Guitarist Ito Builds on Solid Foundation

One of the unfortunate aftereffects of the closure of Ambassador Auditorium last season has been the attrition hereabout of classical guitar recitals, a regular feature in that grand little hall. In an impoverished cultural atmosphere, each event takes on increased importance, which added to the allure of Masakazu Ito’s appearance at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon.

Born in Japan and a winner of the Andres Segovia International Guitar Composition, Ito is now chairman of the guitar department at Colorado State University. In the main, Sunday’s recital was built from pillars of the guitar repertoire--Spanish stalwarts Frederico Moreno-Torroba and Francisco Tarrega, pieces from the Bach cello suites, a few gems from Brazil’s Heitor Villa-Lobos--on which Ito displayed conspicuous skill and tonal range.

The guitarist also veered away from the tried and true in small doses. Yuquijiro Yocoh’s “Sakura” is a set of variations on a theme, a familiar, minor-mode Japanese folk song, here treated with koto-like effects and making colorful use of harmonics and muted strings. Russian composer Nikita Koshkin’s “Usher Waltz”--after the Edgar Allan Poe tale--is a quirky, house-of-mirrors waltz that goes pleasantly amok.

In spite of the occasional digital glitch, Ito proved himself to be a clean and technically adroit player, whizzing through thorny passages with aplomb. But he also waxed sensitively on softer, more lyrical moments in the program--the genteel bravado of Moreno-Torroba’s Andante, from his Sonatina, and the vision of restrained loveliness in Villa-Lobos’ “Schottish.” Nice to see the instrument again--played boldly, at that.