"Anna Clyne’s "Shorthand" for cello and orchestra – another New York premiere – featured cellist Karen Ouzounian who performed with tremendous heart, bringing joy and a captivating sound to the stage. The hauntingly beautiful opening gave way to a wonderful klezmer tune filled with energy and rhythmic drive, then melodic lines interspersed with crazy scalar passages; Ouzounian’s standing ovation was well deserved." — The Strad, July 31, 2024
“Ouzounian and Beecher have pulled off something remarkable…”
— Armenian Mirror-Spectator, Dec 19, 2024
"...the radiant cellist..." – Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, The New York Times
"...soloist Karen Ouzounian plays with a voracious, burnished tone..." —Olivia Giovetti (Van Magazine)
“A sumptuous work for cello and strings by Anna Clyne led the second half of the concert. Soloist Karen Ouzounian…displayed her gorgeous singing tone on Shorthand, a beautifully lush composition.” —Sequenza 21, May 21, 2024
"Behind the nimble playing of soloist Karen Ouzounian the orchestra churned out quickly rising and falling arpeggios. The sound was sonorous, the performance exciting.” —Blog Critics, May 18, 2024
“Ouzounian’s powerful bowing and dazzling panoply of extended techniques were in full force” - Silkroad Trio Opens Ears With Cross-Cultural Connections, Jeff Kaliss, Jan 21, 2024, SF Classical Voice
“Niloufar Nourbakhsh’s Veiled, lovingly rendered by cellist Karen Ouzounian…”
—Santa Barbara Independent, June 2023
“A searching new work for cello and orchestra by Anna Clyne, played with deep expression by Karen Ouzounian."
—Feast of Music, May 19, 2024
"Als Solistin tritt Karen Ouzounian aus der Cellogruppe hervor. Sie erfüllt die romantischen Kantilenen im Stück „Shorthand“ von Anna Clyne mit wunderbarerer Wärme und einem Hauch." —Rheinische Post, Düsseldorf, Oct 2022
"...nothing less than gorgeous..."
—Jon W. Sparks, Memphis Commercial Appeal
“Meanwhile, the central Non troppo lento [of Bartók’s String Quartet No. 4] emerged hauntingly, highlighted by Karen Ouzounian’s noble cello solos… Leading off the night was another gem: cellist Ouzounian’s arrangement of Clara Schumann’s song, ‘Ich stand in dunkeln Träumen.’ Flowing and idiomatically voiced, it’s a wonderful adaptation.” —Boston Classical Review, May 2023
“Shorthand is an elegiac piece for much of its length, and packs a real emotional punch, with cellist Karen Ouzounian’s passionate playing leading the way.” —BBC Music Magazine, Oct 2022
Get to know Silkroad Ensemble Cellist/Composer, Karen Ouzounian — George Mason University, Jan 2023
"Der zweite Konzertteil startet mit Anna Clynes ‘Shorthand': Als 'Stenogramm der Emotion’ hat nämlich Leo Tolstoi die Musik beschrieben, in dessen Ehedrama-Novelle ‘Die Kreutzersonate’ Beethovens Werk eine entscheidende Rolle spielt. Solistin Karen Ouzounian bestach auf dem Cello mit blitzsauberer Intonation.” —Jörg Worat, Hannoversche Allgemeine, Nov 2022
"Ouzounian played it all with commitment and finesse, as did the orchestra.” —Cadenza NYC, May 18, 2024
“Den eminente amerikanske komponist Anna Clyne havde skrevet sin ”Shorthand” direkte tilensemblet og dets cellosolist, Karen Ouzounian, begyndende i en molfarvet, douce klangpalet, der senere udviklede sig til fyrige optøjer med ekkoer af jødisk bryllupsmusik. Ouzounian spillede sin solostemme stærkt og udtryksfuldt, både i de elegiske afdelinger og det mere rytmisk bevægelige.” —Tore Mortensen, Nordjyske Stiftstidende, Aalborg Denmark, Oct 2022
“In einem kurzen Cello-Konzert von Anna Clyne („Shorthand“) gab Cellistin Karen Ouzounian mit feiner Tonlinie die Solo-Stimme.” —Bernhard Uske, Frankfurter Rundschau, Nov 2022
"Most striking was the role Karen Ouzounian was given in the ensemble performing a staged chamber version of the Omar opera, Omar's Journey, commissioned by Ojai... You could not help hearing her musical lines and the vigor and passion of her delivery as the opera progressed." – Berkshire Fine Arts, June 2023
“In the night music—a Bartók trope—the silvery grain of Karen Ouzounian’s cello generated hushed agitation…The harmonies of Ouzounian’s arrangement of Clara Schumann’s ‘Ich stand in dunkeln Träumen’ beamed and shimmered through each hymn-like strand.” —Aaron Keebaugh, The Arts Fuse, May 2023
"Mr. Chooi and Ms. Kashkashian were joined by the expressive cellist Karen Ouzounian and the sweet-toned violinist David McCarroll in Gyorgy Kurtag’s haunting ‘Officium Breve in Memoriam Endre Szervanszky.’… The music making was exuberant and charismatic, driven by an appetite for dynamic extremes and harmonic quirks: elements Beethoven willingly yields."
—Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, The New York Times, October 16, 2014
"György Kurtág is one of the most gifted composers of this or any other era, and his string quartet Op. 28 from 1989 - the "Officium Breve in Memoriam Andreae Szervánszky" - is among his most deeply moving works. Spare, suggestive and aphoristic, the work’s 15 brief movements form a profound meditation on death and loss, closing with a hymn-like movement that ends — almost heartbreakingly — in mid-phrase. Kashkashian and Chooi were joined by David McCarroll on violin and cellist Karen Ouzounian for an exceptionally thoughtful reading of this searing and flawless work."
—Stephen Brookes, The Washington Post, October 17, 2014
"…vividly rendered by the pianist Ning Yu, the cellist Karen Ouzounian and the violinist Miranda Cuckson [...] Ms. Ouzounian demonstrated a rich tone… deftly played…”
—Vivien Schweitzer, The New York Times, November 13, 2013
Aizuri Quartet Press
“fresh artistry” —Tom Huizenga, NPR’s 10 Best Classical Albums of 2023
“genuinely exciting” —The New York Times, Dec 3, 2017
“Excellent... the musicians championed this new music expertly... astounding...” —The Washington Post, May 24, 2018
"Elegant, inquisitive" —The New Yorker
“These limber and luminous performances by the Aizuri Quartet, in music written specifically for the group by young composers, proves that the 250-year-old string quartet formula remains vibrant and vital." —Tom Huizenga, NPR’s Best Classical Albums of 2018
“in a word, stunning...” —I Care If You Listen, Nov 2, 2018