John Williams

One of the most celebrated guitarists of the classical repertoire, and one of the few to win gold discs and awards, John Williams was born in Melbourne in 1941 and grew up in England. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, where he taught for two years, he has been touring the world's stages since 1958, making numerous recordings alone or in collaboration with Jacqueline du Pré, Cleo Laine, Itzhak Perlman, Paco Pena, John Etheridge or Bryn Terfel. He made two albums with Julian Bream(Together in 1972, which won a Grammy Award, and Together Again in 1974) and played in the progressive rock group Sky between 1978 and 1984. His rendition of Stanley Myers' "Cavatine " was used in the film Voyage au bout de l'enfer (1978). Appearing alongside Sting and Pete Townshend (The Who) at the Policeman's Secret Ball, John Williams is a musician open to all musical forms. He is particularly fond of the Baroque era and the Spanish guitar of Rodrigo and Albeniz, among other classical, modern and contemporary composers. The anthology The Complete Album Recordings released in 2016 reflects the diversity and quality of his repertoire. John Williams received an Edison Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.