“Brilliant and surprising […]. Quite extraordinary.”

“A player of deep personality, […] revealing his profound musical intelligence and sensitivity”

“It’s genius really”

“A star on the harpsichord”

“A star of the Baroque, flirting with jazz.”

“The stupendous fluency of his fingers, the immense imagination of the ornaments that go far beyond the score, the stylistic certainty and simultaneous high, almost artistic virtuosity of his rendition […], all this makes Rondeau’s performance in the Königssaal a singular event.”

“His mesmerising legato finger technique and specificity of articulation consistently hold interest, along with the subtle fluidity of his inner rhythm. […] there’s no doubt that Jean Rondeau realises his intentions with a distinctive and authoritative voice.”

“We could not wish for a greater champion of his instrument.”

“Rondeau plays as if there were no epochs and centuries between us and then, one has the feeling that this music is just emerging — from the imagination, the feeling and the freedom of a performer who does not interpret, but creates himself. This is how it begins: Rondeau comes on stage, sits down, strikes a note and then again and again, and suddenly we are in the middle of it. One could rave for a long time about the fluency of the fingers, the playful figurations that Rondeau fishes out of the air, the suppleness of the lines, the naturalness of the movement with which one flows into the other.”

“Philadelphia Chamber Music Society recently hosted its first foray into the [solo harpsichord recital], presenting the exciting young keyboardist Jean Rondeau at Benjamin Franklin Hall, and his Bach-heavy recital proved a knockout.”

“For such a short work, Risser and Rondeau managed here to create a fascinating collection of effects, and in fact this proved to be a striking end to a highly impressive recital.”

“[Rondeau’s] performance of Le vertigo is a thing of pugilistic wonder, flouncing around like an operatic diva succumbing to a hissy fit…he cuts a virtuosic swathe through Royer’s Marche des scythes…”

“Il est avant tout un vrai musicien, ou plutôt un « personnage musical », incomparable. J’ai rarement assisté à un concert classique aussi positivement cool et pourtant aussi juste et nourrissant, sorte de partage collectif, délectable et détendu dans les intermèdes parlés, sérieux et brillant dès que l’artiste touche au clavecin (…) Ce qui frappe en premier, c’est son sens inné et très particulier de la respiration et du timing.”

“In such capable hands, the harpsichord is no longer trapped in a boudoir for pretentious young ladies and English countesses, but becomes a big screen on which emotions are played out…To the point of vertigo.”

“Ici, on admire la beauté formelle d’une danseuse libérée de la gravité, là une plainte presque suffocante. La prise de risque survoltée ne brusque jamais la nature de l’instrument, c’est là tout le sel et la valeur de cette vision éblouissante.”

“Ce grand travailleur a l’humilité des artistes qui savent que rien n’est jamais acquis. A 24 ans il est déjà un des grands clavecinistes de ce siècle.”

“Not only is the trajectory utterly sure-footed; he can also generate palpable excitement without resorting to empty bravado…Rondeau is a natural communicator, unimpeded by the imperative to score academic points…Make no mistake – [Vertigo] is an auspicious debut.”

“On est séduit dès les premiers instants par la délicatesse du toucher, par le contact charnu et sensible avec la corde qu’il nous fait ressentir.”

“Sa virtuosité lui permet des appoggiatures foudroyantes, des incises susceptibles de nourrir et de relancer le drame, tout est vivant, ardent, captivant, toujours sur le mode dynamique et allant.”