She showed herself to be a first-rate Mozartean, combining a crisp keyboard touch with an uncommonly nuanced approach to tone and phrase. Her solos proved consistently well-crafted and engaging, her accompanying passages a sparkling counterpoint to the orchestral statements.
— Howard Reich,
Chicago Tribune
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Ms. Shaham offered a daringly forceful interpretation of the [Brahms] F minor Sonata. Where the music so much as hinted that power would be welcome, Ms. Shaham supplied it amply, with sharply articulated phrasing as a bonus.....she was at her best when Brahms turned up the heat, and as big as her sound was in the scherzo and the finale, Ms. Shaham kept it trim and fully focused.
— The New York Times
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Shaham is an exceptionally well-rounded and solid pianist. Her musicality is remarkable, and her technique is nothing short of flawless. And she had the chance to show off both. The Second is probably the most popular of Saint-Saen's five piano concertos, and Shaham played it as if she owned it. She gave a penetrating and emotionally charged reading of the slow opening movement with its many extended solo sections for the piano. Her playing was nuanced and well-crafted and -phrased.
— Deseret News
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Shaham brings a sense of friendliness and intimacy to her playing, with a warmth that reaches beyond the proscenium to touch the listener. Her Mozart had both delicacy and strength, and she was well in sync with her colleagues, for an engaging and enjoyable reading.
— St. Louis Post Dispatch
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[Shaham's performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 was] ...a vibrant, engaged performance... Elements such as the lyric theme in the second movement were sensitively shaped and elegantly rendered. When the music demanded more, as in the animated final movement, Shaham stepped up, seeming to relish the opportunity. The audience rewarded her with a standing ovation and numerous curtain calls. — San Diego Union-Tribune
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Orli Shaham played the prominent keyboard part [of Bernstein's second symphony, 'The Age of Anxiety'] - Bernstein's own response to the Auden poem of the title - with great panache in the jazzy passages, which came complete with authentic slap bass. Gorgeous.
— The Guardian
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Orli Shaham gave a superb account of the solo piano part, with deep color and fine details; while many pianists toss off "The Masque" with be-bop brittleness, Shaham opted for an intriguingly Chopin-like undulation and haze, the lens of disillusion powerfully distorting.
— The Faster Times
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"Pianist Orli Shaham leapt fearlessly and brilliantly into the complex work, finding in the composer's spiky dissonance the stuff of rare, startling poetry [Messiaen's Oiseaux exotiques]."
— The Baltimore Sun
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"A fabulous pianissimo ... Ms. Shaham showed a firm, elastic touch, anchoring the frantic final movement [of the Ravel]."
— The New York Times
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"[of Messiaen's Oiseaux exotiques] ...brilliant pianist Orli Shaham playing the wildly difficult solo part."
— The New York Times
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"Her playing blends confidence with reflective grace, digital wizardry with subtlety of touch. Shaham tied everything into convincing packages by sustaining lines and making sure the sonorities were as clear as crystal."
— The Plain Dealer [Cleveland]
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"...a demonstrative artist, boldly imparting her deepest sentiments with courage, flair and vulnerability."
— Omaha World Herald
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"Shaham was quite brilliant in her ability to change styles abruptly from the ecstatic to the disheartened to the morose and to the resigned. She was on top of every phrase, pushing toward climatic points and cadences."
— The Kalamazoo Gazette
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"Her playing is graceful, but still rigorous, very romantic, yet strong. This is an artist whose growth and career should be worth watching."
— The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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"The beautiful young pianist Orli Shaham not only is technically flawless, but also her innate musicality transforms every phrase she touches into a finely sculpted work of art. Her sound has a soft brilliance, her fluid scales are clearly articulated and subtly inflected. Yet, she can go from delicate lyricism to strongly dramatic intensity with seamlessness. Her body movements reflect the emotional content of the music which seems to inhabit her. Yet, she remains in control, serenely confident, taking time to reflect, and is keenly of the orchestra of which she becomes an integral part."
— Herald-Tribune [Sarasota]
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