Sunday, 18 October 1998
It’s nice to see that even the world’s classical guitar maestros have to tune their guitar the same way as everyone else. From the moment one of the world’s leading classical guitarists John Williams stepped on to the stage of the New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall on Sunday and went through the basic motions of adjusting his guitar strings, motions familiar to even beginning guitar students, the audience was introduced to a musician who was not only superb, but who constantly strove to keep his performance accessible to all.
Performing as part of this year’s BankBoston Celebrity Series, the Australian-born Williams arrived on the spare stage and opened with “Medieval Suite”, his own arrangement of an array of early Italian and English melodies. Capturing the flavor of medieval dances, he coaxed out of his solo guitar what seemed to be the sound of myriad instruments in harmony, a fitting introduction both to his mastery of the fretboard and to the spirit with which he played his instrument.
Before moving on to play the next piece, Vivaldi’s “Concerto in D Major, Opus 3, no. 9”, Williams displayed his sense of humor by gently mocking the program, which had been obviously written by a person without much enthusiasm for Vivaldi. This chatty mode of interaction would continue throughout the recital, and won him over with the audience. But while the variety of plucking rhythms, and the use of numerous hammer-ons, pull-offs and glides in the Vivaldi allowed for a display of technical virtuosity, one felt it lacked the zest of the opening piece.
A strong Mediterranean theme ran through the day’s repertoire, with Italian, Spanish, Greek and Turkish-inspired pieces played. The Iberian influence was certainly felt in the strong flamenco influences in the rendition of Albéniz’s piano work “Asturias from Suite Española, Opus 47”, of which Williams’ transcription for the classical guitar has become a standard. The piece’s slow build-up to a crescendo let Williams demonstrate his able control of sound dynamics: as the melody repeated on the bass strings, his strumming grew in volume and became increasingly frenetic, an aural illustration of the volcano that was the supposed inspiration for the song.
Moving on from the standards, the piece that preceded the intermission was the first of many late 20th century pieces, the Cuban composer Leo Brouwer’s “El Decamerón Negro”. This piece’s first two movements, The Harp of the Warrior and The Lover’s Flight into the Valley of Echoes were proficiently played, but one felt they failed to live up to the evocativeness of their titles. The same could not be said of the last movement, the Ballad of the Lady in Love, a romantic piece which left the audience with much to discuss during the intermission: one overheard comments ranging from the sheer beauty of the work to the surprising gesture of tuning down the bass string in between movements.
Following the break, all the pieces played were recent works: Australian composer Phillip Houghton’s “Stélé”, the Greek composer Theodorakis’ “Three Epitafios”, and the Italian Carlo Domeniconi’s “Koyunbaba”. Certainly the selection – especially given the Grecian influences on “Stélé” and the Turkish ones on “Koyunbaba” – continued the Mediterranean theme, but kudos is due for the deliberate attempt to play modern pieces.
It was in the latter two pieces, one felt, that the reasonably small space of Jordan Hall was fully exploited. Less flamboyant than the preceding pieces, both the Theodorakis and Domeniconi works had lovely, gentle melodies that carried well in the intimate locale. This was enhanced by the rich tones of Williams’ playing, especially in the purity of the harmonics played. “Koyunbaba” alone may have been fifteen minutes long, but time seems irrelevant when one is held spellbound, as the audience was. A long, well-deserved standing ovation followed.
Such a performance called for an encore, and Williams duly obliged. Interestingly, it seemed he had saved for the encore two pieces which were perhaps less technically impressive but more likely to appeal to the audience. The first song of the encore was a jaunty African-influenced piece, “The Magic Box”, continuing the trend of a world music influence on Williams’ musical choices.
Finally, John Williams the classical guitarist addressed the existence of John Williams the composer (and Boston favorite). His announcement that he would play the latter’s “Theme from Schindler’s List” as his closing piece drew an audibly appreciative response. ‘Pop’, perhaps, but some of Williams’ best work has come from his playing of popular works – his rendering of the Beatles, for one – and this particular piece did not disappoint. Recasting the song as a piece for the classical guitar imparted a spare, haunting quality to the work, making every slide seemed expressive – an appropriate shift down in tempo to end the afternoon.
Humility and humor are not always qualities evident in major musicians, which made their obvious and ample presence in the recital so welcome. Perhaps one could tell John Williams’ ability by buying one of his CDs, but his infusion of warmth showcased the natural intimacy of a solo guitar performance, and made the recital a perfect Sunday afternoon excursion, despite the competing attentions of the glorious weather outside.
This review first appeared in The Harvard Crimson.