Probably the greatest classical player that ever lived. Been a fan and listening to him since for the last 32 years. Effortless virtuosity and art to the highest level.
saw him back in 1977 in the Sydney Opera House with a fabulous repertoire of Spanish and the second half was totally dedicated to Agustin Barrios Mangore, AF
Saw him live in Stockholm back then, wearing that nice(!) purple thing. Playing the impossible Chaconne with such power and grace you just couldn't believe your eyes and ears. Remember a young couple sitting nearby, and when Asturias began the guy whispered to his girlfriend -Now, here it comes... and she layed her head against his shoulder and just sank into the flow. It was beautiful.
Many listeners have been talking about Smallman here as if John Williams was playing that guitar, in fact the one being played was an Ignacio Fleta, John Williams hadn't switched to his current Smallman until the later stage of his career!
love this tune and love how Williams interprets it. Notice how that split second after he plays the final chord that he seems to come out of a trance and back to reality. I would love to be where he goes in performance
Yup- probably one of the greatest living classical guitar technicians. Saw JW in concert at the San Francisco opera house in the 90’s. Played a massive program of Renaissance, SL Weiss, Bach, Barrios. Used a light touch of amplification, Smallman guitar, wore the purple Nehru style shirt, and played a perfect performance. Heard that in later years he reportedly had memory lapses, but still a remarkable career. Don’t always agree with his political views and wished he would have performed in Israel. Listened to a lot of his records in the 70’s. Definitely a living legend...
+Ian Grant If you go watch others play this piece, you will find Williams has the most feel and accuracy in his interpretation, so if you dont like it then you just dont like Barrios, which is fine (Segovia hated his music too).
Juan Martin He said he did not like his music, you can find quotes of him saying he thought Barrios's style was too "gypsy", whimsical and not serious. Segovia may have been a genius and a virtuoso, but he was also a giant snob and a prick when it came to music and his opinion of other musicians and their works. If you didnt play with the correct technique and compose pieces in a traditional, classical style he did not like you.
If you listen and watch current young players, they are not getting the depth of sound out of their guitars in the way Williams did on a non-doubletop, especially from the basses. I think if you heard them side by side you'd really see the difference in power Williams has with his incredible technique and old-school right hand. I've seen him live at Wigmore Hall several times and you really notice his amazing projection and tone.
I think most young players think technique only, or speed only, not so much exploring the subtlety and richness of the sound guitar is capable of producing. Everything seems to be a 100m race in music today. That is why I can enjoy J. Williams any time of day, for the sound he makes on his Smallmans is AMAZING. While youngsters are quite irritating to listen to - no emotion there.
You are right. Guitar these days has become a one-handed piano. Somehow playing the instrument has become an exercise in denying the variety and richness of tone, as though those quaint old players were hoaky sentimentalists. There are players of extraordinary technique these days, but they are not breaking through into the general public audience like Segovia, Williams and Bream did. I think it's because in the pursuit of technique they've lost the soul of the instrument.
Thomas Friedrich I agree, It seems like classical guitar players are now only interested in playing for other guitar players, and in turn, all those guitar players seem to want to hear is technical perfection. It's very common to see people complaining in Segovia's videos about how his playing isn't completely flawless and clean. I find it rather silly, for I have no doubt he could've achieved that so-called "perfection" if he'd wanted. Segovia's recordings have soul, and even when the audio quality isn't good, you can hear all the richness to the tone. His recordings never fail to blow me away. I've tried to focus on that style of playing since I started classical guitar, but it's so complicated... Though perhaps I'm being too harsh on myself, given that I've been playing classical guitar for less than a year, haha. Ah, well. Someday.
Love the purple shirt. Love the guitar. I don't know as much about guitar as some of these people posting but clearly Williams is the tops. Better than Segovia ever was. Flying fingers, musicality, killer technique, beautiful music.
As a professional classical guitarist I agree completely that williams is currently the top player (in my opinion of course). But I do have to come to Segovias defence here as to be fair to the man we could only see him play in his later years so I do think it's a bit unfair and presumptuous to say that williams is better than segovia EVER was as we don't actually know how segovia was, although if we go by what was said about him and his reputation it's fairly obvious the man was special even among masters.
Segovia was a Spaniard, and Spaniards, even today, have some funny ideas how to make stronger sound on their guitars. J Williams has much to thank Mr Smallman for inventing an all new type of guitar top, that enables the guitar to create and project sounds far beyond the confines of classical spanish guitar designs that Segovia played on.
Ésta es mi interpretación del primer movimiento de "La Catedral", dedicada a el gran Maestro Mangoré - This is my interpretation of the first movement of "La Catedral", dedicated to the great Maestro Mangoré Agustín Barrios Mangoré: La Catedral (Preludio Saudade)
Everyone awes and ohs over how someone plays, but I would really love to see Barrios actually play himself. Because in order to even play these passages, he first had to be an amazing guitarist on top of composing music!!! Now that's something to be completely amazed by, because it seems no one nowadays could come close to Barrios!!!!!!!
+Garrett Clayton Yeah, it is sad. And no one knows who Julian Bream is, either. (He's the other "greatest living guitarist" :-) ). Of course, neither is the "greatest living American musician," since both are British (though Williams was born in Australia).
davehshs Yeah i meant to put Australian... as an American we kinda just derp like that sometimes lol And i would put Williams in a class of his own, Bream is great but other guitarists from other genres i believe are better (Andy McKee, Jason Becker and a maybe a couple others). But yes its sad that Williams, or Bream, will likely never get the respect they deserve, while guys like Slash make top ten guitarists lists every year.
Garrett Clayton IMO, "rating" guitarists is ultimately subjective. If you are rating according to technical ability, then I would put all of the guitarists mentioned in pretty much the same class. Personally, I prefer Bream because his interpretation is so rich and varied in tone and brings out subtleties of the music. I do admit to not really being enough of a fan of great rock guitarists to rate them in regard to interpretation of the music.
+Garrett Clayton I would rather desagree with the fact that they are unknowned because everyone in the classical guitar world knows who is John Williams and fortunatly this guitar world is amazingly big nowadays.
Great performance although it sounds a bit rushed and mechanical (like doing scales exercises) at times.Always admired Williams virtuosity and technical perfection!.
If you watch Williams' demeanor while performing, you might get the impression that what he's doing is just run-of-the-mill. Obviously that's not the case.
No one compares. He keeps impossible tempo, but still manages not to compromise on warmth of tone and expression. Magnificent.
Thanks to John Williams for giving Barrios the popularity he deserves.
Yes, he definitely deserves the credit for that!
Barrios , the only guitarist I know, from his music. Never heard anyone else after listening to his pieces 24 years ago. And yes, it was by JW
Williams has pushed the limits of the guitar, recording many composers who got very little recognition. That alone is a wonderful legacy.
My guitar is now looking at me and saying, "Why can't you do that?" I have only tears as an answer...So good!
Barrios + Williams = Perfection.
Agreed!
Probably the greatest classical player that ever lived. Been a fan and listening to him since for the last 32 years. Effortless virtuosity and art to the highest level.
Decades later, no one plays Barrios better, and few play him as well. Simply wonderful.
saw him back in 1977 in the Sydney Opera House with a fabulous repertoire of Spanish and the second half was totally dedicated to Agustin Barrios Mangore, AF
That must've been awesome!
indeed! he's still playing and always a pleasure to listen to, wonderful u-tube which takes us back to wonderful memories
Carmen Jenkins He's still playing? I thought the maestro had retired. So is he still giving public recitals in Australia?
Saw him live in Stockholm back then, wearing that
nice(!) purple thing. Playing the impossible Chaconne
with such power and grace you just couldn't believe
your eyes and ears. Remember a young couple sitting
nearby, and when Asturias began the guy whispered
to his girlfriend -Now, here it comes...
and she layed her head against his shoulder and just
sank into the flow. It was beautiful.
Many listeners have been talking about Smallman here as if John Williams was playing that guitar, in fact the one being played was an Ignacio Fleta, John Williams hadn't switched to his current Smallman until the later stage of his career!
Beautiful, and expertly played by one of the worlds greatest guitarist, thanks for posting
love this tune and love how Williams interprets it. Notice how that split second after he plays the final chord that he seems to come out of a trance and back to reality. I would love to be where he goes in performance
3:53...wow just wow. That technique!
Caballeris ligera
Este tipo es capi di todi capi mi idolo total gran guitarrista caramba !! Admiracion total .
大師的演奏，真是太完美了
25 poor souls just didn't get this performance of beauty.
Absolutely brilliant! His CD of Barrios Music is my favourite.
la infinita combinación de seis cuerdas!
Yup- probably one of the greatest living classical guitar technicians. Saw JW in concert at the San Francisco opera house in the 90’s. Played a massive program of Renaissance, SL Weiss, Bach, Barrios. Used a light touch of amplification, Smallman guitar, wore the purple Nehru style shirt, and played a perfect performance. Heard that in later years he reportedly had memory lapses, but still a remarkable career. Don’t always agree with his political views and wished he would have performed in Israel. Listened to a lot of his records in the 70’s. Definitely a living legend...
May 5th is Agustin Barrios Mangore's birthday. Happy birthday!
Great performance. Thanks for posting!
How beautiful is the music and performance,
+65attila Not very, for me. Poor sound and played much too insensitively, in my opinion.
+Ian Grant If you go watch others play this piece, you will find Williams has the most feel and accuracy in his interpretation, so if you dont like it then you just dont like Barrios, which is fine (Segovia hated his music too).
+Ian Grant hahahahhaahhaha!!
+Garrett Clayton Segovia loved his music, he hated Barrios
Juan Martin He said he did not like his music, you can find quotes of him saying he thought Barrios's style was too "gypsy", whimsical and not serious. Segovia may have been a genius and a virtuoso, but he was also a giant snob and a prick when it came to music and his opinion of other musicians and their works. If you didnt play with the correct technique and compose pieces in a traditional, classical style he did not like you.
If you listen and watch current young players, they are not getting the depth of sound out of their guitars in the way Williams did on a non-doubletop, especially from the basses. I think if you heard them side by side you'd really see the difference in power Williams has with his incredible technique and old-school right hand. I've seen him live at Wigmore Hall several times and you really notice his amazing projection and tone.
I think most young players think technique only, or speed only, not so much exploring the subtlety and richness of the sound guitar is capable of producing. Everything seems to be a 100m race in music today.
That is why I can enjoy J. Williams any time of day, for the sound he makes on his Smallmans is AMAZING. While youngsters are quite irritating to listen to - no emotion there.
You are right. Guitar these days has become a one-handed piano. Somehow playing the instrument has become an exercise in denying the variety and richness of tone, as though those quaint old players were hoaky sentimentalists. There are players of extraordinary technique these days, but they are not breaking through into the general public audience like Segovia, Williams and Bream did. I think it's because in the pursuit of technique they've lost the soul of the instrument.
Thomas Friedrich I agree, It seems like classical guitar players are now only interested in playing for other guitar players, and in turn, all those guitar players seem to want to hear is technical perfection. It's very common to see people complaining in Segovia's videos about how his playing isn't completely flawless and clean. I find it rather silly, for I have no doubt he could've achieved that so-called "perfection" if he'd wanted. Segovia's recordings have soul, and even when the audio quality isn't good, you can hear all the richness to the tone. His recordings never fail to blow me away. I've tried to focus on that style of playing since I started classical guitar, but it's so complicated... Though perhaps I'm being too harsh on myself, given that I've been playing classical guitar for less than a year, haha. Ah, well. Someday.
simply amazing. best arrangement too.
Is was very good !
I like the song vest
Barrios es único!
Talent. Dedication. Great recipe. Thanks, John.
Anyone who doubts the genius of Williams should watch this...what a stunning performance!!
Wonderful. Thanks for sharing
Hey plays so effortlessly! I always aspire to be as good as this!
Taking the music to the people!
2:15 -2:45 almost makes me want to cry tears of happiness......
wonderful
Interpretación perfecta de un grande como pudo solo ser mangore
Tks for the stero version. I long for this!
Exceptional!
Thanks for good quality audio. There is another version
Bravo!
Wonderful
At the end he's just like "I know , I know...I'm good"
Awesome!!!!
MAESTRO!!!!!!
awesome thanks
incredible technique
awesome!
Perfect
Just WOW
as Graham Wade said : "John is perhaps the most technically accomplished guitarist the world has seen."
Love the purple shirt. Love the guitar. I don't know as much about guitar as some of these people posting but clearly Williams is the tops. Better than Segovia ever was. Flying fingers, musicality, killer technique, beautiful music.
As a professional classical guitarist I agree completely that williams is currently the top player (in my opinion of course). But I do have to come to Segovias defence here as to be fair to the man we could only see him play in his later years so I do think it's a bit unfair and presumptuous to say that williams is better than segovia EVER was as we don't actually know how segovia was, although if we go by what was said about him and his reputation it's fairly obvious the man was special even among masters.
Segovia was a Spaniard, and Spaniards, even today, have some funny ideas how to make stronger sound on their guitars. J Williams has much to thank Mr Smallman for inventing an all new type of guitar top, that enables the guitar to create and project sounds far beyond the confines of classical spanish guitar designs that Segovia played on.
Jordan
+Zvonimir Tosic Hello from Spain and from one "spaniard", also guitarist :-)
+Chad Henry An artist can not be "better" than another, only different.
Thanks SUNMONSTER
John Williams plays on his Greg Smallman guitar
No this is in fact an Ignacio Fleta, you could probably notice a much warmer and rounder sound than the one from his Smallman
Ο Williams χωρίς γυαλιά!
What guitar is that!???
Ésta es mi interpretación del primer movimiento de "La Catedral", dedicada a el gran Maestro Mangoré - This is my interpretation of the first movement of "La Catedral", dedicated to the great Maestro Mangoré Agustín Barrios Mangoré: La Catedral (Preludio Saudade)
Draped in velvet!
wasn't that George Constanza's dream?
I miss the swing feeling
Everyone awes and ohs over how someone plays, but I would really love to see Barrios actually play himself. Because in order to even play these passages, he first had to be an amazing guitarist on top of composing music!!! Now that's something to be completely amazed by, because it seems no one nowadays could come close to Barrios!!!!!!!
what is the brand of that guitar
Greg Smallman and Sons - 30 grand if not more - you might be able to get a new one
not a fleta i did not see the arm rest
not a flea at all, you can tell by the headstock and rosette
Soh queria entender a cabeça dos que não curtiram isso kkkkk
mi piace
No tux just excellent tunes!
This is likely the greatest living guitarist, and maybe the greatest living American musician, and no one knows who he is. Sad.
+Garrett Clayton Yeah, it is sad. And no one knows who Julian Bream is, either. (He's the other "greatest living guitarist" :-) ).
Of course, neither is the "greatest living American musician," since both are British (though Williams was born in Australia).
davehshs Yeah i meant to put Australian... as an American we kinda just derp like that sometimes lol And i would put Williams in a class of his own, Bream is great but other guitarists from other genres i believe are better (Andy McKee, Jason Becker and a maybe a couple others). But yes its sad that Williams, or Bream, will likely never get the respect they deserve, while guys like Slash make top ten guitarists lists every year.
Garrett Clayton IMO, "rating" guitarists is ultimately subjective.
If you are rating according to technical ability, then I would put all of the guitarists mentioned in pretty much the same class.
Personally, I prefer Bream because his interpretation is so rich and varied in tone and brings out subtleties of the music.
I do admit to not really being enough of a fan of great rock guitarists to rate them in regard to interpretation of the music.
+Garrett Clayton I would rather desagree with the fact that they are unknowned because everyone in the classical guitar world knows who is John Williams and fortunatly this guitar world is amazingly big nowadays.
+João Velez its very small compared to the pop and rock world
Great performance although it sounds a bit rushed and mechanical (like doing scales exercises) at times.Always admired Williams virtuosity and technical perfection!.
What it this guitar ?
Greg Smallman. Australian luthier. Very expensive..
That actually looks like his Fleta guitar...
다 영어...
If you watch Williams' demeanor while performing, you might get the impression that what he's doing is just run-of-the-mill. Obviously that's not the case.
A.Barrios -J.C.Balbi is playing better.
Tks for the stero version. I long for this!
Bravo!
Tks for the stero version. I long for this!