Young Mexican master guitarist Francisco Bibriesca wows Beijing afficionados and looks for local tunes.

By BRUCE VEDDER

CHEN Lu was top of the queue when the doors opened. “It’s not often a guitar genius comes to town,” said the 22-year-old guitarist who wore a faded Jimi Hendrix T-shirt, an acoustic guitar slung across his back. The last time he’d been this excited, he said, was when legendary rock guitarist Joe Satriani put on a master class act in Beijing last May.

Chen was stuck in a long queue when the Mexican embassy limousine carrying guitarist Francisco Bibriesca pulled up outside the bleached granite facade of the Jinfan Concert Hall on the busy shopping thoroughfare of Wangfujing. Embassy staff had booked an off-the-path venue for the only Chinese concert held by the sublimely talented young classical guitarist. Co-hosted by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, it was part of Bibriesca's "World Tour Pop 05" tour, a 100-day jaunt through nine countries on three continents. The cloister-like columns of the Jinfan hall in Beijing were perhaps appropriate: the tour started in Temple of Santa Ana, in Durango, California.

Asia Shows Up

Bibriesca is recognized as one of the most successful young guitarists to come out of a country where the classical guitar is the nearest thing to a national instrument the country has. Going professional in 1999, the 29-year-old virtuoso’s latest tour took him from Los Angeles over the Pacific to Beijing and Tokyo. A concert to commemorate the exodus of Korean émigrés to Mexico 100 years ago also took Bibriesca to Seoul. “People here are less emphatic about the music than in my own country,” said the stocky, slightly chubby guitarist. “But the reception in Asia has also been very good. Each venue has been packed, especially in Beijing.”

For his sell-out Beijing date on March 31, Bibriesca dug deep into scoresheets from his old academy days, playing a setlist of music composed for guitar by Latin American composers. From a suite titled Elegia Por La Muerte De Un Tanguero by Argentinian composer Maximo Diego Pujol he played two sombre and soft numbers, Confuesta and Melancolia. The world premiere of three more upbeat, pieces by Mexican composer Marco Vinicio Camacho followed before a series of compositions by Brazilian Roland Dyens finished the evening at the crowded Jinfan. It was clear from his smooth and sensitive playing how Bibriesca has managed to consolidate his image as one of the best guitarists to come out of Mexico’s salons in generations. The range of his technique and virtuosity on show at the Jinfan was the stuff of maestros twice his age. Encoring with a final Dyens composition, Bibriesca took time out after the show to talk with a gaggle of local guitar players, keen for his advice and approval.

Strumming with Locals

With a broad smile and a bottle of Mexican beer in hand, Bibriesca chatted with local musicians about strumming and picking techniques. Most were rock and folk players enthralled with the speed of the Mexican’s playing. Gladly sharing his wisdom with the help of an interpreter, Bibriesca said he’d also come to Asia looking for inspiration and tunes from local composers. “In Mexico we’re a bit limited in access to Asian music. I’m aware of a few Japanese composers but I’d like to hear works by Korean and Chinese composers and maybe include them in upcoming tours.” The Chinese capital’s women meanwhile have served as muses for Bibriesca on his free time in Beijing. “In Mexico we have this perception of Chinese girls as really shy and retiring but that’s not been my experience. And Beijing girls are very pretty. They’ve given me plenty of inspiration to compose!”

From Culiacán, in the northern state of Sinaloa, the 29-year-old was named “Young Sinaloan of the Year” in 2003 by his home state’s government, no mean feat in a region noted for its outstanding young guitar soloists. After moving to Mexico City in 1995 to study at the city’s conservatory of music the guitarist “wasn’t clear” about what he wanted to play. “I studied classical music but I also played a lot of folk and rock songs at that time.” A scholarship from the State Culture and the Arts of Sinaloa in 1999 was the turning point that swung him to classical guitar, financing a national tour and allowing him to learn from masters at home and abroad. Old hands like compatriot Argentinian Víctor Pellegrino and Cuban maestro Manuel Barrueco have lent their skills to Bibriesca. He’s also taken lessons from American classical luminaries J Scott Tennat and David Tannenbaum and jazz genius Wynton Marsalis. To get some Tuscany flare meanwhile he asked Italians Flavio Cucchi and Donatoni Franc to tutor him before setting out on the current tour.

Taught by Legends

In his first year as a professional Bibriesca gave 18 concerts. Today he plays both solo concerts and selected shows with symphony orchestras. “I’ve never been tempted to leave classical music for pop, I’m clear about my objectives.” Virtuosity didn’t come easil. Arduous study at the National School of Music of the UNAM have made him everything great classical concertist aims to be. An understanding of Bach from his conservatory days has also helped. “The chords of Francisco’s guitar seem to be made to his measurement and style and have begun to render fruits to him,” his old teacher Pellegrino said of him in a written commendation before Bibriesca left for the 2005 tour. An afficionado of “contemporary Latin American music,” Bibriesca chooses Argentinian music for its “emotion and power” but opts for works by Brazilian composers for their “vitality.” Launched in January 2005, his CD “Elegía” includes highlights “Cloudforms” from Australian composer Richard Charlton and “Tres piezas para que regreses” by fellow Mexican Marco Vinicio Camacho.

Asian fans have been more subdued, but no less enthusiastic. Closer to home – culturally at least -- Bibriesca gave performances in Spain and Puerto Rico before playing Canada, Chile and Argentina. Now one of Mexico’s most recognized young guitarists, Bibriesca almost didn’t make it. “I come from a very tight community. Leaving Sinaloa, your state, is very difficult.” He’s happy he made the move though. “There’s been immense satisfaction in being among the artists who triumph... this is just a minor part of the road that I have traced for myself. Who knows where success will lead me or how far my music carreer.” For Chen Lu, meanwhile, Bibriesca’s concert was worth the queue. “What he does is totally different from Joe Satriani. But it’s no less important or enthralling to a serious guitar fan or a player. We need to see more players like him coming to Beijing.” And so say all of us.