NEW YORK TIMES
"Each of the pieces on “Darknesse Visible,” a new recording by the brilliant pianist Inon Barnatan, was inspired by a literary work. The thoughtful program is typical for this insightful musician. But Mr. Barnatan’s extraordinary playing is what makes the release so rewarding. "

BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE: INSTRUMENTAL CD OF THE MONTH
"Revelatory... Barnatan turns the piano into an utterly fantastical instrument"

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
[An] ingenious new recital disc by Israeli-born pianist Inon Barnatan.. His touch is both shimmery and full of fire..

THE STAR TRIBUE
"As deep, rich, occasionally scary and thoroughly rewarding as any classical CD that's come our way in a long time...It's pretty much unforgettable"


THE SUNDAY TIMES (UK)
"Barnatan's dazzling fingerwork is accompanied by a certain freshness in his approach to this great music..."

CLASSICS TODAY
"The young Israeli-born, New York-based pianist Inon Barnatan’s debut disc for Avie may well be turn out to be one of 2012’s top solo-piano releases."


SEATTLE TIMES
"..It's a revelation...Barnatan goes beyond the mellifluous surface of Ravel's masterpiece to lure you into a whole plush keyboard world"

The young, Israeli-born pianist Inon Barnatan is a true poet of the keyboard: refined, searching, unfailingly communicative...

His exemplary reading of the Sonata is invested with world-weariness and automnal resignation, but he responds to the brighter moments of the third and fourth movements with keenly articulated, meticulously phrased playing... His handling of the Impromptus is second to none: this is musicianship of the highest calibre.

Barnatan was naturally poetic; he has an instinctive understanding of Schubert's fragile, deep world... he obtained a hypnotic tone from the piano... he made sounds that might have won the approval of Schnabel himself.

The evening’s undisputed star was Barnatan… He displayed the widest variety of touch and dynamics that I’ve ever heard from the library’s aging, balky Steinway. From barely audible, feathery trills to heaven-storming thunderbolts, Barnatan orchestrated every phrase with sovereign mastery… [This was] fine music-making wedded to astounding technique.

If the Houston Symphony's managment team has a slot to fill in its 2008-09 season, it fount an option in the two electric debuts Friday at Miller Outdoor Theatre... Barnatan [is] born to play Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 22 with the elegance and intimacy that makes Mozart's music sparkle so much

A player of uncommon sensitivity

Barnatan obviously possesses tons of technique…His sensitive phrasing of the lyrical passages was always expressive... The audience cheered the performance to the rafters, complete with standing ovation.”

This young Israeli, only 27, has had some great teachers and won some important prizes — who hasn't these days? But he really might be on the level of an Artur Schnabel or Leon Fleisher.

Mr. Barnatan’s feel for Schubert was immediately evident in the stormy ascent and gentle cascading fall of the sonata’s opening bars. Schubert’s writing struck a balance between Mozart’s amiability and Beethoven’s heaven-storming quest for transcendence. Mr. Barnatan gave full measure to both impulses, contrasting a firm hand in turbulent flights with a tender touch and ruminative flexibility in more wistful passages.

[An] insightful artist who beautifully mixes imagination and technique”

Barnatan gave an inspired and utterly convincing performance of this program… This newcomer can clearly play anything.

Though there are too many fine performers to cite, special mention goes to the fearless young pianist Inon Barnatan

One of the most rewarding innovations of the Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard organization has been its Rising Stars Recital Series... Sunday night’s artist was 25-year-old Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan, who performed a dazzling program that had me stretching for the highest tier of accolades… He exhibited blazing technique throughout the program – an ability he shared with many previous "rising stars." But additionally, his musical intelligence led to wholly individual musical identities for the five composers whose works he played.

Poetic and passionate music making, communicative performances and engaging programming

Sensitivity, poise and focus; Barnatan is a born Schubertian.