Gustavo Romero

The curse of the prodigy is not being allowed to grow up, either as artist or person. Fortunately for pianist Gustavo Romero, San Diego's most doted-upon rising musical star, the prodigy label is strictly a hometown phenomenon. "It's only in San Diego that I am still treated as the Wunderkind . In New York, especially since I went with Columbia Management, I'm known as a young artist," said Romero.

Dubbed one of Los Angeles most prolific taggers, Gustavo Romero was sentenced Monday to a year in jail for etching his "Guser" moniker on dozens of Metro buses. Romero, 23, of South Los Angeles, caused at least $108,000 in damage to property over a two-year period. He pleaded guilty to 49 felony charges. Prosecutors said they did not agree to the sentence, imposed by a judge. Prosecutors had asked for prison time, up to 35 years' worth. Because of jail overcrowding, it is likely Romero will be out within months, but he could face prison if he violates the law again.

One hundred and fifty years ago this Oct. 17, a tubercular Polish pianist died in Paris. He had given relatively few public concerts, but through composing, teaching and private salon performances, Frederic Chopin forged a revolution in the idea of what piano music could be and created an enduring archetype. Given the eagerness with which the music industry seizes on anniversaries such as this, the profusion of events worldwide marking the occasion is only to be expected.

A 23-year-old man accused of tagging his graffiti moniker on dozens of Metropolitan Transportation Authority buses was charged Friday with 49 counts of felony vandalism and three misdemeanor counts of possession of tools to commit vandalism. Gustavo Romero, a South Los Angeles resident whom authorities say uses the moniker "Guser," pleaded not guilty to the charges. He remains in custody in lieu of $980,000 bail, said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

Dubbed one of Los Angeles most prolific taggers, Gustavo Romero was sentenced Monday to a year in jail for etching his "Guser" moniker on dozens of Metro buses. Romero, 23, of South Los Angeles, caused at least $108,000 in damage to property over a two-year period. He pleaded guilty to 49 felony charges. Prosecutors said they did not agree to the sentence, imposed by a judge. Prosecutors had asked for prison time, up to 35 years' worth. Because of jail overcrowding, it is likely Romero will be out within months, but he could face prison if he violates the law again.

A 23-year-old man accused of tagging his graffiti moniker on dozens of Metropolitan Transportation Authority buses was charged Friday with 49 counts of felony vandalism and three misdemeanor counts of possession of tools to commit vandalism. Gustavo Romero, a South Los Angeles resident whom authorities say uses the moniker "Guser," pleaded not guilty to the charges. He remains in custody in lieu of $980,000 bail, said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

Revelations, in the form of discovered works as well as excellent playing,came at the beginning and end of the opening performance of Gustavo Romero's six-recital Chopin series. First there were the unfamiliar delights of the Rondo, Opus 1, and the Rondo ("A la Mazur"), Opus 5, then in two encores, a Polonaise in B-flat written when the composer was 7 years old and another early piece, the Nocturne in E, a product of the teenage Chopin.

Turnabout may be fair play, but it's hardly a commendable programming device. In a season-opening concert Friday night, the International Orchestra used role reversal to questionable musical ends, although it packed Sherwood Auditorium. Pianist Gustavo Romero, no longer the native son prodigy but a musician of international stature, returned to perform Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat, a feat he accomplished with customary insight and authority.

Few indeed are the months without the seemingly obligatory local performance by pianist Gustavo Romero. The 22-year-old virtuoso at New York City's Juilliard School has probably logged at least a semester's worth of flight time jetting to San Diego to satisfy the relentless demands of his hometown fans. He returned to La Jolla's Sherwood Auditorium on Monday evening to play Chopin's Second Piano Concerto with the San Diego Chamber Orchestra.

Monday night's rainstorm proved no obstacle to the loyal followers of Gustavo Romero. Not a seat was empty in La Jolla's Sherwood Hall when San Diego's favorite piano prodigy appeared with the San Diego Chamber Orchestra in Mozart's D Minor Piano Concerto, K. 466.

The "Guser" tag is etched into the windows of MTA buses, spray-painted on a local storefront and printed on stickers "slapped" on poles and utility boxes in South Los Angeles. It was smeared on the curb in front of the home of Gustavo Romero, 23, when sheriff's deputies arrived Wednesday to arrest him during an early morning raid at 77th and Main streets. Inside, they even found the tag scrawled across Romero's mattress.

Picture music history in the shape of the human body, and then we can argue about who is what. I would make Mozart the heart; the ever pushy Beethoven, the hands; Wagner, the mouth telling everyone what to think (or maybe the genitals); and John Cage would be the left foot placed far forward, ahead of everyone else and poised to trip the whole contraption. You may have other ideas. But would anyone deny that Bach is the brain?

Revelations, in the form of discovered works as well as excellent playing,came at the beginning and end of the opening performance of Gustavo Romero's six-recital Chopin series. First there were the unfamiliar delights of the Rondo, Opus 1, and the Rondo ("A la Mazur"), Opus 5, then in two encores, a Polonaise in B-flat written when the composer was 7 years old and another early piece, the Nocturne in E, a product of the teenage Chopin.

One hundred and fifty years ago this Oct. 17, a tubercular Polish pianist died in Paris. He had given relatively few public concerts, but through composing, teaching and private salon performances, Frederic Chopin forged a revolution in the idea of what piano music could be and created an enduring archetype. Given the eagerness with which the music industry seizes on anniversaries such as this, the profusion of events worldwide marking the occasion is only to be expected.

Turnabout may be fair play, but it's hardly a commendable programming device. In a season-opening concert Friday night, the International Orchestra used role reversal to questionable musical ends, although it packed Sherwood Auditorium. Pianist Gustavo Romero, no longer the native son prodigy but a musician of international stature, returned to perform Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat, a feat he accomplished with customary insight and authority.

Few indeed are the months without the seemingly obligatory local performance by pianist Gustavo Romero. The 22-year-old virtuoso at New York City's Juilliard School has probably logged at least a semester's worth of flight time jetting to San Diego to satisfy the relentless demands of his hometown fans. He returned to La Jolla's Sherwood Auditorium on Monday evening to play Chopin's Second Piano Concerto with the San Diego Chamber Orchestra.

To some people, written music is a string of black dots on a piece of paper. But to Gustavo Romero it's personality and feeling and knowing how to unleash those qualities. Romero, a 20-year-old Chula Vista native, makes a careful distinction between "artists" and "pianists." "There are plenty of pianists who are brilliant--great pianists in practice rooms. But you get them on stage for an hour and a half and they fall apart.

How would one summarize an invitation to spend an afternoon indulging in champagne and Chopin and scones and Scarlatti? Possibly as an invitation to tea and symphony. These were the dual treats that Dorene and John Whitney dished up Sunday at the La Jolla Country Club for 150 pals. Billed as a champagne tea, the mid-afternoon fete centered on a piano recital by Gustavo Romero, the 20-year-old Chula Vistan who has become nationally celebrated as a wunderkind of the keyboard.

The curse of the prodigy is not being allowed to grow up, either as artist or person. Fortunately for pianist Gustavo Romero, San Diego's most doted-upon rising musical star, the prodigy label is strictly a hometown phenomenon. "It's only in San Diego that I am still treated as the Wunderkind . In New York, especially since I went with Columbia Management, I'm known as a young artist," said Romero.

Monday night's rainstorm proved no obstacle to the loyal followers of Gustavo Romero. Not a seat was empty in La Jolla's Sherwood Hall when San Diego's favorite piano prodigy appeared with the San Diego Chamber Orchestra in Mozart's D Minor Piano Concerto, K. 466.