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"The aura of delicacy was reinforced by Ms. Zhu, a pianist with wonderful technique and musical instincts who evidently has never heard a piano tone that she could not make more beautiful."
-The New York Times
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"Like the late Mieczyslav Horszowski, Zhu is an attentive, discreet chamber musician and a well-groomed Mozartean—but with a demonic side. Though physically diminutive, Zhu generated a virtuoso voltage in Schumann’s Kreisleriana and Ginastera’s Piano Sonata No.1."
". . .Zhu has no lack of penetrating intelligence. She’s uncompromisingly serious in ways that only a young musician who hasn’t much to lose can afford to be. . that doesn’t mean her playing lacks sensuality: she projects a satisfying range of color and touch."
-The Philadelphia Inquirer
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"Falla’s Fantasia betica. . .was infused with Zhu’s thoughtful and restrained playing. The whirling energy of Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody, No.12 provided emotional and pianistic pyrotechnics. . . Zhu opened with Brahms’ Two Rhapsodies, Op.79, whose hurtling force she matched with exquisite rhythm and poised melodic lines. Throughout her recital, she let the music breathe, never playing impulsively, using pauses to great effect. She closed with a Chopin waltz, a perfectly articulated encore."
-The Philadelphia Inquirer
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"Zhu. . . came nimbly to the fore in Mozart’s F-Major Sonata, K.377, sharing the limelight in the opening movement and contributing tenderness and style to the beautiful minor-key variation set at the heart of the sonata."
-San Francisco Chronicle
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". . .Natalie Zhu exhibited her own warm and seamless touch at the Keyboard that complemented [Hilary] Hahn and solidified the experience of the performance"
-St. Louis Post Dispatch
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". . .Zhu Proved an excellent Mozart pianist, pull of grace and spirit. . [Hilary] Hahn and Zhu echoed each other’s phrases, ornaments, even producing the same kind of sound. . . the two players traded phrases with wit and impeccable technique."
-The Seattle Times
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". . .an excellent pianist. . ."
"her technique is complete and her musicianship highly developed. . ."
-Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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". . .the pianist developed a reading that stressed the music’s narrative clarity and surface beauty. Her cadenzas probed thematic possibilities rather than virtuosic display"
-The Philadelphia Inquirer
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"In the Bach [Brandenburg No.5], [Jaime] Laredo was joined by. . .Natalie Zhu. The pianist [Zhu] blended regard for ornamentation and suggestions of light harpsichord sound with an unapologetic pianistic approach. She built a whirlwind of sound in the long first movement solo, but was a sensitive member of the solo group elsewhere."
-The Philadelphia Inquirer
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