Press
Colin Clarke for Fanfare Magazine, reviewing album Samuel Lord Kalcheim: Music for Cello, March 2026
“Kalcheim writes in an approachable style; he is not quite polystylistic in outlook, but certainly embraces a variety of modes of discourse… A most interesting composer; repeated listening is recommended, as there is a lot going on under the bonnet.”
(On Sonata for Violoncello and Piano, mvt 1 ) “Kalcheim works with changing meters, but creates a real sense of flow; the changes merely add interest rather than disjunction. Most potent is the Adagio e malincolico portion of the first movement, the piano’s slowly oscillating figures against a cello plaint; it cedes to a particularly lovely, high-lying più Andante. The return to the restrained passion of the opening is skilfully managed by both composer and performers.”
(On Sonata for Violoncello and Piano, mvt 2 ) “The imagination demonstrated by Kalcheim for the second movement is evident from the off…There is a sense of gradual evolution, via motivic means as well as, earlier on, a gradually increasing tempo across variations. The perpetual motion of the third variation is superbly done; the plateau of rest that is the fourth variation (Adagio ma non troppo) is beautiful, and beautifully expansive. The fifth variation seems to reference older, perhaps Baroque forms (but in new bottles), its throwaway end prefacing a tenderly tonal lullaby, surely the emotional fulcrum of the second movement. A fine piece.”
(On Sonata for Solo Cello, mvt 3) “Kalcheim seems to test the boundaries of what can be against the rigidity of the passacaglia itself. Cerezo projects that struggle perfectly, triumphing at each and every juncture.”
Rorianne Schrade for New York Concert Review, reviewing concert Ancient Wisdom, Emerging Voices: New Music by Samuel Lord Kalcheim, March 2023
“Mr. Kalcheim is proving to be a promising and accomplished young composer with much to offer the world… Stylistically, his music…reflects a wide range of influences from Romanticism, Impressionism, early 20th-century Russian composers, and much more, but it retains overall its rootedness in a traditional tonal language. More importantly than that, though, it reflects a fidelity to his own creativity, which he cultivates with integrity and intelligence.”
Full review: https://nyconcertreview.com/reviews/ancient-wisdom-emerging-voices-new-music-by-samuel-lord-kalcheim-in-review/
Randi Bjornstad for Eugene Scene, March 2019
“Romance for Cello and Orchestra, Strolling by the Brook, a winsome piece composed and conducted by Samuel Lord Kalcheim”
Full review: https://eugenescene.org/riverside-chamber-symphony-charms-audience-with-eclectic-program/