"She is a tigress virtuosa, as well as a bel canto pianist."
Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto served as the vehicle for a simply stunning performance given by Ilana Vered last night …. Not since Horowitz have I witnessed that combination of iceberg and volcano, that relentless singlemindedness in applying a high pressure jet at all points of the pianistic and interpretive spectrum.
"Vered has fingers that work like power -operated pistons. She can play breathlessly fast, with breathless power and sweep, and she can instantaneously melt into Rachmaninoff’s most somber reflections or sing the famous 18th variation with affecting directness. She is a tigress virtuosa, as well as a bel canto pianist."
"Ilana Vered will play Rachmaninoff’s “Paganini” variations .... with Michael Tilson Thomas and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall....The Rhapsody, one must repeat, belongs to Vered; it is her piece; she plays it louder, softer, faster, better and more convincingly than others.”
“The climax of the evening came in an exhilarating, superbly paced performance of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue by Ilana Vered. Her precise but poetic playing not only reminded one of this score's enduring value but, no less importantly, how seriously the reputation of a masterly work can suffer from decades of technically slack, expressively shallow run-throughs.”
"In this, her S. F. Symphony debut, the brilliant Israeli pianist shows in every way what a complete artist she is. Vered’s pianism and music-making are all of one piece, reflecting care and a rare love for the sound of the instrument….Vered’s tone is soft and lustrous, her technique smooth and liquid."
"Ms. Vered has natural buoyancy, pianistic dash, elegance, aristocracy and driving strength....Her hands leaped about the keyboard with a precision and energy that is unusual even in this age of common virtuosity"
"She displays that rarest of traits in pianists of her generation, a genuine and individual temperament.... a very special pianist indeed."