Xuefei Yang Plucks at the Heart

Beijing-born Xuefei Yang made her fourth appearance at Herbst Theatre on Saturday, presented by San Francisco Performances and the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts. The first Chinese classical guitarist to launch an international career, Yang was so accomplished as a teen that John Williams gave two of his own Smallman guitars to the Beijing Conservatory so that she would have excellent instruments to play.

Now in her 30s and a ravishing interpreter of traditional guitar repertoire, she has justifiably become a San Francisco favorite. Her program included Bach, Spanish classics, some infrequently played Romantic repertoire, and a fine selection of music by 20th-century Brazilian composers. Sadly, there were none of the beautiful arrangements of traditional Chinese music or the contemporary compositions on Chinese themes that she has been commissioning and presenting on her recordings.

The evening began with the four-movement Sonata BWV 1001 by J.S. Bach. Yang captured the improvisatory nature of the opening Adagio with elaborate arpeggiation, exquisite ornamentation, and rhythmic flexibility. She clearly articulated each subject entrance in the complex Fuga, while at the same time highlighting Bach’s marvelously varied treatment of rhythm, harmony, counterpoint, and texture and creating a remarkable sense of dramatic momentum. The Siciliana was pastoral and lilting, the Presto virtuosic and exuberant.

Her impassioned interpretation evoked the dark tragedy of Spain’s 20th century.

Three 20th-century Spanish composers, Reginald Sainz de la Maza, Joaquin Rodrigo, and Manuel de Falla, were featured in the next section of the program. El Vito, Petenera, and Zapateado, by Sainz de la Maza, were the least interesting pieces of the set, lacking the sophistication of the works of Falla and Rodrigo while similarly exploring flamenco influences.

Rodrigo’s masterwork for the solo guitar, Invocation y danza, is an homage to Manuel de Falla and is based on a theme from Falla’s only guitar piece, Homenaje pour le Tombeau de Claude Debussy. Yang gave a marvelously dark and mysterious interpretation to the Invocation and built the tension in its intricate pattern of rasgueado chords and melody until it culminated in the fiery Danza. Her impassioned interpretation evoked the dark tragedy of Spain’s 20th century, as experienced by both Falla and Rodrigo.

Yang paired the Rodrigo with “El Corregidor” and “Danza del Molinero” from Falla’s early opera El sombrero de tres picos. She perfectly captured the self-importance and comic pomposity of Falla’s lecherous magistrate, as well as the vigorous passion of the Miller’s dance of the farruca with rhythmic flexibility and a wide tonal palette, though she passed up the opportunity to play Falla’s Homenaje, a somber work more related to Rodrigo’s Invocation y Danza and perhaps its inspiration.

Chopin on the Guitar

It was refreshing to hear Yang’s performance of Romantic repertoire. Chopin’s Valse, Op. 69, No.2 and Grande Valse brillante, Op. 18 are of course well-known to pianists yet seldom played on guitar. Yang’s own arrangements were well-suited to the instrument, and the performances were excellent, if perhaps a little reserved.

Her encores included the saddest version of Tárrega’s Recuerdos de la Alhambra I have ever heard.

Regondi’s Air varie de l’opera de Bellini, I Capuleti e I Montecchi, though written and performed in the 1850s, was lost for many years and only recently rediscovered; this was the first time I’ve heard the work in concert. The monumental style seems to be strongly influenced by Liszt’s opera fantasies and requires a true virtuoso for performance. Yang rose to the challenge, giving a strong, persuasive account.

The recital concluded with stylish performances of Brazilian guitar music. Yang used exquisite tonal variety to color Antonio Carlos Jobim’s sensuous and sentimental love songs Modinha and Luiza, and her perfect timing and swing made his Felicidade infectiously joyous. The Baden Jazz Suite by Czech guitarist Jiří Jirmal and based on the music of Brazilian guitarist and composer Baden Powell was performed with the same exquisitely balanced qualities.

An enthusiastic audience was rewarded with encore performances of Rodríguez’ fiery tango La cumparsita and the saddest version of Tárrega’s Recuerdos de la Alhambra I have ever heard.