"For what the young Romanian pianist Daniel Ciobanu shows here is simply stupendous. Despite the rapid, massive fingerings, his playing remains lively, rhythmically precise and the figurations between the cascades finely chiselled, sounding out and realising". 
"Daniel Ciobanu's well-dosed (i.e. sparing) use of pedal produces a crystalline precision, the syncopated dialogue with the orchestra becomes an intense listening experience. Only temporarily does the music enter somewhat calmer waters; Ciobanu makes us sit up and take notice with long, fine, dreamy trills, underpinned by beautifully extended string cantilenas".

Kaspar Sannemann at the Oper-aktuell.info - TONHALLE ORCHESTRA ZURICH

“The Romanian Daniel Ciobanu then took it on the grand piano with all his heart and with exuberant musicality. With him, a real keyboard wizard sat on stage, who prefers the "fine blade" and leaves the pianistic sledgehammer at home.

Tiroller Symphony Orchestra - Rhapsody in Blue with Teddy Abrams

“..the second piece of the evening - Gershwin's "F-Dur Piano Concert", in which the solo part was played by the phenomenal 32-year-old Romanian pianist Daniel Ciobanu with vitalism of his style, wonderful technique, the pouring, albeit controlled lyricism and a great sense of swing style.”

Michael Klubinski - Beethoven Easter Festival Warsaw Philharmonic

“It goes without saying that Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12 in C- minor" must be in this program. You can only be amazed by the interpretive access. Because it is simply "madly" what the pianist presents here playfully, with wit and joy…The pleasure becomes even greater with Daniel Ciobanu's encore: He can also do jazz. What remains: a fascinating, memorable recital that happily releases the audience into the night.”

Elisabeth Feller - Piano District Recital Review

“…what no one expected is that pianist Daniel Ciobanu burst the script with his radical vision of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 and the hall to collapse at the end of the first part, something extremely rare. Ciobanu squeezed every last drop of radicalism, whim, grand guignol, punctual coarseness with unexpectedly delicate phrases, which continuously builds an original and attractive discourse. That commitment to speech was his real strength, since his conviction facilitated the transmission to the public of a concert that is not really one of the most placid to listen to.”

Samuel González Casado - OSCYL Debut with Vasily Petrenko 15.2.2022

“Outstanding technique, touch culture, energetic play and an amazing musicality characterize the play of this aspiring young pianist from Piatra Neamt (Romania) in Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.”

Thomas Nussbaumer - Tiroler Symphony Orchestra Innsbruck

“Ciobanu was born for music, but he is not a Romanian for nothing. Music is in his genes, and apart from technique, style and interpretation, it is about more substantial things, reflecting everything that can happen in the human mind. Bravura, ecstasy, anger, despair, playfulness, tenderness and orphaned abandonment were all to be heard in a breathtaking succession of directly appealing piano sounds.”

Amsterdam Concertgebouw Debut by WENNEKE SAVENIJE 27.11.2021

“You, a regular visitor to the concert halls, will want from time to time a concert like the one offered by Daniel Ciobanu.An overflowing personality, a creative and volcanic interpreter, launched, without limits, to an execution of great sound display where in every turn, in every nuance, there was an idea, an intention.Eclectic and restless personality, festival promoter, magazine editor... We are talking, therefore, about a cultural animal whose activity overflows beyond the sphere of concert.”

C.Crespo Garcia “Orozco Festival” Cordoba 11.11.21

“the hands of Romanian-born maestro Daniel Ciobanu produced a mesmerising demonstration of his talents. Working with the full orchestra, Ciobanu had the audience in the palm of his hands " 

Karl Hornsey , Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Debut

“ There are pianists whom one can admire for their technical accomplishments, for dexterity, for musicality: Ciobanu goes one step further and forces his listener to rethink the way that a piece of music is engraved in his mind... he has a very distinctive touch, clear, pointed, precise and that allows him to paint with a sharp relief.. his control of a tonal palette was consummate, magisterial, striking! “

Roman Markowicz , Carnegie Hall Review October 2018

“Ciobanu’s blinding technique alone made this an exciting experience, and his power, smooth and quick fingering, and precise delicacy supported deeply musical and expressive playing... he clearly loves the sound of a piano—striking chords, playing fast figures, and pedalling as a way to relish the ring and glow coming off the strings..few pianists can make a Steinway sound as good as Ciobanu did Thursday night”

George Grella, New York Classical Review , Carnegie Hall Debut

"A full and luminous sound, immense pianistic poise, sensibility, an originality without overwhelming ego." 

Alain Lompech , BNDES Rio de Janeiro Piano Competition Review

"Only one word can adequately describe this performance...Sensational ! Particularly exciting was the sense of devilry that permeated the faster variations, in which the notes glittered and dazzled like showers of diamonds. "

Michael Traub (The Citizen Gauteng) UNISA Competition Final Round Review

"A name to be shouted from the rooftops... a young man whose staggering virtuoso credentials easily match those of the young Horowitz, Cziffra and Rosenthal... this guy goes the extra quarter mile.... an easy confidence, corruscating brilliance and gay (in the old sense of the word) abandon with ear, heart and mind in perfect alliance ... unforgettable."

John Humphreys, Chairman Dudley International Piano Competition

"Le Roumain Petrica Daniel Ciobanu, 23 ans, l’extraterrestre de la bande (tenue de rockeur, chignon sur le sommet du crâne) est surtout un inspiré, un coloriste, un inventeur captivant ... "

Martine Mergeay "LibreBelgique" 2014