Williams, John (Christopher)
Williams, John (Christopher)
Williams, John (Christopher), remarkable
Australian guitarist; b. Melbourne, April 24, 1941. He began his training with his father, the guitarist Leonard Williams. In 1952 he settled in London, where he made his first appearance in 1955. He continued his studies with Segovia at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena (1957-59). In 1958 he made his formal debut at London’s Wigmore Hall. From 1960 to 1973 he was prof, of guitar at the Royal Coll. of Music in London. Follow ing successful tours to the Soviet Union in 1962 and the U.S. and Japan in 1963, he performed with outstanding success on regular tours of Europe, North and South America, Australia, and the Far East. In 1980 he was made an Office of the Order of the British Empire. Williams’ repertoire is truly egalitarian in its scope. While he is admired for his performances of the standard works for the guitar, he has done much to expand the repertoire by giving the premieres of scores by Brouwer, Dodgson, Previn, Schulthorpe, Takemitsu, and Westlake. In addition, he has found success in jazz and pop genres as well.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire