Romero Courts Young Chopin Skillfully

Revelations, in the form of discovered works as well as excellent playing,came at the beginning and end of the opening performance of Gustavo Romero’s six-recital Chopin series. First there were the unfamiliar delights of the Rondo, Opus 1, and the Rondo (“A la Mazur”), Opus 5, then in two encores, a Polonaise in B-flat written when the composer was 7 years old and another early piece, the Nocturne in E, a product of the teenage Chopin.

All in all, Romero delivered a lot of admirable piano playing Thursday night in the intimate listening room at the Athenaeum Music and Art Library, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary with Romero’s Chopin cycle. The San Diego native, 34 and now a faculty member at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, showed an easy musicality, solid technical resources, a joy in illuminating miniatures and an unfeigned authority in this music--in short, strong rapport with the poetic and lyric elements in the composer’s art.

Chopin’s epic qualities--strongest in the ballades, scherzos, etc.--will, or should, emerge in the later installments, beginning with the second program, July 11, when Romero and the Athenaeum’s handsome Hamburg Steinway arrive at the G-minor Ballade and the second book of Etudes.

There were exquisite moments in this first outing, arranged according to opus number, particularly in the three beloved Nocturnes of Opus 9.

Here, Romero displayed kaleidoscopic detail and a long line--a genuine arc in each item. Nothing intruded on the composer’s flow and articulation of inspired melody, least of all the many florid elaborations.

Of course, in the earliest works, the elaborations steal the show, reminding us that Chopin was a man of his time, following bel-canto formulas borrowed from opera. Both these rondos abound in complex and thrilling passage work meant only to delight the senses; they certainly succeeded in that here, yet Romero also added a potent sense of direction in both cases.

Stylish and pungent readings of the Mazurkas of Opus 6 and Opus 7 played just before the nocturnes, provided a contrast in mood that Romero detailed joyously. Each of the mazurkas tells its own story, and the pianist let each one speak to and seduce the listener.

Closing the program proper, the pianist took on the burdens of the Twelve Etudes, Opus 10, at all times negotiating their difficulties, yet not consistently delivering all the messages in each one. A not-quite-tangible nervousness marked the total, as if these pieces are not a regular part of Romero’s repertory. He played each neatly but without the abandon or projection of character displayed elsewhere.

Three encores returned the program to Chopin’s core, that characteristic sensibility of uncomplicated lyricism and poetry. And best was last: the B-minor Waltz in a pristine reading of simple beauty.

What was missing in this event had to surprise admirers of the Athenaeum’s century of supporting the arts: informative program notes and scholarly commentary worthy of this six-program series.

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* Gustavo Romero continues to play the complete published solo piano works of Frederic Chopin, July 11 and 16 at the Neurosciences Institute, 10640 John Jay Hopkins Drive, San Diego; and July 25 and Aug. 1 and 5 at the Athenaeum, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. 7 p.m. $19. (858) 454-5872.