John Christopher Williams (born 24 April 1941) is an Australian virtuosic classical guitarist renowned for his ensemble playing as well as his interpretation and promotion of the modern classical guitar repertoire. In 1973, he shared a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
in the
Best Chamber Music Performance
The Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by man ...
category with fellow guitarist
Julian Bream
Julian Alexander Bream (15 July 193314 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public perce ...
for ''Together'' (released in the US as ''Julian and John (Works by Lawes, Carulli, Albéniz, Granados)''). Guitar historian Graham Wade has said that "John is perhaps the most technically accomplished guitarist the world has seen."
Early life
John Williams is an only child who was born on 24 April 1941 in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
to an English father, Len Williams, who bought John, at age 4, his first guitar with a modified neck. Len would later found the Spanish Guitar Centre in London. His mother Melaan (''née'' Ah Ket) was the daughter of
William Ah Ket
William (Bill) Ah Ket (麥錫祥, 20 June 1876 – 6 August 1936) was a noted Australian barrister.
Life
With paternal ancestry from Taishan, southern China, Ah Ket was Australia's first barrister of Asian heritage or ethnicity. He was born on ...
, the first Australian barrister of Chinese heritage. In 1952, the family moved to England where he attended
Friern Barnet Grammar School
The Friern Barnet Grammar School was a small independent day school for boys located on Friern Barnet Road, North London.
It was later absorbed into the co-educational Woodside Park School foundation which was later renamed The North London I ...
, London. Williams was initially taught guitar by his father, who was a musically disciplined and accomplished classical guitarist. From the age of 11, Williams attended summer courses with
Andrés Segovia
Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987) was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were students of Segovia or their students.
Segovia's contribution to the m ...
at the
Accademia Musicale Chigiana
The Accademia Musicale Chigiana (''English'': Chigiana Musical Academy) is a music institute in Siena, Italy. It was founded by Count Guido Chigi-Saracini in 1932 as an international centre for advanced musical studies. It organises Master Class ...
in
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...
, Italy. He attended the
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including perform ...
in London, from 1956 to 1959, studying piano because the college did not have a guitar section. In 1958 at 17, he made his musical debut performing publicly at London's Wigmore Hall. Upon his college graduation he was invited to create and then to run their guitar department for its first two years of life. Williams maintains links with the college (and also with the
Royal Northern College of Music
The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...
in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
).
Classical guitarist
Williams' first professional performance was at the
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...
in London on 6 November 1958. Since then, he has been performing throughout the world and has made regular appearances on radio and TV. He has extended the repertoire by commissioning guitar concertos from composers such as Stephen Dodgson,
André Previn
André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...
Julian Bream
Julian Alexander Bream (15 July 193314 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public perce ...
and
Paco Peña
Paco Peña (born 1 June 1942) is a Spanish flamenco composer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the world's foremost traditional flamenco players.
Biography
Born in Córdoba, Spain, as Francisco Peña Pérez, Paco Peña began learning to pl ...
.
Williams is a visiting professor and honorary member of the
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...
in London.
Williams mostly uses Greg Smallman guitars, after using Spanish Fleta during the 1970s.
Thoughts on guitar education and teaching
Williams has expressed his frustration and concern with guitar education and teaching, that it is too one-sided i.e. focusing only on solo playing, instead of giving guitar students a better education including ensemble playing, sight-reading and a focus on phrasing and tone production and variation. Williams notes that "students repreoccupied with fingerings and not notes, much less sounds"; some are able "to play ..difficult solo works from memory", but "have a very poor sense of ensemble
laying
Laying is the act of making equipment level. It usually involves moving equipment in small motions so that spirit levels are centralised in all planes. Movement is usually done by small worm gears or other fine setting devices for accurate s ...
or timing". He notes that students play works from the solo repertoire that are often too difficult, so that the teachers often put more "emphasis ..on getting through the notes rather than playing the real substance of each note". To encourage phrasing, tone production and all-around musicianship, Williams arranges for students to play together in ensembles, choosing works from the existing classical music repertoire, such as the "easier
Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
String Quartets".
Other musical genres
Although Williams is best known as a classical guitarist, he has explored many different musical genres. Between 1978 and 1984 he was a member of the fusion group Sky. He is also a composer and arranger. At the invitation of producer Martin Lewis he created a highly acclaimed classical-rock fusion duet with rock guitarist
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s.
Towns ...
of
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...
benefit show '' The Secret Policeman's Ball''. The duet featured on the resulting album and the film version of the show – bringing Williams to the broader attention of the rock audience.
Williams recorded " Cavatina" by Stanley Myers. The piece originally included only the first few measures but, at Williams' request, it was rewritten for guitar and expanded by Myers. After this transformation it was used for a film, ''
The Walking Stick
''The Walking Stick'' is a 1970 British crime drama film directed by Eric Till and starring David Hemmings and Samantha Eggar. It was based on the 1967 novel of the same title by Winston Graham. " Cavatina" was used as the film's theme, ei ...
'' (1970). In 1973,
Cleo Laine
Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth (born Clementine Dinah Bullock; 28 October 1927)Oscar-winning film ''
The Deer Hunter
''The Deer Hunter'' is a 1978 war drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Slavic-American steelworkers whose lives were upended after fighting in the Vietnam War. The three soldiers are played by Robert De Niro ...
'' (1978).
Personal life
Williams and his third wife, artist Kathy Panama (who married on New Year's Eve 2000), reside in London (Hampstead) and Cornwall. He has a daughter, Kate Williams, who is an established jazz pianist. He also has a son, Charlie, by his second wife, the television presenter Sue Cook.
Discography
Awards and recognitions
He was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(OBE) in 1980, and an
Officer of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...
(AO) in the
1987 Australia Day Honours The 1987 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 1987 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir Ninian Stephen.
The Austra ...
, "For service to music".
Bernard Heinze Memorial Award
The
Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award
The Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award, was inaugurated following the death of Sir Bernard Heinze in 1982.
The award is in the form of a medallion and is given to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to music in Australia.
The Award ...
is given to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to music in Australia.
, -
, 2013 , , John Williams, , Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award , ,
, -
Brit Awards
, -
, 1983 , , John Williams for ''Portrait of John Williams'' , , Best Classical Recording , ,
, -