Stepping Stones / John Williams
) | Label: John Williams Catalog: JCW2 Format: CD John WilliamsComposed by: Williams; Yocoh; Dodgson “Stepping Stones” begins with the delicate “Sakura Variations” by the Japanese composer Yuquiro Yocoh, which sets the tone for a mostly intimate program of original guitar music featuring “Djilile” by Peter Sculthorpe, “Marylebone Elegy” by Stephen Goss, “The Midst of Life” by Stephen Dodgson and other pieces by John Williams, Graeme Koehne, Phillip Houghton and Frederic Hand. John Williams long career as the world’s premier classical guitarist began in his native Australia. Following years of study, first with his father, then summer courses with Segovia in Siena, Italy and then at the Royal College of Music in London, he had, by the early 1960s, performed in London, Paris, Madrid, Japan, Russia and the US. Since then, he’s gone on to collaborate with the premier artists of his time: Julian Bream, Itzhak Perlman, Andre Previn, Cleo Laine, John Dankworth and Daniel Barenboim being among the most noteworthy. Other musical activities have included the groups SKY, John Williams and Friends, Attacca, The National Youth Jazz Orchestra with Paul Hart, Paco Pena, the Chilean group Inti-Illimani, and various collaborations with Richard Harvey. John Williams maintains a wide-ranging interest in contemporary music. Examples have included his recording of music by the Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu and fellow Aussies Peter Sculthorpe and Nigel Westlake. In 2007 John Williams was presented with an Edison Lifetime Achievement award.  Price: $21.98 |