Music Reviews : Guitarist David Starobin in Recital at Caltech

The success of guitarist David Starobin as an interpreter of contemporary music made his Wednesday evening recital at Caltech’s Ramo Auditorium, Pasadena, an unexpected though pleasant surprise. In a program devoted entirely to the music of Fernando Sor and Mauro Giuliani, Starobin evidently made an attempt to rediscover his roots in late Classical repertory.

His intelligent approach yielded commanding results, though the simplicity of the music was sometimes overpowered by his innate aggressiveness. Two diminutive guitars--copies of instruments from the era--brought a provocative dimension to the music while contrasting sharply with Starobin’s large build.

The first half of the program, dedicated to Sor’s music, romped playfully, though less tidily than ideal. A overly romanticized, but handsome reading of “Souveirs d’une soiree a Berlin” started off the evening, followed by five other shorter Sor works.

Following an intermission, the Giuliani half explored a wider variety of moods and techniques. Among ten selections was a work described by Starobin as “the single most important 19th-Century guitar piece,” the Variations, Opus 20. His reverent performance of the work convincingly revealed a sophisticated architecture of dynamics and articulations.