Caltabiano's "music has
the fluid movement of Persichetti, the combativeness
of
Carter, the puckish sonic combinations of Davies."
-- American Record Guide
Ronald Caltabiano's music has achieved "a
remarkable synthesis of modernism and romanticism, of violence and lyricism, of integrity and accessibility."
-- Music and Musicians (London)
Concertini
"...a striking and
original work in 10 movements, each in a different character...
The extraordinary thing was the coherence and continuity between
movements achieved despite their individuality... Caltabiano
produces strong, evocative gestures by way of musical ideas...
This work calls out for repetition..."
-- San Francisco Chronicle
Concerto for Saxophone
"...Caltabiano builds
an elaborate structure (a single movement) on a cantus firmus
and uses a language of amenable expressionism. There is a great
combustion of motives and frequent whiplash climaxes...but the
clarity of discourse remains unruffled."
-- The [London] Sunday Times
Concerto for Six Players
"Solo instrumental
lines emerged from a discreetly textured web of sound...[creating
a] sense of pulse on which the music rode into moments of wonderful
serenity..."
-- The [Great Britain] Independent
Fanfares
"The kaleidoscopic
colours of its central Decisivo movement and the dazzling scale-figures
and massive chords of its Declamando finale revealed some of
the harpsichord's most unsuspected timbral landscapes."
-- South China Morning Post
Lines from Poetry
"It is an exciting
and beautiful composition -- a moving work that is highly recommended."
-- American String Teacher
Lyric Duo
"The one-movement
work has firm shape and definition, alternating between insistent
repeated-note material and lyrical wide-ranging melodies. The
instruments are both fully exploited and dialogue textures are
refreshingly inventive."
-- New York Times
Metaphor
"...a particularly enjoyable work...Caltabiano ... create[s]
a modern musical language for chorus, singable yet not predictable...The third piece inhabited the most
distinctive harmonic world, resonant but not triadic, with haunting seconds and tritones."
-- San Francisco Classical Voice
Northwest!
"an attractive, vigorous work rooted in the populist tradition
of Aaron Copland...It has an outdoorsy sound, with its expansive strings and pungent clashes of brass
and percussion."
-- Cincinnati Post
Poplars
"...a riveting creation...deftly
orchestrated, characterized by grandiose, arching brass lines,
virtuoso percussion, lush string melodies and fluttering winds."
-- Musical America
Preludes, Fanfares,
and Toccatas
"It's one 19-minute
span that cross-cuts snarling cacophony, rhythmic athleticism,
and a lyricism rare in contemporary music."
-- The Dallas Morning News
Prolegomenon
"In its color and
rhythmic impetus, the work -- which was beautifully played by
the orchestra -- demonstrated anew that [this] composer
is one of this country's best."
-- The [Baltimore] Sun
Quilt Panels
"From a simple set
of notes...it builds to something grand and sad. What was most
impressive was the young composer's control of his materials,
his ability to suggest nostalgia without becoming sentimental
and his ability to write idiomatically..."
-- The [Baltimore] Sun
Rotations
"...a skillfully woven
musical tapestry which belies the undoubted challenges which
confront the 16 horn players... Although Caltabiano's work is
only five minutes in duration, it stands out as the highlight
of the recording."
-- Melbourne Herald-Sun
Sonata for Solo Cello
"...a serious work
that challenges both performer and audience; it deserves frequent
programming."
-- MLA Notes
String Quartet No.
1
"It is a highly expressive,
imaginatively structured piece of music..."
-- The Washington Post
"[It] works within the fiercer confines of modernist dissonance,
but in a way that suggests an opening up of that idiom to more
engaging kinds of communication."
-- The New York Times
String Quartet No.
2
"This vivid three-movement
work is a pitched battle between lurching thicket of dissonance
and rhythms...and an open, expressive (almost tender) lyrical
element first sounded by the viola and later taken up by the
cello. Caltabiano has a gifted ear for expressionistic sound,
and the Emerson [Quartet's] performance was gripping."
-- The [Baltimore] Sun
