MUSIC REVIEW : GUITARIST BARRUECO IN RECITAL AT ROYCE HALL

Among the current crop of steel-fingered wonders, guitarist Manuel Barrueco is distinguished by his flair for transcribing. That was readily apparent in a nicely structured program offered Sunday evening at Royce Hall.

The “Miller’s Dance” from Falla’s “Three-Cornered Hat” is a transcriber’s staple, but Barrueco added three other dances from the ballet, and prefaced them with Rodrigo’s homage to Falla, “Invocation et Danse.” The result was a stimulating, satisfying set, unobtrusively propelled by Barrueco’s formidable technique.

The only music on the agenda originally for the guitar, besides Rodrigo’s, was Takemitsu’s elegant arrangement of the Beatles’ “Yesterday,” and his “Folios” I-III. This was another inspired grouping, with “Yesterday” illuminating aspects of Takemitsu’s sophisticated style. The moody, fitful music also reflected Barrueco’s austere, reserved presence.

In both timbre and texture, Mozart’s keyboard music would seem as apt to the guitar as Scarlatti’s often transcribed harpsichord pieces. Barrueco, however, is one of the few proponents of both. It was his two Scarlatti sonatas, in fact, that sounded less idiomatic on his guitar than Mozart’s Sonata in G, K. 283.

A peculiar unevenness in accompanimental figures marred the Mozart Andante, so beautifully poised otherwise. This inconsistent rhythmic quirk also surfaced occasionally in Bach’s familiar Chaconne.

The Cuban-born guitarist seemed aloof and easily distracted throughout the evening. Nonetheless, he responded to vociferous applause with another transcription, Granados’ Spanish Dance No. 3, in encore.