Guitarist Cauvin deftly displays youthful exuberance, sensitivity

Bounding onstage at Pepperdine’s Raitt Recital Hall on Sunday afternoon with shaggy hair and pale yellow boots, Thibault Cauvin may have resembled your average teenage fan of the Vines. But once this 19-year-old French classical guitarist launched into the formal thicket of Scarlatti’s sonatas, transcribed from harpsichord, something else was clearly afoot.

The verdict: He boasts a sure dexterity and a confident way with tonal shading and dynamics; he brims with youthful bravura but also understands the importance of restraint and control of color. He’s decidedly on his way.

Cauvin, the son of Bordeaux, France-based guitarist-composer Phillippe Cauvin, began playing in earnest at age 6. He already has a long list of competition prizes, including first prize last year at the Stotsenberg International Guitar Competition at Pepperdine.

Sunday’s recital affirmed his still-ripening strengths as a technically adroit and highly musical player who’s also blessed with open ears.

Diversity was a definite plus in the program. Cauvin made his way from the Baroque through 19th and 20th century works (Giulio Regondi’s virtuosic, Paganini-esque showpiece “Introduction and Caprice”; Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s rich, neoromantic Sonata) up to Dusan Bogdanovic’s fittingly titled “Jazz Sonatina.” The harmonic palette of that work, played fluently, is reminiscent of American jazzman Ralph Towner.

For the sake of continuity, Cauvin’s decision to move Leo Brouwer’s Sonata from its announced spot midway to the end of the recital proved a smart one. The Cuban composer, responsible for some of the most intriguing modern guitar music, veers back and forth in time and musical allusions, mixing pensive dissonance with fleeting references to Scarlatti, Pasquini and boleros. Cauvin brought surprising maturity to the emotionally complex score.

For an encore, he played his father’s “Rocktypicovin,” dedicated to him. A light and breezy affair that incorporates Brazilian and flamenco touches, it unfolded with a fervor no doubt colored by both youth and familial pride.