It is hard to think of a British or American equivalent to Egberto Gismonti. The Brazilian composer is at ease with everything from piano studies to full orchestra, taking an intensely polyrhythmic and contrapuntal approach to his craft. He is also a prolific record producer, and a virtuoso soloist and improviser on piano and guitar.

It was in this last capacity that he opened his Barbican set, playing his piece Lundu on 10-string guitar, accompanied by his son Alexandre on regular six-string.

Egberto Gismonti cuts an eccentric figure, with red socks, beard and greying hair cascading from beneath a tight white hat. But anyone expecting a session of "roots" music or world jazz was quickly disabused.

Like all Gismonti's compositions, Lundu is a sophisticated piece of writing, employing a lattice of interlocking guitar patterns: minimalism with Bill Evans chords. Danca dos Escravos begins similarly but evolves into a rhythmic tour de force, with glittering harmonics and percussive tapping on the body of the instrument.

Alexandre Gismonti performs the beautiful Palhaco for solo guitar before his father returns with his 14-string guitar to perform the dramatic Selva Amazonica. Gismonti senior then plays a string of dazzling, complex pieces for solo piano, including A Fala da Paixao, delicate and richly harmonised; the flamboyant Realejo, with its rippling left hand; and Frevo, his best-known tune.

A criticism that could be levelled at Gismonti is that his intense performance lacks the light and shade you might find in a more carefully programmed recital. There were times when one would have welcomed the calming presence of jazz bassist Charlie Haden, who was originally scheduled to perform at the concert. Still, it was a privilege to hear such a wealth of powerful music.