satisfying performance, all around."
The Buffalo News, Aug. 1, 2005
[Beethoven 2nd Concerto, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra]
"Guest artist Anna Polonsky then joined the orchestra and maestro… for a riveting account of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major. The petite pianist displayed brilliant technique throughout the complex piece, especially in the speedy outer movements. Her lighter-than-air touch captured the buoyancy and humor of the two allegros, then lent a hushed delicacy to the heart-stopping beauty of the famous andante. The pianist’s interplay with the strings and woodwinds was captivating here, as was the ballerina-like grace of her physical movements."
The Springfield News-Leader, January 15, 2008
"Pianist Anna Polonsky introduced the first theme in a pensive, detached manner, as though recalling a distant memory. But as the music accelerated, she displayed a flawless technique, had a fine sense of the work's longer line, and absolutely devoured the brilliant presto theme and its decorative galloping octaves with ease and conviction."
The Buffalo News, Mar. 16, 2008
[Weber Konzertstück, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra]
"Pianist Anna Polonsky was delicate of touch but strong of character. Hers was a virtually flawless performance, with just the right sense of melodic flow and balanced grace."
The New York Sun, May 14, 2007 [Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]
"…Polonsky was … consistently captivating, especially in transitions. In her fingers, a chromatic scale or a single chord held and released could become tantalizing or profound. She was equally convincing in music that called for delicacy… and that demanded heft."
The Washington Post, Apr. 16, 2008
"Polonsky's playing is extraordinary-elegant, intelligent, and acutely sensitive... her warm legato hints at a string player's sensibility..."
The Oregonian, July 14, 2003 [Chamber Music Northwest Festival]
"...Ms. Polonsky ably dispatched the brilliant passagework and nicely captured the music's audacious spirit. ...[The] impressive young Russian... played... with sweep, color and authority, and the entire performance was vibrant and exciting."
The New York Times, Dec. 14, 2005 [Zankel Hall, New York]
"...Polonsky's playing was... lively, assertive, and all-around interesting..."
The Washington Post, Apr.27, 2006 [Terrace Theater, Washington, D.C.]
"...Thoroughly thoughtful and sensitive... My strong guess is that [Polonsky] is incapable of erring in her solid expertise and superior musicianship."
The New York Concert Review, Summer 2005 [Weill Hall, New York]
"Bright, freerunning and spontaneous..."
The Buffalo News, May 16, 2007 [Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, NY]
"...a chamber musician of exceptional refinement. Mozart's Piano Trio in G (K. 496), which opened the concert, provided further evidence of Ms. Polonsky's appealing touch and compelling interpretive skills."
The New York Times, May 14, 2007 [Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]
"Ms. Polonsky, a strong, sure partner, played with fluid clarity. The ear was drawn to the piano... Ms. Polonsky is someone to watch."
The New York Times, Dec. 12, 2006 [Weill Hall, New York]
"...Gorgeously played by the pianist Anna Polonsky"
The New York Times, Dec. 6, 2005 [Alice Tully Hall, New York]
"...The Russian pianist was the soloist in Mozart's Concerto No. 19: her clear and transparent touch, her dynamic and finely persuasive play, revealed the temperament and the sensibility of a true Mozartian..."
Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace, July 6, 2004 [Mozart Concerto K.459, Moscow Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra]
"Polished ease throughout."
The Columbus Dispatch, November 8, 2003 [Mozart Concerto K.459, Columbus Symphony Orchestra]
"An outstanding performer"
Budgeteer News, Duluth, MN, Mar. 8, 2002
"A delightfully aimless cadenza was one of countless interpretive gems in Polonsky's performance."
The Columbus Dispatch, Feb. 27, 2006
"It has been a long time since I heard playing so poetic and sincere, such satisfactory realization of the intentions of the most stylistically dissimilar composers. In contrast to many young pianists, who use the piano as a predominantly bombastic and noisy instrument intended for the demonstration of "divine" virtuosity, Anna Polonsky doesn't "herald" but rather speaks, relates to the piano not as to a percussion instrument, but as to a lyrical and singing conversation-partner, extracting sounds of astounding beauty. This must be a long-forgotten style of piano performance. The subtlest phrasing, the ability to think intonationally, i.e. feeling the "character" of every phrase, showed even in the little sonatas of the 18-century Spaniard Antonio Soler, which opened the evening's program, then in a Schubert sonata, Mozart pieces -- and so on till the end of the program. I have to confess that I was overcome by a sudden pang of jealousy: it felt a little unjust that such a young girl can demonstrate such heartfelt, mature, and natural manner of playing, which is difficult to achieve even in middle age, and which reminded me of the manner and style of the wonderful Bella Davidovich...
I am sorry for those people who didn't come to the concert of Anna Polonsky,..they had missed out on a lot."
Saratovskaya Oblastnaya Gazeta (Saratov Regional Newspaper), Nov. 16, 2005 [Saratov Philharmonic Hall, Saratov, Russia]
"Speaking of young musicians, Anna Polonsky was the pianist here, and she played very well, as she conditions you to expect. Russian-born, and a product of the Curtis Institute of Philadelphia, Ms. Polonsky is poised, skillful, and sensitive. In the Durufle, she produced interesting colors, in part because she pedaled wisely."
The New York Sun, Dec. 6, 2005 [Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Alice Tully Hall]
"Polonsky conjured up a broad kaleidoscope of keyboard color throughout the performance."
Classical Voice of North Carolina, Nov. 6, 2006
""...Polonsky played... with extraordinary finesse..."
The Southern Pines Pilot, Nov. 16, 2006
"Polonsky commanded attention with her uncanny ability to play multiple voices with different timbres... and the unerring tidiness of her scale and arpeggio work."
The Bryan - College Station Eagle, Nov. 11, 2004
