MUSIC REVIEWS : GUITARIST PARKENING AT ROYCE

The guitarist’s curse is not broken fingernails or broken strings--it’s limited repertory. For Christopher Parkening, who appeared in Royce Hall, UCLA, on Saturday, the problem of what to play is a particularly sticky one.

The Los Angeles-born-and-raised musician favors melodic chestnuts at the expense of works that might prove tougher nuts to crack. For all his virtuosic gifts--and they were displayed consistently on Saturday--the guitarist seems content with the tried and true.

He offered a sampling of Baroque lute transcriptions, some Granados and Albeniz, a group of Spanish duets with guitarist David Brandon, some Villa-Lobos, a dash of Sor, favorites by Ravel and Debussy, etc. Tansman’s forgettable “Suite in Modo Polonico” proved the least familiar work.

Parkening’s tone and technique never faltered. Nonetheless, he should consider learning something new or offbeat. Right now, limited repertory remains his only Sor spot.