Guitar virtuoso brings Latin flare to Brendle
By Dayton Vielguth
Old Gold and Black Reviewer

Guitar virtuoso Carlos Pérez performed a guest recital Nov. 7 in Brendle Recital Hall before a crowd of roughly 200 students and local community members. The show featured both classical European and traditional Chilean pieces by such composers as Bach, Schubert, Rodrigo, Fleury and Brouwer. All songs were performed solo by Pérez on his classical, nylon-stringed guitar.

Pérez, clad in a nondescript black tuxedo, took the stage a few minutes after 8 p.m., at which point he sat down on a piano bench and propped his left foot upon a footrest, the only two objects on an otherwise bare stage. He then opened with Bach’s “Grave-Allegro,” a song originally written for the violin, but which he transcribed for the guitar and accented with an unmistakable Latin flare. The piece stayed true to its name, as the first movement was slow and somber while the second movement was fast-paced and energetic.

During this opening piece, as well as during the remainder of the concert, Pérez treated his guitar almost as a living creature; sometimes nodding in agreement with what it had to say, sometimes swaying his entire upper body as if dancing with the guitar as his partner, never taking his eyes off of it. His facial expressions seemed to relay his reaction to his own music; they ranged from delighted to furious, from sympathetic to questioning.

Pérez quickly and quietly tuned his guitar before each song, to ensure the accuracy of each note, and took several lengthy but well-deserved bows after each number.
Other highlights of the night included a rendition of Schubert’s “Lob der Thränen.” This song was reminiscent of a lullaby, its soothing swells sedating the already captivated audience. However, they were awakened with a start by the next song, Joaquín Rodrigo’s “Pequena sevillana,” whose quick beat and rhythm were driven by Pérez’s four-fingered strumming. In addition to this powerful style of strumming, Pérez employed several other varied plucking, picking and strumming styles throughout the course of the night, which kept the performance lively and interesting.

Born in Chile in 1976, Pérez was exposed to Chilean classical guitar by his father, who instructed him until he attended the University of Chile. There, he began to study under Ernesto Quezada, who sparked his interest in Renaissance and Baroque music, a path he would follow for the rest of his career. In addition to playing with many different orchestras in several countries, he has won numerous awards in both Europe and Latin America, as well as recorded two compact discs and had his arrangements of traditional Chilean songs and dances published.