Of Playful Virtuosity,
"Meral Guneyman possesses an exquisite touch, immense power and a formidable technique."
- Peter Quinn, Jazzwise, July 2007, London, U.K.
"It is hard to imagine another piano couple offering the vast shimmering coordinated pointillism of 'Embraceable You', or the waterfalls of romanticism that is 'The Man I love'. Theirs may be the most mannered, arch, dignified 'Django' ever played. As they take turns leading and creating impeccable backgrounds and counterlines, they place John Lewis' song in an elegant, artificial, timeless world of their own."
- Thomas Conrad, Jazztimes, July 2007, U.S.A
"The turkisch-amerikan pianist Meral Guneyman moves with the same security on the classical ground as she does in jazz. And for the duo on two pianos with the swinging old master Dick Hyman she has excavated such rarities: Seven virtuoso etudes on Gershwin songs, composed by the piano virtuoso Earl Wild. Franz Liszt meets Ragtime!"
- Radio DRS Switzerland
"Meral Guneyman is a piano virtuoso of rare quality regardless of the repertoire she chooses, a virtuoso who confirms her world class status consistently. She synthesizes and weaves her classical/contemporary style, interpretations and technique successfully into the realms of jazz."
- Cumhuriyet-Istanbul, Turkey
"an imposing technique, a delicate feel for timbre,, she is an excellent pianist and a good musician."
- Bernard Holland, The New York Times
"an attractive artistic personality.. a sure sense of musical shape.. the kind of playing that transcends rather than advertises the technique behind it. Guneyman's heartfelt performance ought to win it a wide audience."
- Peter Rabinowitz, the Fanfare Magazine
"Guneyman plays everything with assurance and sympathy and a big bold sound."
- Richard Dyer, the Boston Globe
"Pianisten, die sich in Klassik und Jazz ähnlich stilsicher geäußert haben – auf Tasten natürlich - sind an einer Hand aufzuzählen und immer wieder streitbar. Als da sind Friedrich Gulda, André Previn, Katia & Marielle Labeque, Chick Corea und – beinahe unbestritten – Keith Jarrett. Mit der türkischen, in den Vereinigten Staaten lebenden, Pianistin Meral Guneyman hat nun eine weitere Pianistin ein überzeugendes, fabelhaftes Resultat abgegeben."
- "Radio Mikado" Germany, "CD of the week"
"Ms. Guneyman's recital was a most pleasing occasion. Done with real style and technical command. Delightful!"
- John Rockwell, the New York Times
"Chopin's Barcarolle was played with a style full of grace and imagination, and in the two etudes her fingers were almost of a diabolical velocity."
- Activites Musicales, Paris, France
"Ms. Guneyman's playing is marked by temperament, imagination, seductive colors and spirit everywhere."
- Le Soir, Brussels, Belgium
"Magnificent ardor and temperament, grace and balanced pedaling in Bach, brilliance with personality in Chopin, refinement in Prokofiev."
- Le Nouveau Journal, Paris, France
"Miss Guneyman plays with dedication and a fluent technique."
- "The New Yorker"
"...strong emotion and arresting dexterity........ Guneyman's discovery of some Gershwin tunes arranged by Earl Wild was a driving force behind Playful Virtuosity, a fine collection of duo piano between her and Hyman. With Guneyman's impressive symphonic resume and the classical elements present in Wild's arrangements, it's easy to see why she would embrace them so heartily. Guneyman's undulating arpeggios and cascading symphonic touches enhance such songs as "Embraceable You" and "The Man I Love," the latter of which recalls Rhapsody in Blue. Guneyman's range, however, is not confined to the recital hall. On her tour de force rendition of "I Got Rhythm," she boogie-woogies like the house player at a juke joint. At the Y concert she weaved the Wild and Hyman arrangements of "Rhythm" together brilliantly and played like a maenad, stamping her foot to keep time and giving the ivories a melodic forearm."
- All about Jazz
"A remarkable pianist played a superlative recital last Sunday night in the National Gallery of Art, and played it superbly. In speaking of Miss Guneyman's superb playing I am talking about the entire program, throughout which there seemed to be a rising crescendo of command, of authority, of insights in her playing, a crescendo that was mirrored in the solidity of the calls of "Bravo" that were heard more than once. It was a strong mark of this young musicians' musicianship that no element in the varied styles and techniques of Samuel Barber's excursions were missed in playing that was the essence of Barber's witty and lyrical writing nothing lacking in Virgil Thomson's Inventions and Portraits, which had a special brilliance; nothing lacking at any point, in whatever she played. It was one of the memorable piano recitals in the history of a Gallery that has had more than it share of such events. And Miss Guneyman is an artist to be heard again at the earliest opportunity."
- Paul Hume, WGMS, Washington D.C.
Of Piano Party, 92nd Street Y,
"Guneyman's sublimely poetic and well articulated approach to 'Embraceable You' was rich with exploration and classicism, yet she stayed close to the tune's melodic core."
- Variety, by Robert L. Daniels
Of Piano Party, 92nd Street Y,
"Mr. Hyman was setting it up for the fourth pianist to knock it out of the park, and that she did. Meral Guneyman, a Turkish- born player who recently recorded an album of four handed duos with Mr. Hyman, rhapsodized the Gershwin melody in cascading waves of impressionistic chords, and shortly after did the same for 'Embraceable You'. Ms. Guneyman then showed she could play in other ways, too,joining Mr. Hyman in a duet original called 'Rap#3' in which the two played in a percussive, highly syncopated style reminiscent of Billy Strayhorn's 'Tonk'."
- The New York Sun, by Will Friedwald
Of the Schumann Concerto in a minor-with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
"Ms. Guneyman's performance was poised, sensitive, stylish, warm and assured."
- Pittsburgh Press
Of the Chopin Concerto in e minor, Portland Symphony Orchestra, Bruce Hangen, conductor
"Marvelous...A stunning debut in Portland."
- Portland Maine Herald
Of the Prokofiev Concerto in C Major no:3, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
"Ms. Guneyman made a hit-and she did it by playing with a balanced sense of force..her sweeping passages could sound very touching. She played with fine impetus, sometimes riding on currents of air."
- Courier Express, Buffalo, New York
"Meral Guneyman possesses an exquisite touch, immense power and a formidable technique."
- Peter Quinn, Jazzwise, July 2007, London, U.K.
"It is hard to imagine another piano couple offering the vast shimmering coordinated pointillism of 'Embraceable You', or the waterfalls of romanticism that is 'The Man I love'. Theirs may be the most mannered, arch, dignified 'Django' ever played. As they take turns leading and creating impeccable backgrounds and counterlines, they place John Lewis' song in an elegant, artificial, timeless world of their own."
- Thomas Conrad, Jazztimes, July 2007, U.S.A
"The turkisch-amerikan pianist Meral Guneyman moves with the same security on the classical ground as she does in jazz. And for the duo on two pianos with the swinging old master Dick Hyman she has excavated such rarities: Seven virtuoso etudes on Gershwin songs, composed by the piano virtuoso Earl Wild. Franz Liszt meets Ragtime!"
- Radio DRS Switzerland
"Meral Guneyman is a piano virtuoso of rare quality regardless of the repertoire she chooses, a virtuoso who confirms her world class status consistently. She synthesizes and weaves her classical/contemporary style, interpretations and technique successfully into the realms of jazz."
- Cumhuriyet-Istanbul, Turkey
"an imposing technique, a delicate feel for timbre,, she is an excellent pianist and a good musician."
- Bernard Holland, The New York Times
"an attractive artistic personality.. a sure sense of musical shape.. the kind of playing that transcends rather than advertises the technique behind it. Guneyman's heartfelt performance ought to win it a wide audience."
- Peter Rabinowitz, the Fanfare Magazine
"Guneyman plays everything with assurance and sympathy and a big bold sound."
- Richard Dyer, the Boston Globe
"Pianisten, die sich in Klassik und Jazz ähnlich stilsicher geäußert haben – auf Tasten natürlich - sind an einer Hand aufzuzählen und immer wieder streitbar. Als da sind Friedrich Gulda, André Previn, Katia & Marielle Labeque, Chick Corea und – beinahe unbestritten – Keith Jarrett. Mit der türkischen, in den Vereinigten Staaten lebenden, Pianistin Meral Guneyman hat nun eine weitere Pianistin ein überzeugendes, fabelhaftes Resultat abgegeben."
- "Radio Mikado" Germany, "CD of the week"
"Ms. Guneyman's recital was a most pleasing occasion. Done with real style and technical command. Delightful!"
- John Rockwell, the New York Times
"Chopin's Barcarolle was played with a style full of grace and imagination, and in the two etudes her fingers were almost of a diabolical velocity."
- Activites Musicales, Paris, France
"Ms. Guneyman's playing is marked by temperament, imagination, seductive colors and spirit everywhere."
- Le Soir, Brussels, Belgium
"Magnificent ardor and temperament, grace and balanced pedaling in Bach, brilliance with personality in Chopin, refinement in Prokofiev."
- Le Nouveau Journal, Paris, France
"Miss Guneyman plays with dedication and a fluent technique."
- "The New Yorker"
"...strong emotion and arresting dexterity........ Guneyman's discovery of some Gershwin tunes arranged by Earl Wild was a driving force behind Playful Virtuosity, a fine collection of duo piano between her and Hyman. With Guneyman's impressive symphonic resume and the classical elements present in Wild's arrangements, it's easy to see why she would embrace them so heartily. Guneyman's undulating arpeggios and cascading symphonic touches enhance such songs as "Embraceable You" and "The Man I Love," the latter of which recalls Rhapsody in Blue. Guneyman's range, however, is not confined to the recital hall. On her tour de force rendition of "I Got Rhythm," she boogie-woogies like the house player at a juke joint. At the Y concert she weaved the Wild and Hyman arrangements of "Rhythm" together brilliantly and played like a maenad, stamping her foot to keep time and giving the ivories a melodic forearm."
- All about Jazz
"A remarkable pianist played a superlative recital last Sunday night in the National Gallery of Art, and played it superbly. In speaking of Miss Guneyman's superb playing I am talking about the entire program, throughout which there seemed to be a rising crescendo of command, of authority, of insights in her playing, a crescendo that was mirrored in the solidity of the calls of "Bravo" that were heard more than once. It was a strong mark of this young musicians' musicianship that no element in the varied styles and techniques of Samuel Barber's excursions were missed in playing that was the essence of Barber's witty and lyrical writing nothing lacking in Virgil Thomson's Inventions and Portraits, which had a special brilliance; nothing lacking at any point, in whatever she played. It was one of the memorable piano recitals in the history of a Gallery that has had more than it share of such events. And Miss Guneyman is an artist to be heard again at the earliest opportunity."
- Paul Hume, WGMS, Washington D.C.
Of Piano Party, 92nd Street Y,
"Guneyman's sublimely poetic and well articulated approach to 'Embraceable You' was rich with exploration and classicism, yet she stayed close to the tune's melodic core."
- Variety, by Robert L. Daniels
Of Piano Party, 92nd Street Y,
"Mr. Hyman was setting it up for the fourth pianist to knock it out of the park, and that she did. Meral Guneyman, a Turkish- born player who recently recorded an album of four handed duos with Mr. Hyman, rhapsodized the Gershwin melody in cascading waves of impressionistic chords, and shortly after did the same for 'Embraceable You'. Ms. Guneyman then showed she could play in other ways, too,joining Mr. Hyman in a duet original called 'Rap#3' in which the two played in a percussive, highly syncopated style reminiscent of Billy Strayhorn's 'Tonk'."
- The New York Sun, by Will Friedwald
Of the Schumann Concerto in a minor-with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
"Ms. Guneyman's performance was poised, sensitive, stylish, warm and assured."
- Pittsburgh Press
Of the Chopin Concerto in e minor, Portland Symphony Orchestra, Bruce Hangen, conductor
"Marvelous...A stunning debut in Portland."
- Portland Maine Herald
Of the Prokofiev Concerto in C Major no:3, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
"Ms. Guneyman made a hit-and she did it by playing with a balanced sense of force..her sweeping passages could sound very touching. She played with fine impetus, sometimes riding on currents of air."
- Courier Express, Buffalo, New York