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He is a classical guitarist, composer and arranger born
in Melbourne, Australia to an English father
and an Australian-Chinese mother.
His father gave him his first tuition in the guitar and when he was
twelve he studied under Andres Segovia in Italy.
He attended the Royal College of Music in London, where
he had to study piano as the school had no guitar department at that
time. After he had graduated he
was asked to create that department, which he did, and he ran it for two
years.
He became a member of the fusion group Sky, which gave
the first ever rock concert in Westminster Abbey, with the proceeds going
to the charity, Amnesty. He had
collaborations with Julian Bream and Paco Pena
and, working with Australian composers, he has produced guitar works with
Philip Houghton, Peter Sculthorpe and Nigel
Westlake. He has also
commissioned works from Stephen Dodgson, Andre Previn
and Richard Harvey.
Having made in excess of 150 recordings, he is possibly
best known for his recording of Stanley Myers’ “Cavatina”
which was used in the 1979 film The Deerhunter and the 1970 film The Walking Stick.
Collaborating with Cleo Laine, lyrics were added to the piece and it
became known as the song “You Are Beautiful” which reached No.
5 in the UK
charts for the unrelated singer Iris Williams.
For the 1979 Amnesty International show, The Secret Policeman’s Ball,
he performed a classic-rock fusion version of The Who’s
“Won’t Get Fooled Again” with Pete Townshend. In 1973 he received a Grammy Award
with Julian Bream for Best Chamber Music Performance, with the album Julian and John, and in 1983 he won
a Brit Award for the Best Classical Recording for the album Portrait of John Williams.
Alongside his current performing schedule he is also a
visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Isaac Albeniz Recordings
Asturias (Leyenda)
CBS MK 44794 (CD:
Spanish Guitar Favourites)
Guitar - John Williams
Asturias (Leyenda)
CBS MDK 45648 (CD:
Concierto
de Aranjuez ; Fantasía
para un gentilhombre / Joaquín Rodrigo. Granada ; Asturias ; Sevilla ; Majorca ; Cordoba
/ Isaac Albéniz)
Guitar –
John Williams
Asturias (Leyenda)
Sony SK 89141(CD: Romance of the Guitar)
Guitar –
John Williams
Iberia
Sony 48480 (CD: Iberia)
Conductor - Paul Daniel
Guitar - John Williams
Sevilla
CBS MK 44794 (CD:
Spanish Guitar Favourites)
Guitar - John Williams
Sevilla
CBS MDK 45648 (CD:
Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez/Albeniz)
Guitar - John Williams
Mateo Albeniz recordings
Sonata in D
CBS MK 44794 (CD:
Spanish Guitar Favourites)
Guitar - John
Williams
Sources:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Williams_(guitarist)#Biography
- http://www.johnwilliamsguitar.com/
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