BUTLER TWP — The Butler County Symphony Orchestra opened its 2014-15 season Saturday night with exotic music seasoned with more than just a dash of Tabasco in its “Espana” concert at the Butler Intermediate High School auditorium.

The undeniable star was Nickolas Goluses, founder and director of the guitar program at the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. Goluses’ interpretation of Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto do Aranjuez was nothing short of spectacular.

Sadly, when an artist does not resort to dramatic grimaces and gyrations, the audience does not necessarily comprehend the excellence of the performance. Such was the case with Goluses.

The work began with “Allegro con Spirito,” featuring lightly-played yet extremely complex motifs. The melody line was sprightly and delightful. Goluses played with ease and dexterity belying the intricacy of the score.

The Adagio movement was familiar to many in the audience as the theme song for Chrysler’s Cordoba commercials of old. The pensive, almost mournful tonality was a dramatic contrast.

Both the soloist and the orchestra achieved the drastic change with great skill. The evocative phrasing was a pleasure to hear.

The final movement, Allegro gentile, returned to more fanciful, dancelike rhythms that increased in speed to masterful pizzicati played by all the strings as well as the guitar. It brought the work to an exultant conclusion that deserved even more applause than was offered.

Although Russian, composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov had a gift for Spanish-sounding tunes. Maestro Matthew Kraemer and the orchestra kept the music’s tempo brisk.

The strong dance rhythms seemed rushed at times, particularly during the various solo sections. Some passages tended to sound choppy and could have benefitted from more legato interpretation. Nevertheless, the performance was solid and exciting.

Composer Maurice Ravel’s father was French but his mother was Spanish, which explained his dramatic flair. The orchestration of “Alaborada del Gracioso” substituted harp for the expected guitar but otherwise employed all the prototypical instruments, including a tour de force of the percussion section. Castanets, xylophone, tambourine and drums all contributed to the allure of the wild, enticing dance rhythms.

The orchestra reveled in the sensual melodies.

Another French composer enthralled by the enchantment of Spain was Georges Bizet. His opera, Carmen, had all the sonority of true Spanish music and, to many listeners, is the hallmark of all things Spanish. The “Carmen Suite No. 1” included the Prelude and Aragonaise, the Intermezzo and Les Dragons d’Alcala but the seductive Seguedille and the proud Les Toreadors are best known.

Kraemer and the orchestra excelled in performing all five movements, coping well with many stylistic challenges.

Concluding the evening was music by Spaniard Manuel de Falla. Written for a ballet, “Suite No. 2” from the “Three Cornered Hat” included three movements.

The Neighbor’s Dance was highlighted by the drastic tempo changes that reflected the leaps and prancing of the seguidilla. The Miller’s Dance was more forceful, at one point employing the string section as percussion to set the beat which accelerated to a furious pace at the end of the movement. The third movement, the appropriately named Final Dance, alternated between proud strutting themes and sweeping melody lines. The ebb and flow increased in a grand crescendo that was almost frantic at its conclusion.

At the end of the evening it was tempting to not simply applaud the energetic performance but to shout “olè” in place of the well-deserved “bravo.”