The Bank of Ireland "Mostly Modern" series continued on Thursday lunchtime with a guitar recital by the series' director, Benjamin Dwyer. His programme included six of his Etudes for solo guitar which explore many of the compositional and technical challenges presented by the instrument, and avoid the folksy cliches of much contemporary guitar music. The playing had the natural panache one looks for from a composer-performer.
Dwyer's persuasive playing of his own music underlined the limitations in his presentation of Leo Brouwer's La Espiral Eterna (1971). In this cathartic encounter with the avant-garde (the composer's description), aleatoric rhythms and pitches challenge technique and interpretation.
The high point of the recital was an unusual account of Steve Reich's Electric Counterpoint, which was written in 1987 for electric guitars and tape.
George Crumb (percussion) and David Starobin (guitar) appear at the Bank of Ireland Arts Centre on Thursday at 8 p.m. Admission free.