Music : Romero Clan Converges on Ambassador

Every season, one or more of the celebrated Romero clan visits Ambassador Auditorium. Saturday night, the entire guitar quartet turned up, easily captivating its near-capacity audience.

One element that makes the Romeros so interesting and enduring is the convergence of different musical temperaments. Yet, whether they were playing together or apart, one wasn’t as aware of their differences Saturday as in the past, particularly in their intricately blended work in a marvelous transcription of a Telemann Concerto in D.

There was a moment of unintended humor with a confused false start to the Finale of J. S. Bach’s “Brandenburg” Concerto No. 3, but once on track, the transcription rattled along with a strikingly Spanish flavor.

By concert’s end, the quartet had zeroed in on Spain proper with a zesty rendition of “The Miller’s Dance” from Falla’s “El Sombrero de Tres Picos” and a concluding flamenco number that took off with abandon in the home stretch.

While Angel and Pepe have long been recognized as the stars of the Romeros, the solo spots are still democratically passed around. Indeed, patriarch Celedonio had the evening’s most ingratiating solo moment, playing a delightful flamenco-style Fantasia of his own.

Celin ably chipped in a pair of gentle preludes by Villa-Lobos, while Pepe came up with a Hungarian Fantasy by Johann Kaspar Mertz and Barrios-Mangore’s Waltz No. 4. Angel offered a rather personal transcription of Albeniz’s famous “Sevilla.”