“Sorrell led superb voices and a stylish orchestra in a splendid performance. Wonderful vitality… lithe, glowing and elegant. It’s difficult for a “Messiah” performance to stand out. But this one did.” (read more)
– THE NEW YORK TIMES, Anthony Tommasini, chief critic (review of Messiah with New York Philharmonic), 2021
“Sorrell is an absolute dynamo onstage and a pleasure to see conduct…. a force to be reckoned with. She brought the energy and creativity that… have granted her celebrity status within the early music world. Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G Minor…. was a thrilling experience.” (read more)
– SAN FRANCISCO CLASSICAL VOICE (review with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra), 2019
“The Philadelphia Orchestra performed its freshest Messiah in years. Jeannette Sorrell was on the podium, bringing revelations.” (read more)
– THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, David Patrick Stearns, chief critic (review of Messiah), 2022
“Jeannette Sorrell led a sonorous performance, drawing captivating singing from the chorus… inspiring the New York Philharmonic’s players to embrace fleeter, Handelian style. The Apollo’s Fire chorus, a gem of an ensemble, anchored the evening with a beguiling sound. Intensely emotional… a thrilling depiction of Pharaoh’s army drowning in the Red Sea.” (read more)
– NEW YORK TIMES (review of Israel in Egypt), 2023
“Joyfully triumphant… Tightly paced, forcefully dramatic, and brilliantly realized by Jeannette Sorrell who secured a sonorous performance from the New York Philharmonic, chorus, and soloists. Handel’s Israel in Egypt, in a version created by Sorrell… was especially powerful and moving.” (read more)
– THE CLASSICAL SOURCE, 2023
“A distinguished performance by the New York Philharmonic under Jeannette Sorrell… Sorrell led a confident, fluid, and (by design) theatrical performance.” (read more)
– CLASSICAL VOICE NORTH AMERICA (Journal of the National Music Critics Association), review of Messiah, 2021
“In an impressive New York Philharmonic debut, Jeannette Sorrell elicited stylish and agile playing and stirring singing for an evening full of drama and vitality.” (read more)
– THE CLASSICAL SOURCE (London), review of Messiah, 2021
“Presiding over the sold-out concert with her usual stylish vitality, director and harpsichordist Jeannette Sorrell… led her brilliant ensemble of period instrumentalists with infectious gusto. Sorrell’s arrangement of a 17th century Spanish “party song” by Juan Aranes capped off a flawless concert delightfully.” (read more)
– John von Rhein, CHICAGO CLASSICAL REVIEW, 2023
“In classical and Baroque repertoire, Jeannette Sorrell is difficult to surpass. She combines the best aspects of musicological scholarship with a modernist sensibility. Her appearances with the New World Symphony have always been outstanding… her compilation of highlights from Handel’s Water Music was nothing short of revelatory and Mozart’s rarely heard ballet music from Idomeneo proved an utter delight.” (read more)
– SOUTH FLORIDA CLASSICAL REVIEW (“10 Best Concerts of 2022”), review with New World Symphony, 2022
“…A Messiah imbued with a striking vigor and precision not heard since the pandemic. Sorrell’s respect for and mastery of this score was evident in her fluid yet exacting gestures; the alchemical fusion of choral and instrumental sound that she drew from the ensemble was transcendent.” (read more)
– CHICAGO CLASSICAL REVIEW, 2022
“Sorrell led an outstanding performance of Mozart’s Haffner Symphony. Alert, lively and lithe, the first movement was joyous instead of mistakenly monumental.” (read more)
– Seen & Heard International (London), review at Severance Hall, Cleveland, 2022
“Sorrell is a thrillingly adventurous interpreter… intrepid imagination” (read more)
– Twin Cities Pioneer Press (review with the St Paul Chamber Orchestra), 2018
“A resplendent performance… breathtaking. The production belonged entirely to Ms. Sorrell.” (read more)
— NEW YORK TIMES, 2016
“Superlative music-making… combining European stylishness with “can-do” American entrepreneurism. The results were thrilling.”
—THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, London, 2014 (“5 Best Musical Moments of 2014”)
“Other masters of the [baroque] style have been paying visits, but none has summoned up as much energy, enthusiasm and excitement from the orchestra as Sorrell.” (read more)
— TWIN CITIES PIONEER PRESS (debut with St Paul Chamber Orchestra), 2017
“The lightning strike of genius can happen, sometimes even repeatedly, to those willing to earn it. Jeannette Sorrell is one such person.” (read more)
– SEEN & HEARD INTERNATIONAL, 2017
“Sorrell is an outstanding Mozartian… Her Mozart achieves a near-perfect combination of real dramatic cogency and the ability to sing….”
— FANFARE Magazine on Mozart’s Haffner & Jupiter Symphonies
“Sorrell is a masterful musical storyteller. Her adaptation [of Handel’s Israel in Egypt] gives the work a coherent, compelling dramatic arc, brought off brilliantly by her singers and players. I can only think that Handel would wholeheartedly approve.” (read more)
– SEEN & HEARD INTERNATIONAL, 2017
“For those who thought they knew Messiah, the performance conducted by Jeannette Sorrell was a revelation. Messiah has seldom seemed so dramatic, so alive with detail, yet with an overall sense of the work’s architecture. This Messiah will last in my memory for a very long time.” (read more)
– BACHTRACK.com, 2014
“Led by exuberant, flame-haired Jeannette Sorrell, they were flamboyant and fun… a hugely enjoyable concert.” (read more)
–THE BIRMINGHAM POST, UK, 2014