“Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s ongoing survey [of Haydn piano sonatas] on Chandos is one of the glories of the 21^st-century record industry, nine volumes and counting of playing that is poised and polished, as well as ideally flamboyant and aptly witty.”

“Bavouzet takes us into the realm of the sublime… a reading [of Beethoven] etched in empyrean majesty. It’s high minded, lofty, inspiring, and ennobling….”

“For one of countless examples of Bavouzet’s mastery, listen to how beautifully he paces the heart-touching middle movement Andante of [Beethoven’s] Piano Concerto No.4. He has you holding your breath…”

“… his cultivated piano-playing is so polished that precious few of his colleagues could claim superiority in purely technical terms. All in all, [Beethoven: the Complete Piano Concertos] are keenly intelligent performances, brimful of spirit and energy…”

“ [‘The Beethoven Connection’] recording embodies a brilliant idea, brilliantly carried out… The sweetness and transparency of the opening Allegro [Dussek] has winning charm; the finale luxuriates in its own easy virtuosity.”

“Bavouzet is an artist of true interpretive gift, born to the stage and to the spontaneity each moment has to offer.”

“His range of colours is [wide], without any self-conscious attempt to ​‘orchestrate’, and his sparkle and caprice are especially delicious in the finale [of Haydn’s E flat Sonata].”

“Bavouzet inspires, entertains and embodies the playfulness and grace of Mozart’s much-loved works. A very fine recording.”

“Despite the monstrous virtuosity of [Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand] that easily gives the illusion of a score for two hands, the touch of his left hand is quite capable of softness in the midrange and treble registers, and a great power in the lower register.”

“Jean-Efflam Bavouzet is one of the finest pianists of his generation and this evening we heard him in Ravel’s piano concerto for his left hand. Ravel’s concerto is highly dramatic, and played with Bavouzet’s virtuosity, the feathery strikes, and the stomping jazz rhythms gave it an audible impression of being composed for both hands.”

“Ever a supremely intelligent musician, Bavouzet brings clarity, gentleness and urgency to all, with a sense of distilled struggle in [Schumann’s] five Gesänge der Frühe (Songs at Dawn).”

“[In Debussy’s L’Isle joyeuse] Bavouzet celebrates one last time his overwhelming pianistic skills, with technical mastery, crystal-clear structuring and above all, transparency.”

“In [Debussy’s] Feux d’artifice Bavouzet fires off a stunningly breath-taking pianistic firework to leave the public open-mouthed. After this dazzling recital the enthusiastic public was taken to the L’isle joyeuse ‑paradisiac!”

“…he was magnificent in Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand, giving a louche bravura to the music’s many moods. Most pianists play the opening theme sotto voce, to give themselves the best chance of making the following crescendo as mighty as possible. Bavouzet flung it out with statuesque nobility, judging he had power enough to spare, and he was right.”

“The final romp of a finale exuded wit and charm, driving rhythms prevailing throughout with the pianist’s touch ranging from utmost delicacy to the incisive precision of the syncopated staccato chords”

“The music is lit with quick wit, intelligence, and shafts of tenderness”

“The solo playing sparkles, the orchestra is alive with detail, everything a delight.”

“Expansive, beautifully realized, but never lacking in virtuosity. This was music-making that was controlled but seemingly spontaneous and on occasion, electrifying. Little wonder that the capacity audience jumped to its feet at the end. I can’t remember a performance so completely satisfying.”

“This was, I thought, a Beethoven performance of undeniable greatness: not different for the sake of it, but asserting its – and Beethoven’s – difference through a Pollini-like re-examination of the material(…) All Beethoven performances should, if only briefly, restore one’s faith in humanity; this one did.”

“The evening’s highlight was Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s dashing account of the bimanual Ravel Piano Concerto, which combined technical facility with enormous musical sensibility to create a memorable performance.”