On Friday night, Christopher Parkening showed himself to be an eloquent, masterful technician of the classical guitar.

Parkening opened his concert, a tribute to late mentor Andres Segovia, with Diego de Torrijos' Danza, a light, fugue-like dance in which Parkening explored several variations on a Spanish theme. Most intriguing in this piece were the variations in timbre, as Parkening moved from the tips of his fingers to his fingernails, a favorite technique of Segovia's.

In this way, the setting of the music was changed dramatically, and the final result of the Danza was a comfortable sense of cyclical resolution.

Another highlight of the evening was Fernando Sor's Variations on a Theme of Mozart, a change from the programmed Allegro from Sor's Sonata No. 2, Op. 25.

The most notable difference between this piece and the theme on which it is based lies in the rhythm. At times, Parkening played with a passionate rubato rarely applied to Mozart; at others, he scaled swiftly and evenly. His technique was clean and precise -- his fingers flicked across the strings in graceful free strokes.

The Estudio sin luz y Remembranza -- one of the two Segovia pieces in the program -- was extremely delicate and evocative, and was met by a relatively hushed audience. It was followed by Antonio Ruiz-Pipo's Cancion y Danza, an upbeat dance with an early-Renaissance sound.

Parkening ended the first half of the program with the Suite espanola, by Gaspar Sanz. He showed remarkable mastery in his use of sustained, false harmonics, to evoke what Sor once referred to as "flute-sounds."

The second half of the program began with Federico Moreno-Torroba's Castillos de Espana. If Parkening was using any pull-offs on the triplets, they were indiscernible, for each note enjoyed the same degree of clarity and strength as its neighbors.

The Suite Calatan, by Segovia and Miguel Llobet, was interesting in its composition and deft in its execution.

After a brief pause, Parkening was joined by David Brandon, a former student of his, for a group of elaborate Baroque pieces. Included among this group were variations on three early dances by Telemann, which were very pretty.

During the Cancion y Danza by Manuel de Falla, one of Parkening's strings snapped. Slightly abashed, he related an anecdote about a time when Segovia had found himself in a similar situation. According to Parkening, Segovia had told the audience that a string breaks in concert every five years.

"Well," Parkening said, "I guess tonight was my night."

After a few minutes, Parkening returned with a new string and ended the evening with two encores.