“...exceptionally gifted.”
Gramophone magazine
“When wonderful music is wonderfully presented, with some genuinely innovative approaches to the works and methods of performing them, the pleasures of listening to recordings are doubled and redoubled. [Deborah Pae's] superb tone, judicious and carefully chosen phrasing, and a high level of interpretative intelligence are the hallmarks...Listening to [her] perform with tremendous technical assurance and a maturity and understanding well beyond [her] years is a source of unceasing delight throughout this recording.”
Transcentury
“Focused intensity and extraordinary musicianship… Ms. Pae’s solo cello sang soulfully...”
San Diego Union Tribune
“The language of food often shows up in writing about music, because some concerts are absolutely delicious, such as this one with the Formosa Quartet, presented by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. But the main-course finale, Dvořák’s String Sextet, was almost eclipsed by a first half of tasty appetisers…The finale, accelerating gleefully to the end, brought the house down.”
The STRAD
“The Brahms sounds extremely cantabile due to well-considered agogics. The melody arcs stretch to the respective climax and relax where necessary. The many extremely high passages in double octave intervals of the Bridge trio pose a challenge to the sound and intonation of the strings. These are mastered with elegance by Tessa Park and Deborah Pae. Conclusion: A very enjoyable debut CD by a young piano trio with conclusive interpretations of the trios by Brahms and Bridge on a very appealing level.”
Thomas Baack, Klassik Heute
“The Bridge Trio is a real gem…I really liked this trio’s intensity in this music, and particularly Deborah Pae’s rich, luscious cello tone. It’s a very atmospheric composition but also one with real meat on its bones…I was pleasantly surprised by their gutsy, powerful performance of the Brahms Trio. This is a rendition that can actually stand comparison with some of the legendary recordings of the past, such as those by Heifetz, Feuermann and Rubinstein and Szigeti, Fournier and Schnabel. They have the full measure of this long and oft-complex work firmly in hand, and because of this they throw themselves into the music with abandon. I think Brahms would have liked their rendition of it.”
Lynn René Bayley, The Art Music Lounge
“The Formosa Quartet is a strikingly homogeneous ensemble. Violinists Jasmine Lin, Wayne Lee, violist Che-Yen Chen, and cellist Deborah Pae generate a warm, vibrant cohesion. Their approach elucidated Bartok’s architecture, highlighting the convincing logic that underlies his musical drama.”
San Diego Union Tribune
“Pae made searing drama out of Mumford’s dramatic solo lines, punctuated by pizzicatos and answered by snap pizzicati from the double bass.
Tchaikovsky’s arrangement of a movement from his D-Major String Quartet...Here, she had the opportunity to show off her handsome and perfectly-centered pitch in a noble, almost Elgarian Andante cantabile. Among other delights, her lyrical treatment of a sequence of repeated notes was magical.”
Cleveland Classical
“The talent here is quite breathtaking. Deborah Pae in the Second [Saint-Saens Concerto]...gives any of the recordings already in the catalogue a good run for their money.”
Gramophone MagazinE
“...the most poignant moment in Sunday’s program was cellist [Deborah] Pae’s entrance in the Adagio. It was sublime.”
Times Argus
“Perhaps most striking was Plakala (2018), a song from the Ukrainian singer Kazka, arranged by Clancy Newman…With Pae and her colleagues gathered around her – Lin focusing on the pegs, violist Matthew Cohen wearing gloves for pizzicatos and Lee crouched on the floor with an extra bow – the result pulsated like a happy, amoebic life form.”
The STRAD
“Not only does the Formosa Quartet play beautifully — each member has charm to burn. They have everything.”
Ken Herman
“The [Formosa Quartet] projected a securely integrated ensemble with a vivid sonority that had just enough edge to command attention. Pae’s resonant cello solos in both the Liang and Wilson works displayed a sophisticated technique...”
San Diego Story
“The Namirovsky-Lark-Pae trio does everything with fiery playing full of intensive fantasy and warm glow...It is mainly due to pianist Misha Namirovsky who brings sinister details to the subtle passages of the scherzo that make this performance so successful. It's simply a matter of balanced and committed music making and thus almost aligning itself with the Florestan trio (Hyperion CDA 6751). Only Pires, Dumay and Wang (DG 447055-2) and Katchen, Suk and Starker (Decca 421,152-2) remain as main rivals for those who prefer to have both Brahms Piano Trios together.”
Jan de Kruijff, Musicalifeiten NL
“…the Brahms Trio overflows with vitality and joy, as a twenty year old with good hopes can be, a complete life ahead of him. If Misha Namirovsky is always precise in the piano gesture, capable of communicating the exemplary in Brahms, as well as of representing the timbre in the Bridge Trio, both Tessa Lark and Deborah Pae are able to make the best of the two pieces, falling into the shadows and between the lights of both compositions, showing a truly remarkable harmony.”