According to the liner
notes, Christopher Caliendo composes
in a genre new to me, ‘classical world
music’. I take it to mean, using a classical
music education and background to make
something more from material in a ‘world
music’ style. In the case of this CD,
the styles are broadly Latin with American
pop and jazz infusions; we can hear
the elements of flamenco, samba, habanera,
tango, Argentinean milonga and others.
Or so the notes tell us; in practice,
there is a tendency for one piece to
sound much like another. Given the intensity
of the playing, which is undeniable
– no way on this CD is the guitar playing
merely banal and the flute cool and
emotionless – the effect can be pretty
relentless.
The other major downside
seems to me to be the uninteresting
melodic writing for the flute; more
piquancy and surprise would have been
welcome. In contrast, Caliendo’s work
for the guitar holds far more interest.
I found myself particularly enjoying
the few moments when the guitar goes
solo, for example in the cadenza passage
in track 10, ‘Risorgimento’. Zucker’s
playing does not lack colour or warmth,
though some – including me, though probably
not fans of James Galway – may find
her vibrato excessive.
Both artists receive
a laudatory write-up in the notes. From
the quality of musicianship on show
here, the praise is well-deserved, though
one could wish that notes would not
preserve such fatuous press comments
as ‘America’s next Gershwin’. Even were
it necessary to identify another Gershwin,
there is nothing here to hint at Caliendo’s
being the one.
On the evidence, he
is a very good guitarist with a feel
for the rhythms of the world but without
the gift that would mandate the use
of a melodic instrument to enhance his
excellent playing. However, others –
devotees of the guitar/flute combination,
perhaps – may feel differently. Certainly,
this is not background music; the music,
reinforced by the passion of the playing,
wants to be heard.
Roger Blackburn
Christopher Caliendo (guitar) 
