Tuesday, February 13, 1968
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
3
Classical guitar is Williams' life
By Carla Rupp Kansan Staff Reporter
John Williams, the young Australian-born classical guitarist, fascinated a capacity KU audience in the University Theatre last night. The crowd gave him a standing ovation and he delighted them with an encore.
Williams said he was extremely pleased with his performance and felt the audience at the Student Union Activities concert was quite responsive.
"The KU audience seemed unusually attentive and was very quiet between numbers. I felt very relaxed while I was playing," he said.
During the ten-minute intermission, the 26-year-old Williams polished his nails in a backstage room.
"My fingernails must always be very polished and smooth. I clip them every once in a while," he said, pointing to an array of emery boards, fingernail files and a pair of scissors lying on the table next to his guitar case.
He said he changes his guitar strings almost every day and added in his British accent, "I believe these strings will last until the end of the performance."
Pausing a moment to consider how his sound traveled throughout the University Theatre, Williams said, "The acoustics feel real fine to me. I think my playing feels very resonant on stage. Yes, just real fine," he said.
He commented that he liked the sort of shape in the auditorium.
"The sound is very, very good in your theatre."
A protege of Andrea Segovia, Williams studied with the master guitarist during the summers from 1953 until 1960 in Siena, Italy.
"Naturally Segovia happens to be my favorite guitarist as well as a personal friend," Williams said smiling.
"Most of the popularity of the classical guitar rightly belongs to Segovia," Williams said. "However, popular music has contributed to a certain extent towards the surge in popularity of the classical guitarist."
"I visited with Segovia at Pasadena, Calif., yesterday where I gave my last performance. It was rather exciting being with my old teacher again."
He said that often classical guitarists begin on popular music and then switch over to classical music.
"I never have played popular music on any of my guitars.
"Popular music is out of my field. My interest only lies in classical guitar," Williams said.
"I'm not really up on pop music," he said. "Oh, I guess the Beatles are all right," said Williams, who makes his home in London, "but their kind of music is entirely different than mine," he said.
"Ive heard some of the Beatles' works and I really do enjoy some of them," Williams said. However, he made it clear his musical interest lies only in the achieving of a beautiful tone and flawless technique on the guitar in classical music.
The guitar is a very unique instrument, he said, and commented on its versatility in jazz, western, classical and popular fields.
"Yes." he said, slowly, "it's a very good thing that the guitar can be used in so many different ways."
JOHN WILLIAMS
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Williams began his studies on the guitar at the age of seven under his father, also a classical guitarist.
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"I didn't study in any school in particular — just here and there," he said, referring to his musical training.
"Several composers are close friends of mine—Dodgson and Joseph Horovitz, both from England. I sometimes perform some of their works," he said.
"Nice to see you again," he said to a woman who identified herself as Mrs. L. A. Reussner of Leawood. "Your son seemed extremely talented when he studied with me for three months. He might prove to be a great classical guitarist someday," Williams said congenially to Mrs. Reussner.
After the concert, many admirers — particularly amateur guitar players—flocked backstage and flung questions at Williams.
mirers. The student a psychology major, apologized, then praised Williams for his "extraordinary performance."
A guitar pick dropped out of a pocket of one of Williams' ad-
MAIL.COMES THROUGH
Thanking him, Williams put on his dress coat and tan scarf, saying he had to get back to Kansas City.
ST. LOUIS — (UPI) — A letter from Brazil reached the correct address even though the envelope read:
Editora Donald,
T. Wright,
St. Louis I.
The letter was delivered to the Waterways Journal, published in St. Louis. It was intended for Donald T. Wright, the late editor and publisher of the Journal for 44 years. Wright died in 1965.
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