Como Underlines Guitar Repertoire

In classical guitar circles, the complaint is sometimes heard that the repertoire is limited because of the relative youth of the guitar as a concert instrument. But in his captivating recital at the Westwood United Methodist Church on Sunday afternoon, guitarist Ricardo Como demonstrated that there’s a rich world of guitar music out there, waiting to be tapped, transcribed and explored.

Apart from the pleasures of technical bravura and musicality, the concert was a garden of seldom-heard delights. Among the treats were fruitful adaptations of tangos by the late, great Astor Piazzolla and the fascinating guitar music of Cuban composer Leo Brouwer, represented by his Fuga No. 1 from the ‘50s and his ‘80s-vintage tour de force “El Decameron Negro.�

Colombia-born Como is a dynamic player who digs into passages of rhythmic verve and percussive ferocity but also pays close heed to the fine points of tonal color. He displayed a remarkably fast and fluid tremolo on “Campana del Alba,� by Spanish composer Eduardo Sainz de la Maza, and then exerted a fittingly muscular approach on music by Antonio Lauro and Roland Dyens.

Russian composer Nikita Koshkin’s “Usher Waltz (after Edgar Allan Poe)� is a deconstructionist work that slips into an attractive madness. It was heard in the area a few weeks back, as played by Masakazu Ito, but Como brought more definition to the extremes of tenderness and explosiveness.

As heard in Westwood, Como is a player who lays claim to the twin virtues of passion and clarity. To boot, he’s on an admirable repertoire-expanding mission.