In Anna S. Dębowska’s review after the third stage of the Chopin Competition we read: Jakub Kuszlik played three waltzes with op. 34 as if he was born to dance, but who is waltzing today? And yet – Kuszlik caused that waltzes from Op. 34 swirled and flowed with salon elegance. In the Waltz in A minor, a true Chopin regret was heard, but he began the Waltz in F major with bravado and made this work a real gem. He also beautifully played the Ballade in F major.

Łucja Siedlik wrote in Kurier Chopinowski: Ballade in F major, Op. 38 was led by Jakub Kuszlik in a wide, smooth arch. One could hear the common source of the forces clashing in this work. He moved smoothly from fragments of nostalgia to dramatic passages, and the delicate thread of pulse and melodic line did not break even for a moment. I was enchanted by his Waltzes Op. 34 – A flat major was subtle, pleasantly swayed, truly melancholic in A minor, as if played from behind a glass, F major delicate, shrouded in a cloud of overtones. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be interesting to listen to the accompaniment, not obviously guided, in free articulation.