• Ishizaka plays the 24 preludes and fugues with impeccable taste and technique
    Donald Rosenberg, Gramophone Magazine
  • She has a very poetic touch, and seems to have a wide variety of colours at her fingertips
    Robert Hugill
  • The Well-Tempered Clavier, with the notes, for those who truly love music.
  • A gifted and obviously devoted Bachian
    James Oestreich, New York Times
  • This is a recording to change your perception of the Well-Tempered Clavier.
    Campbell Vertesi
American Record Guide, July-August 2015

The American Record Guide found some of the most positive phrases yet applied to Kimiko Ishizaka's recording of J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Volume 1. They also deliver the strongest criticisms of any reviewer. First the positives:

"she is a beautiful and technically accomplished player"

"The A-major fugue, fast and exciting, is one of the best performances here"

"the light hand in interpretation makes this performance preferable to Hewitt (the later recording on Hyperion) or Schiff (ECM, Jan/Feb 2013)"

And the negatives:

"She makes some interpretive missteps, however—in particular, her too-fast and rather mechanical performances of the C-sharp-minor fugue and the B-major prelude and fugue. I also think she could use the pedal sparingly without losing clarity. There’s too much detached playing, which is unnecessary on the piano and mostly unthinkable on the harpsichord"