Post by C.Cat on Nov 18, 2008 17:04:40 GMT
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This was the first time I had seen John Williams playing live, and I can say straight away that this concert more than lived up to my expectations. When I arrived at the venue, it was jam-packed with eager fans, so I felt quite lucky to have a ticket. When the concert started, John kindly announced that he would introduce the songs for people without programmes.
The first piece was Vivaldi's Concerto op 3 no 9. He told us that it had been arranged by Bach for Harpsicord, then he had re-arranged it for guitar. I quite like Vivaldi's work, and this was an excellent performance. In the allegro section lovely cascades of notes washed out over the audience, and then in the middle movement his playing became more thoughtful and reflective before running into an inspiring finish.
Next up was Two Sonatas by Scarlatti, and in the introduction John told us how Scarlatti was for a time the court composer in Spain. The first part somehow seems well fitted for listening in autumn, but the second part is more frantic. As he sits with his guitar under a spotlight on a stage meant for a full orchestra, he looks isolated, but he fills up the stage with wonderful sound and easily connects with the audience.
The next piece is Valses Poeticos by Enrique Granados, which is a waltz collection. He plays through it with great rhythm and frolicking energy, and at some points I felt like dancing (but as I was sitting up in the circle it wouldn't be safe!).
In a little pause between pieces, he says to the audience "You know, a handkerchief is a great thing to cough in." and raises a laugh before going into Torre Bermeja by Isaac Albeniz. It bursts into life with a flourish, and his playing is both bold and subtle.
There's a change to the order of the programme now, and he tells us that "Those of you who don't have programmes are at an advantage now!" He then played a sequence of his own compositions: Prelude to a Song, Open End, Song Without Words and Hello Francis. He played so well that if anyone listening closed their eyes, they'd think there were at least two guitarists on stage!. He was also able to show his worth as a composer as well as a performer. My listening experience was slightly marred by more coughing in the audience, but that can't be helped at this time of year. He finished the first half of the set with Hello Francis, which is a joyful tribute to a late friend of his.
After the interval, he begins the second half with La Catedral by Agustin Barrios Mangore. It's a beautiful and pure performance, with chords and melodies ringing out with great depth.
He then tells us a little story about someone writing down John T Williams birthdate instead of his "Which was a bit of a bummer because it was 1932!" before playing a selection of film music: Cinema Paradiso (theme), The Deer Hunter (Cavatina) and Schindler's List (theme).
The next piece is Djilile by Peter Sculthorpe. It's based on an Aboriginal melody and the title literally means "Whistling Duck on the Billabong". The name sounds light and funny, but the music has quite a serious feel to it, and is strong and moving.
As the set comes towards the end, he plays several Irish pieces, starting with Carolan's Concerto by Turlogh O'Carolan, who was a harpist. It sounds delightful and heartfelt as he skips through it before running into another piece which isn't named on the programme (it just says "Traditional Irish tunes"). This was followed by a giddying series of reels that cried out to be danced to and finished with a jig.
He was then presented with a nice bunch of flowers before coming back for an encore. I didn't catch the name of the final piece, but it was a beautiful end to an outstanding concert, and
afterwards we carried the memories of it out into the cold night.
This was the first time I had seen John Williams playing live, and I can say straight away that this concert more than lived up to my expectations. When I arrived at the venue, it was jam-packed with eager fans, so I felt quite lucky to have a ticket. When the concert started, John kindly announced that he would introduce the songs for people without programmes.
The first piece was Vivaldi's Concerto op 3 no 9. He told us that it had been arranged by Bach for Harpsicord, then he had re-arranged it for guitar. I quite like Vivaldi's work, and this was an excellent performance. In the allegro section lovely cascades of notes washed out over the audience, and then in the middle movement his playing became more thoughtful and reflective before running into an inspiring finish.
Next up was Two Sonatas by Scarlatti, and in the introduction John told us how Scarlatti was for a time the court composer in Spain. The first part somehow seems well fitted for listening in autumn, but the second part is more frantic. As he sits with his guitar under a spotlight on a stage meant for a full orchestra, he looks isolated, but he fills up the stage with wonderful sound and easily connects with the audience.
The next piece is Valses Poeticos by Enrique Granados, which is a waltz collection. He plays through it with great rhythm and frolicking energy, and at some points I felt like dancing (but as I was sitting up in the circle it wouldn't be safe!).
In a little pause between pieces, he says to the audience "You know, a handkerchief is a great thing to cough in." and raises a laugh before going into Torre Bermeja by Isaac Albeniz. It bursts into life with a flourish, and his playing is both bold and subtle.
There's a change to the order of the programme now, and he tells us that "Those of you who don't have programmes are at an advantage now!" He then played a sequence of his own compositions: Prelude to a Song, Open End, Song Without Words and Hello Francis. He played so well that if anyone listening closed their eyes, they'd think there were at least two guitarists on stage!. He was also able to show his worth as a composer as well as a performer. My listening experience was slightly marred by more coughing in the audience, but that can't be helped at this time of year. He finished the first half of the set with Hello Francis, which is a joyful tribute to a late friend of his.
After the interval, he begins the second half with La Catedral by Agustin Barrios Mangore. It's a beautiful and pure performance, with chords and melodies ringing out with great depth.
He then tells us a little story about someone writing down John T Williams birthdate instead of his "Which was a bit of a bummer because it was 1932!" before playing a selection of film music: Cinema Paradiso (theme), The Deer Hunter (Cavatina) and Schindler's List (theme).
The next piece is Djilile by Peter Sculthorpe. It's based on an Aboriginal melody and the title literally means "Whistling Duck on the Billabong". The name sounds light and funny, but the music has quite a serious feel to it, and is strong and moving.
As the set comes towards the end, he plays several Irish pieces, starting with Carolan's Concerto by Turlogh O'Carolan, who was a harpist. It sounds delightful and heartfelt as he skips through it before running into another piece which isn't named on the programme (it just says "Traditional Irish tunes"). This was followed by a giddying series of reels that cried out to be danced to and finished with a jig.
He was then presented with a nice bunch of flowers before coming back for an encore. I didn't catch the name of the final piece, but it was a beautiful end to an outstanding concert, and
afterwards we carried the memories of it out into the cold night.