Music Reviews : Guitarist Brandon at Ambassador

When guitarist David Brandon gave his first solo recital at Ambassador Auditorium Monday night, the occasion left an unusually large expanse between excitement and disappointment. Although Brandon is an outstanding technician whose precise control of details is stunning to experience, his imagination and inventiveness as a composer contain some significant shortcomings.

His performance of Sor’s Grand Solo, Opus 14, provided the evening’s best display of his arsenal of effects. Familiar works by Ponce, Villa-Lobos and Turina also showed off his unaggressive but masterful technique.

But the second part of the program, which consisted of mostly original compositions by Brandon, turned sour. His simple tonal works proved idiomatic, playful exercises for the guitar, but as music were far too serene and saccharine to make a convincing impression.

Perhaps the only exception to this rule was his “Country Jamboree,” an explosive, humorous display of virtuosic country music licks imitating various instruments. But the other original works, two of which were described by Brandon as “pastoral compositions which tell a story,” lulled along in an exaggerated, implausible state of New Age bliss.

A showcase of American composers included works in a similar light, tonal vein by Dharma Caponigro, Craig Fletcher and Anthony D’Addono, but did little to support Brandon’s aesthetic statement.