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Tom Service talks to John Williams, the renowned Australian-born guitarist, ahead of his 75th birthday. When John talked to Tom, he brought his guitar with him and demonstrates some of the intricacies of the technique, melodic and rhythmic interpretations of music.

John Williams has enjoyed a 50 year-long collaboration with a string of distinguished producers at Sony and CBS and, to commemorate his 75th birthday, a new box-set has been released under the title, ‘John Williams: The Complete Columbia Album Collection’. John starts by talking to Tom about his monumental recorded legacy, which ranges from guitar classics by the likes of Rodrigo and Albeniz, to Vivaldi, Takemitsu, jazz and African music.

The guitar to John is all about communication and he explains how he is inspired by non-classical music from around the work in order to find new ways to reach out to his audience. Tom also talks to him about the early influences on his playing from his own father’s tuition and Segovia. John also talks about his own approach to teaching and how guitar performance must evolve in a world that has changed enormously both politically and culturally since the times of Segovia. He also talks about his current work on Vivaldi and his own compositions.

Broadcast in April 2016
Photo © Janusz Kawa