Anne Akiko Meyers, violinist

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"She played with an unfailingly sweet tone, molding her phrases like a singer."
~ The New York Times

"Vigorous mastery, unflinching technical skills and stylish elegance."
~ Los Angeles Times

“Throughout her performance on Thursday, the always brilliant Meyers played with a sensuous tone and a commanding technique.“ - Mason Bates Violin Cto, Nashville Symphony, ARTSNASH, March 1, 2013

“The music received an outstanding performance by Meyers, whose articulation and tone were an unending source of delight...a thoroughly persuasive account of the piece“. - Mason Bates Violin Cto World Premiere, Pittsburgh Symphony, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, December 8, 2012

“A rhythmic main theme contrasted by a ravishing lyrical melody that [Anne] Akiko Meyers brought out with equally ravishing tone.“ - Mason Bates Violin Cto World Premiere, Pittsburgh Symphony, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, December 8, 2012

“In an age plagued by so much overplaying, nothing was ever forced; nuances of piano and pianissimo ravished the ear… Meyers and Nel brought out every possible nuance in the Ravel Violin Sonata: mysterious interplays, sultry blues, virtuoso skitterings. Soulful moments in the first movement were breathtakingly beautiful.” - Chamber Music with Anton Nel, Bion Tsang, Scott Cantrell for THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, October 20, 2012

“With Meyers, it was played not for drama, but for delectation; not for flash, but for all that is fine. Her artistry has no need for razzmatazz.“ - Mendelssohn Violin Cto, Chautauqua Symphony, CHAUTAUQUAN DAILY, August 4, 2012

"The most extraordinary thing about this production is, with the exception of the three single movements, how authentic and non-syrupy it turns out to be. Meyers has a lovely silken tone and a wonderfully unpredictable tendency to stray off the beaten path in matters of speed, authenticity, ornaments, and dynamics-combine that with intonation that unfailingly hits the sweet spot without ever seeming to touch the string, and the effect is sumptuous and thrilling." - CD review, "Air: The Bach Album," STRINGS, July 1, 2012

"By adding a judicious degree of vibrato, Meyers produces a round, warm tone, allowing her clarity of articulation and impeccable intonation to be enjoyed at unhurried tempos." - CD review, "Air: The Bach Album," THE STRAD, June 1, 2012

"Meyers employs judicious, minimal application of vibrato on key notes so they really sing, particularly in the upper range. In the first movement, tension increases during solo and duet areas, with Meyers calming and refining in tutti sections to emphasize the balanced ensemble and total composition rather than show off her abilities. The wistful take on the deliberate interlocking melodies of the middle movement has the power to sweep a listener away. The rapid-fire triplets of the finale amaze, and suspense builds throughout. " - CD review, "Air: The Bach Album", THE NEW JERSEY STAR LEDGER, February 17, 2012

"A dear friend of the Santa Barbara Symphony and a world-renowned player, Meyers was in fine form for Williams's "The Lark Ascending," which sounded particularly dark and deep on her "Molitor" Stradivarius, one of the world's most sought-after instruments. Taking her time with the piece, which leaves the violinist exposed for long moments as the composition calls for many sustained, unaccompanied notes, Meyers nevertheless pulled it off with consummate artistry." - The Santa Barbara Symphony, The Santa Barbara Independent, January 25, 2012

"Meyers simply is a treasure, a seasoned professional who worked uncommonly well with music director David Lockington and the rest of the musicians around her to give a beautiful performance that was subtly intense, decidedly focused. The lovely instrument with its sweet tone carried handsomely in her capable hands, frequently leaving the audience spellbound with the precision of her clear note placement and clean phrasing." - Mozart Violin Cto. No. 3, Marsalis Cadenzas, Grand Rapids Symphony, The Grand Rapids Press, May 7, 2011

"No other performance approached the technical and emotional caliber of violinist Anne Akiko Meyers Friday night at the Long Center...the truth is that Meyers possesses a tone so pure that it emerges just a few times in a generation." - Prokofiev Cto. No. 1, The Austin Symphony, The Austin Statesman, February 21, 2011

"The distinctive violinist plays Samuel Barber's Violin Concert with such intensity, depth and excellence that the audience immediately connects to her art." - Barber Concerto, Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, NEUE RHEIN ZEITUNG, January 17, 2011

"Few could resist Meyers's swooning charms in 'Summertime', the pairing of Kosma's 'Tenderly' and 'Autumn Leaves', or Vernon Duke's 'Autumn in New York', but she typically throws in some spicier fare as well...an absolute delight." - CD Review, "Seasons...dreams", BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE, January 1, 2011

"The performances has moments of the greatest beauty and poetry: the opening of the first movement, where pianist Reiko Uchida mirrors Meyers's phrasing with some extraordinary, subtle changes of feeling and pace; in the second movement where Meyers's hushed tone is so soft and mysterious at her initial entrance that you barely hear it at first; and in the last movement where everything clicks on all cylinders. It is a performance outside of any tradition, harder and brainier at times than we have come to expect; it is Beethoven being reinvented on his own." - CD Review, "Seasons...dreams", GRAMOPHONE, January 1, 2011

"The Beethoven performance is sui generis, touched with poetry..." - CD Review, "Seasons...dreams", Audiophile Audition, October 28, 2010

"Meyers, in particular, was on her game...The smoothness with which she played the Mozart was absolutely heavenly, especially the second movement's adagio." - Mozart K.216 with W.Marsalis cadenzas, L.Langrée & SLSO, The St. Louis Examiner, September 25, 2010

"It was a pleasure to hear, a performance notable for its clarity and idiomatic sense of style from all concerned, and appropriately understated. Meyers brought technical accomplishment, a warm persona and a cool interpretive slant to her playing. Her cadenzas were written for her by Wynton Marsalis, and they brought out her strengths as a performer nicely." - Mozart K.216 with W.Marsalis cadenzas, L.Langrée & SLSO, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 24, 2010

"This recital album, played with her usual intelligence and beautiful singing tone, brings together a collection of varied works. They show some of Meyers' range and taste, as well as a disinclination to simply put together a collection of standard fare." - CD Review, "Seasons...dreams", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 19, 2010

"For the Sinfonia Concertante, the TSO paired up showy American violinist Anne Akiko Meyers with its own principal viola, Teng Li...who proved to be a perfect mate for Meyers' extroverted reading of this already extroverted piece. It was an energizing way to cap an energy-filled evening of first-rate music-making." - Mozart Sinfonia Concertante, Jane Glover, Toronto Symphony, The Toronto Star, January 20, 2010

"She played Mozart's Third Violin concerto, infusing it with rare musicality and charm....Making this performance particularly memorable was the fact that Friday's performance was the premiere of cadenzas that Meyers had commissioned jazz great Wynton Marsalis to write for her...they worked wonderfully." - Mozart Concerto No.3, Utah Symphony with David Lockington, Deseret News, August 3, 2009

"She played with an unfailingly sweet tone, molding her phrases like a singer...If anyone needed reminding that Ms. Meyers is a performer of substance and skill, here was the proof. Her feathery lines wafted upward on Mr. Eguchi's tremulous zephyrs during the opening bars, then the two emphatically drove through a fleet, clean finale." - "Smile" CD Release performance, (Le) Poisson Rouge, The New York Times, February 5, 2009

"A stunning recital that suggests a surprising new legitimacy to the crossover concept." - "Smile" on Koch Records, Laurence Vittes for Audiophile Audition, January 27, 2009

"A compelling balance of glamour and gravity...Meyers has all the technique and feel to sing like the bird Messiaen envisioned." - "Smile" on Koch Records, The New Jersey Star-Ledger, January 26, 2009

"So, for musical theatricality, it was Barber's Violin Concerto in the hands of soloist Anne Akiko Meyers that proved most memorable. Meyers plays the Royal Spanish Stradivarius violin, and her capacity to make this instrument speak was compelling. Such luxuriant richness of tone invested Barber with a rare profundity, while the moto perpetuo finale had a brilliance that convincingly carried its own dramatic logic." - Barber Violin Concert, Andrew Litton, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, The Guardian, November 17, 2008

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Mason Bates Violin Cto, Nashville Symphony, ARTSNASH (March 1, 2013)