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Thursday, March 23, 1972THE FLAT HATPage 5De larreShwsBy Dan Coaikley-FLAT HAT Reviewerv fa yt k # ♦A a ~ ^ .. • % m * p * * \ J ,1m| ^ •* *) s jdlTechniquem*•!WarmthBringing along his nimblefingers and a repertoire firmlyguitar music, Rey de la Ton returned to William and Maryafter a ten year absence.Though famous for a reluctance to assert himself, de la Torre showed no hesitation Tuesday to bare his virtuosityon the guitar to the full house1 at Phi Beta Kappa Hall.unbelievable speedBoth pieces by Fernando the father of all guitar virtuosi, provided excellent op * portunity for de la Torre to prove his mastery of the instrument.flowing into one another without losing the gentle melodic line.In the sonata as well as the “Variations on a Theme by Mozart” of Sor, de la Torre kepttury with seven short pieces by an unknown South American composer, Alfonso Broqua.Harmonic OdditiesShades of IntonationThe sonata by Sor, in particular, is a demanding work that requires the performer to use every resource he can rrrus -ter to keep the changing rhythmsshades of intonation to enliven the.music even more. Although the tone of the harmony was weak in places, de la Torreplayed the Sor boldly with excellent interpretive feeling.After showing his ability to interpret traditional music, he moved into the twentieth cen-The music dates from about 1929 and contains a great number of technical and harmonic oddities, challenging the performer to carry hasic Latin rhythms under some startlingly disonant chords,De la Torre executed the pieces amazingly, particularlythe last, Ritmos Camperous,* which he noted was one of the most difficult short works he had ever encountered. It is exceptionally rare that you can hear modern works for the gui -tar in live concert, and even rarer that you hear someoneplay them as well as de la Torre.Tribute to^LlobetStrong Rhythmic Powerto rush the notes a bit, his strong rhythmic power held to -gether even the most difficult technical flashes, of which there wps no small number in the program. De la Torre is famous as an interpreter of modern guitar music with many,record -ings concentrating on experimental techniques on the in-De la Torre divided the pro -gram into three parts: tradi-♦tional guitar music, modern guitar and modern adaptations of Spanish folk melodies.His traditional pieces were probably the weakest playing of the evening with a few momentsTTTground of frenetic virtuosity.In the Six Lute Pieces byOscar Chilesotti. de la Torpe embellished the lines with numerous trills while charging through the dancelike rhythmsThe remainder of the program was a tribute to de la Torre’s teacher, the master virtuoso Miguel Llobet.He began with “Ten Catalonian Folk-Songs’’ put together by Llobet from various folkmelodies of southern Spain. Dela Torre introduced the work with a casual explanation of themeaning of the titles and the nature of each piece.Llobet’s arrangements contained some brilliant examples of modern experimentation with the tonal and harmonic effects of the classical guitar. The melodies remained simple and lyrical with such a vast array of tone colorings that, at times, it’s hard to believe you’re hearing an unamplified, unaltered guitar.De la Torre was obviously very fond of the short melodies and played them with great sensitivity for the gentle nuances rat—the- tonal variations sug-1 gest. He gave the folk songs asensual and impressionisticflavor that held thelistenel* vir-De la Torre in concerttually breathless until’.the end.Granados’ Dancev. • *-•-*Circle K Selectsof OfficersCircle K, the men’s service club of theCollege, has elected its new. board of officers for the next year.Ifof the Mooretown and Chicka-* * . I . » | • . » ^ t • Ahominy .areas around Williams -burliiIThe new officers are: Loupresident, Dave Anderson, vice president; Rob Hottel, secretary; Barry Mow-day, treasurer; John Sierwood.projects' chairman; TomChee-zum, membership chairman; and Bill Bowles, publicity chairman.Steiner to SpeakIICircle K runs a childcare project every afternoon Monday throu^i Friday. In addition, they maintain Saturday and Sun •The Ferguson seminar onPublishing will sponsor a special speaker tonight, March 23, at 8 pm in the Campus Center Ballroom. George Steiner, of Cambridge University, England, will discuss the topic “After the Book...?”Steiner will be in Wren 311at 10 am and Wren 200 at 11 am Friday, March 24. Those' 1b mMHns him a rutHe rounded out the concert with two transcriptions by Llobet of piano works by Enrique de Granados: the famous “Spanish Dance No. 5” and,“La Maja de Goya.” .. The rumbling quality of the dance tended to obscure the main line of melody, but de la Torre’s playing was sufficiently strong to carry the power of Granados' music. The final piece was a humorous fantasy in syncopated rhythms and oddly popping up notes, that ended the concert in a relaxed and friendly manner.He returned for one encore, a short Llobet transcription of a piece by Manuel de Falla, and then left with a smile.De la Torre is the kind of warm and sensitive artist that you wish would never stop playing. Instead, you must wait until he plays
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Williamsburg Flat Hat
Williamsburg, Virginia, US
Thu, Mar 23, 1972
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USA 09 Apr 2023
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