“Miranda Cuckson is a poetic soloist with a strong personality, yet unpretentious.” Die Presse, Vienna (Haas Concerto)

“The highlight of the concert was Miranda Cuckson’s performance of Jeffrey Mumford’s fleeting cycles of layered air (2020), a two-movement piece inspired by whisps of wind and trails of clouds. It is an encyclopedia of techniques that is both physically demanding – sometimes requiring the violinist to stretch her fingers very far apart – and surprisingly heartbreaking. Fleeting, quick quiet whispers of fast notes that sound airy mix with thunderbolt plucks that pierce the brain. At one point, Cuckson plucked and immediately bowed a long note and it sounded magical. Cuckson gave character to the piece like no one else could. I could listen to her play all day. She gives direction to this music that might be directionless in the hands of another violinist.” (Ben Gambuzza, Evenings with the Orchestra)

“The two musicians were stellar, playing the pieces with great care, purpose, and concentration…In all the music, her precise intonation and subtle adjustments of timbre and tone color opened up the variety and expressionistic heart at the core of Feldman’s work…The rocking figure that was a calling card for Feldman’s later works moved in an out, full of emotional satisfaction, and even nostalgia, each time it appeared. This was as clear and understanding a performance of Feldman as one will experience.” (George Grella, NY Classical Review)

“What was done by the American violinist in the ‘Andante’ of the Sonata in A minor BWV 1003 (c. 1720) was impactful, going from the microtonality of Haas to the fullness of a Bach whose double-stops spurred Cuckson to explore and handle the polyphony of this Andante not only with marvelous technique, but with a warmth and beauty of sound as I have rarely heard in these Sonatas and Partitas (and without gut strings, or baroque bow, or “historical” interpretation). A moment, therefore, of genuine beauty; in essence, the most refined and intense that we have heard this afternoon in Porto.” (Mundo Clasico Madrid)

“among the best chamber music shows I’d heard all season…devoted a range of expressive talents to the violin writing..deploying her silvery sound to underline the singing qualities embedded in an otherwise complex idiom.” (Seth Colter Walls, NY Times)

“Last night in Herbst Theatre, San Francisco Performances (SFP) began its Great Artists and Ensembles series with a duo performance by violinist Miranda Cuckson and pianist Blair McMillen both making their SFP recital debuts…Cuckson and McMillen brought crystal clarity to the many rhetorical gestures that breathed life into all four of the offerings. Many of those gestures delivered the sort of intensity that makes the attentive listener sit up and take notice. At the same time, however, there was a freshness to the Beethoven selection, particularly in the grazioso tempo of the middle-movement minuet, that banished any thoughts of “same old Beethoven.” (Stephen Smoliar ,The Rehearsal Studio)

“the protean violinist Miranda Cuckson negotiates with brilliance the technical perils of pieces by Bartók, Shiraz, Goodyear, Stahnke, and Donatoni- imbuing each with impassioned musicality. The title of the recording – Világ is a Hungarian word that means both “world” and “illumination”. In Sanskrit Vilag means “to cling to.” in Hindi, the word means “separated”. Whichever meaning one may want to ascribe to the music in the URLICHT recording, the American violinist plays Bartók, Shiraz, Goodyear, Stahnke, and Donatoni with an equal balance of temperament and mental acuity, her performance resulting in an intriguing recording of 20th and 21st centuries music. Intelligently annotated and carefully engineered, the URLICHT recording will be welcome addition to the libraries of collectors of off-the-beaten-path music for the violin.” (Rafael de Acha, All About the Arts)

“Illuminating, not only for its compositional diversity but for Cuckson’s extraordinary playing. In featuring violin alone, her virtuosity, dexterity, and command of intonation and phrasing are on full display, and the performances mesmerize…Whether pitched at a barely audible hush or delivered with an exuberant flourish, Cuckson’s playing is always compelling and never less than transfixing. Anyone who might think nearly 100 minutes of unaccompanied violin might be less than engaging will be otherwise enlightened by Világ. If anything, hearing her performing alone allows for an enhanced appreciation of her singular artistry.” (textura)

“What’s most impressive about Cuckson is the warmth and humanity she brings to the music. Highly abstract, it tends to sound cold even in the best hands. Cuckson refracts its hard beauty through a prism of color and emotion, bringing to life its primal appeal… she gave a dazzling demonstration of why she’s become such an in-demand artist.” (Frank Kuznik, Cultured Cleveland) 

“…the line has a continuity and phrasing that recall the human voice, and it isn’t hard to imagine it as an aria for soprano. It’s a virtuoso piece breathtakingly played by Miranda Cuckson” (Avant Music News)

“We started on Thursday in Tivoli [Vredenburg], specifically in my favorite room, Hertz, with Miranda Cuckson and her violin…More than playing the violin, Miranda Cuckson painted with a violin, we are not talking about notes, we are talking about brush strokes. I have rarely seen an instrument wring so much out, get so many sounds out of it. Playing with silence at this level is something really fascinating.” (Arvre)

“adventurous violinist Miranda Cuckson gifting us our first show on Thursday evening at Hertz, one of five purpose-built music halls in the giant futuristic complex TivoliVredenburg. She captivated a cheering audience with her effortless and dexterous virtuosity, performing classical works from contemporary artists that she introduced between pieces..it was as if her violin spoke many different languages.” (Cast the Dice)

“Violinist Miranda Cuckson reaffirms her standing as one of the most sensitive and electric interpreters of new music.”  (Peter Margasak, Downbeat Magazine)

“A solo revelation. Ms. Cuckson is in the pantheon of performers who appear wherever daring music is played… Ms. Cuckson is synonymous with the music of today.” (Harry Rolnick, ConcertoNet)

“The Ligeti Violin Concerto, despite its strangeness, is clearly a first-class work, and I was very impressed by our soloist, Miranda Cuckson, who plays it with not only technical fireworks but also with tremendous feeling. Here everything falls into place in a first-rate performance that does full justice to the music. Listen particularly to the way she plays the slow second movement, with so much heart that you’d think she was in love. Cuckson also plays the “Intermezzo” movement with tremendous passion. She is one outstanding violinist!” (ArtMusicLounge)

“Miranda Cuckson, who gave what proved to be a compelling performance that delivered equal measures of power, drama and introspection.” (Paul Muller, Sequenza21)

“Violinist Miranda Cuckson’s solo recital was a stunner, bridging the sometimes electro-acoustic worlds of Anthony Cheung, Dai Fujikura, Bach, and Kaija Saariaho.” (Santa Barbara Independent)

“Cuckson’s elegant bow arm was called upon to render a spectrum of encounters between horsehair and strings, from fluid melismatic writing to spiccato and cross-string techniques, all connected by an graceful and subtle forward lyrical pressure….Cuckson was able to fit seamlessly into the demands of the electronics while sounding like she was in complete command of them. In a work that one might imagine seeming similar from one performance to another, Cuckson was able to shed significantly new light.” Larry Wallach, Hudson-Housatonic Arts

“Miranda Cuckson’s enthusiasm is utterly infectious. She makes complete sense of the many disparate elements in an absolute tour de force reading. The energy levels of soloist and orchestra match those of the indefatigable Ligeti at his most unbuttoned. If you have yet to make the acquaintance of this masterpiece, then this is now the performance to go for…This is the first recording of hers I have listened to, though she has amassed a considerable discography which I shall now be checking out. It is a real pleasure to hear a musician of such charisma taking on contemporary music instead of yet another Sibelius or Tchaikovsky concerto.” David McDade, MusicWeb International

“riveting is the stamp Miranda Cuckson impresses on one of Ligeti’s most familiar and beloved scores [the Violin Concerto]. Like Baldini an adventurous champion of new music, she even trails away from the Ligeti-Gawriloff cadenza into one of her own invention. It defies belief that Cuckson had never previously played the Concerto, so convincing is she with Ligeti’s admixture of idioms and allusions” Thomas May, Gramophone

“[Carlos Simon’s] solo violin piece “Between Worlds,” which was played with concentrated ecstasy by Cuckson” Mark Swed, LA Times

“Ms. Cuckson brought out the work’s singing quality, a soulfulness as deep as anything in Janacek. Her tonal luster and variety of touch enliven everything she plays.” (Zachary Woolfe, New York Times)

“The brilliant violinist Miranda Cuckson again demonstrated her long, deep involvement with contemporary music in an adventurous recital … The only downside of gaining notice as a new-music champion, as Ms. Cuckson has, is that audiences may not know how superbly she plays the standards. Her vast repertory includes concertos by Elliott Carter and Alfred Schnittke, as well as the Romantic staples by Mendelssohn and Brahms. Here, for example, is Ms. Cuckson in 2012 performing the Sarabande from Bach’s Partita No. 2 in a Washington, D.C., recital. She draws out the lilting, dancing elegance from this wistful music, while also highlighting daring elements of the piece that show Bach’s timeless genius.” (Anthony Tommasini, New York Times)

“a fearless, visionary, and tremendously talented artist… her preparation was exquisite and presentation consistently engaging.” (Christian Carey, Sequenza21) 

“Ms. Cuckson lavished a warm tone and rich vibrato on the violin line, making it into a supremely lyrical soliloquy.” (Allan Kozinn, New York Times)

“One hour of a greatly gifted artist playing music that is meaningful to her..The unifying quality of the music was a hyper-expressiveness.” George Grella, New York Classical Review

“Cuckson’s unhindered interpretation captured the mood perfectly, drawing the audience into the reddish flames as if with a long beckoning index finger stretched out beyond her curled violin scroll….Cuckson performs with unpretentious star power and unbridled depth of character.” (Seen and Heard International)

“The violinist Miranda Cuckson was the fiery soloist..soaring violin melodies played with brio by Ms. Cuckson” (Vivien Schweitzer, New York Times)

“Violinist Miranda Cuckson stood out for her versatility and firm authority. In addition to an intuitive approach to beauty, Cuckson also interprets works from the last hundred years with a depth of knowledge that comes from expertise and guru-like mastery.” (Daniele Sahr, Seen and Heard International) 

“She was magnetic in the US premiere of Toshio Hosokawa’s Hika, with rhapsodic lines over shimmering tremolos. Cuckson returned for Takemitsu’s Nostalghia..adroitly caught the score’s mystery and introspection, her tone floating over the group’s delicate, gauzy chords.”  (The Strad)

“Violinist Miranda Cuckson’s playing.. blossomed into moments of poignant lyricism interspersed with dance-like energy. Her impeccable articulation provided a clear thematic beacon, making sure the piece never became passion devoid of musical coherence… navigated the emotional fluctuations with great finesse, allowing Cuckson’s beautiful tone to fill the hall.” (Rebecca Marchand, Boston Musical Intelligencer)

“Cuckson’s technical assurance and innate lyricism underscore the [work’s] structural coherence and generous poetry.” (Steve Smith, Time Out New York) 

“Miranda Cuckson has quickly become one of a handful of go-to musicians for chamber groups that need a violinist who can play thorny works with undeniable musicality. And though she rarely performs standard repertory, when she does…she plays with such beauty and assurance that you wish she would do it more often.” (Allan Kozinn, New York Times) 

“impeccable precision, verve and elan.. Ms. Cuckson triumphs, rising to each challenge with extraordinary dash and conviction. Clearly there is the sort of affinity between performer and composition that is temperamentally deep..Cuckson has made a name for herself as an unparalleled interpreter of the many shades of modernism with acclaimed performances of Nono, Korngold, Sessions, Carter, Xenakis, Shapey, Hersh, among others. The insightful interpretations of the three works on this album [Bartok, Schnittke, Lutoslawski] will no doubt serve as present-day benchmarks of excellence for future performers to come. They are extraordinary.” (Gappelgate Classical-Modern Review) 

“A performance of power and charm…With its long, arching phrases and intense expression across a wide range of moods and rhythms, and its expansive structure (lasting over thirty minutes), the [Sessions Solo Violin] Sonata is a Herculean task for the player. It is no carriage ride through the park on a spring day for the listener, either. But its difficulties are rewarding..We can all be grateful that she is following the path with such grace and artistry.” (Steve Hicken, Burning Ambulance)

“Beethoven’s masterful use of motivic material was admirably realized with hot-blooded precipitation in tandem with intriguing flexibility…Roger Sessions’ 1953 Sonata for Violin is brilliantly organized and boldly acerbic in its thoroughgoing pyrotechnical demands. Ms.Cuckson pounced upon the daunting challenge like a voracious tiger and devoured it whole.” (Harris Goldsmith)

“Violinist Miranda Cuckson effortlessly adapted to the rhythms of the Sri Lankan vannams.”  (Sunday Times)

“the extraordinarily clear polyphony she coaxes from her violin” (Fanfare magazine)

“US violinist Miranda Cuckson, however, brings an almost conversational elegance and easy approachability (well, kind of) to two Ferneyhough works on this rewarding disc of solo violin music. She enunciates his Unsichtbare Farben beautifully, with an effortless sense of clarity across the rapidly changing modes of playing, and she’s alive, too, to the almost Baroque brilliance of his endlessly inventive violin writing… her hugely passionate account of Ferneyhough’s Intermedio alla ciaccona that closes the disc [is] thoughtful, but fiery and spontaneous too.” (David Kettle, The Strad)

“She has plenty of technique, but wears it lightly: The technique is strictly at the service of musical communication. She was bold and refined, straightforward and sensitive, proving that these are not contradictory qualities. And she played with exceptional concentration—as though she could not be budged from her task or purpose, no matter what…[The works] are intellectual, emotional and virtuosic, all three. They take a serious violinist who is also a serious musician. Cuckson met all the requirements..” (CityArts)

“Cuckson is a tremendous talent. Her recent CDs of music by Ralph Shapey, Donald Martino and Michael Hersch are required listening for anyone interested in post-tonal chamber music.” (Christian Carey, Sequenza21)

“Cuckson’s richly dark tone and highly developed rhythmic sense give these performances tremendous power… Cuckson’s sound here is as appropriate to this Slavic soundworld as the very different (and every bit as appropriate) darkness she brought to Carter Sessions Eckardt… She continues to be an artist whose work demands attention.” (Burning Ambulance) 

“The music has an intense, inward search. In a non-showy way, this is a challenging piece, more so for the psychological demands. Cuckson is a superb musician who has been performing La lontananza since the start of this decade. She brings a classic sound to the technical challenges, and an un-self-conscious commitment to the theatrical demands…Her playing drew one into the world of the piece, which entirely replaced the lived-in world for the duration of the performance.” (New York Classical Review)

“The Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 Sz 76 by Béla Bartók, composed in 1922, is a class by itself, a fabulously intertwined double-movement work, which surprises with a dance-like style in a wide-reaching key phrase. The chamber musician Cuckson proves to be an exciting musical talent. Thus, the second movement, with the intoned rondo theme, is given every possible care. This is particularly true of the confident handling of rhythmic patterns and the gesture-rich attacks that the duo charges with dramatic fire.” (Der Opernfreund)

“Her command of line and naturalness of expression leave little doubt that Miranda Cuckson is an artist to be reckoned with.” (Gramophone Magazine)

“Cuckson didn’t just play the violin – she experienced the music.” (El Paso Times)

“This was music not only about its own workings but about something.. Cuckson excels. Her command of the music was there as always, but what made her playing so impressive was the sense that she had clear feelings about the music and crafted her phrasing to convey that meaning….the performance left a strong feeling that the work was full of the expression of poignant things for which words are inadequate…Cuckson was just as impressive in Donald Martino’s Romanza and in the more experimental Caprices No. 1 and No. 4 by Salvatore Sciarrino. She switched to a lighter bow, so as to get that special sound of Sciarrino, with gestures and notes rising out of a whispery bed of sonic activity. Her concentration in these and in a new work, Aperture Perpetuum, a post-Sciarrino etude from young composer Josiah Catalan, was stimulating.” (George Grella, New York Classical Review)

“Richly emotive” (The Wire, UK)

“a prodigiously talented player who [can] make even the thorniest contemporary scores sing” (New York Times) 

“a brilliant young performer who plays daunting contemporary music with insight, honesty, and temperament” (Anthony Tommasini, New York Times)  

“The soloist Miranda Cuckson opens, winding a line of textures, slowly adding bolder, more vibrant chords. She weaves a remarkable texture creating some very fine moments, with absolutely terrific playing. There is always a distinguishable forward line as this violinist reveals some finely shaped phrases. Throughout, a broader theme seems to be lurking. This is a formidable challenge for any violinist; here Cuckson is terrific.” (The Classical Reviewer, UK)

“Although soft-spoken and slight of frame, Cuckson is a commanding performer with technique to spare…She also has an instinctive ability for making sense out of the most abstract musical structures and conveying them to the listener. Throughout the performance her intonation was impeccable and her sound rich and focused no matter what dynamic level the music required… A challenging aural experience, but in the hands of a player with the interpretive prowess of Cuckson, that experience became magical.” (Mike Telin, Cleveland Classical) 

“it was a treat Saturday night to hear violinist and violist Miranda Cuckson, performing at Amsterdam Bar and Hall as part of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music series, play a personally curated set of works composed between 1993 and 2012…she did an incredible job navigating each piece’s twists and turns while ensuring that none of them came across as mere academic exercises. This weekend was apparently her Twin Cities debut, and I’m sure many audience members left looking forward to her return.” (Eric Prindle)

“a rendition that juxtaposes rigor and grace, violence and gentleness; this versatility makes it one of my favorite outings with this piece [Carter Duo for violin and piano] I’ve thus far heard.  Composed in 1953, Sonata for solo violin is one of Roger Sessions’ first large-scale attempts at 12-tone composition. Clocking in at over thirty minutes, it is a bear of a piece, demanding both virtuosity and considerable thoughtfulness from the violinist to bring it off: Cuckson has both in spades. I particularly enjoy her traversal of the work’s last movement, a brisk “Alla Marcia” with incendiary passagework and double stops aplenty. Cuckson brings laser beam accuracy to the numerous tricky to tune passages.” (Christian Carey)

“an exceptionally adventurous intellect…fascinating for an originality borne out of making the absolute most of any given moment” (David Patrick Stearns, Philadelphia Inquirer)

“absolute technical command, unflagging intensity..unfazed and completely focused…powerful conviction” (Buenos Aires Herald)

“Miranda Cuckson brought breath-catching commitment to Haas’s “de terrae fine” for solo violin, a blatantly emotional work that develops from poignancy into ferocious double-stopped anger, handled by Cuckson with daunting technique.” (Alan Lockwood, Musical America)

“She played for the world for the first time the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by Marcela Rodríguez … From the first chord, [she] turned into a tense string, full of fire and energy to play the rhythms of a distressing music, as if a being were persecuted by entities that threaten it, that made it vibrate, run, hide, stop full of anguish, escape from its persecutors or face them with fury, as when fighting for life in a combat to the death…Those of us who filled the hall of the Palacio de Bellas Artes listened and in the end, we applauded so much, for the performer, the composer and the director.” (El Sol de México)

“[she] played the Hindemith with a rich vein of lyricism…incredible mastery of sound from the violinist… rightly called out for an extra bow after this very impressive performance.” (Oberon’s Grove blog)

” with great splendor, Cuckson manages to connect to the audience effortlessly…connected firmly with the audience with her stage presence” (Get Classical)

“Violinist Miranda Cuckson was the superb soloist [in Paul Desenne’s violin concerto], negotiating Desenne’s demanding scales and arpeggios with second-natured ease..One could easily imagine that Cuckson, whose speciality is mostly centered in new music, could master any repertoire she set her mind to.” (Arts Birmingham, Alabama)

“Cuckson has formidable technique and big sound.. top-notch in all respects. ..Cuckson’s performance convinces me that there is a logic in the string of gestures, which elevates her performance skill even more in my eyes.” (Jay Batzner, Sequenza21)  

“I was deeply moved by the sensitivity, insight, raw technical skill, and informed musical intelligence inherent in her playing…Cuckson brings something new to the table too. She has a wisdom and perspective that does not derive from training alone, but must be felt intuitively..In my mind Cuckson feels this music in her bones, it’s part of her DNA, and I have no doubt whatsoever that Martino would have praised her splendid playing…Martino’s music is full of gesture, sporadic outbursts, and a bebop-like funkiness. Cuckson not only gets it, but has a commanding control over the extended universe of sounds emitting from her instrument. Her violin playing is incredibly agile and can instantaneously traverse in timbre from the faint whisper of a wistful sul ponticello double-stop – to a battery of full-fledged frontal attacks played fortississimo.” (James Ricci, Deconstructing Jim blog) 

“Her playing features impeccable intonation, a seemingly inexhaustible arsenal of technical abilities, and musical sensitivity. The result… is a performance that takes the listener by the hand, guiding them through the treacherous and the abstract, and granting them insight into [these] complicated but fascinating works.” (Mike D. Brownell, Allmusic)

“Normally [the Korngold Violin Concerto] is played with a kind of ironic vigor, as if to say ‘if schmaltz be the food of love, play on.’ But Miranda Cuckson and conductor JoAnn Falletta offered a female tenderness that added a lyric quality to the music’s bravura swells, it’s evocations of once-obsessive memories. Cuckson has sensitive, impeccable technique. She’s a tall, graceful woman; the unusual quality of her playing seems based on how she’s able to incorporate her flowing physical lines into her style, smoothly coming the end of a note without dragging it. Ardor, pitch and a necessary technical quickness were well in evidence, but she has a natural silkiness that made the piece even more alluring.” (The Press-Telegram)