John Williams talks about his relations with Andres Segovia.

John Williams speaks on Segovia

Australian Guitar Journal 1990 - John Williams cover

From the "Australian Guitar Journal" interview by Austin Prichard-Levy
(early 1990's)

AP-L: Reading between the lines of your interview in George Clinton's book on Segovia some years ago, there seemed to be an edge of tension between you and Segovia. Could you enlighten us on that?

John Williams :

" I feel it has become necessary for me to become open about what my reservations with Segovia were. It's all very well hiding behind respectful statements, but there was a personal gap between us that began in the mid-1950's.

Segovia had organized, or was involved in organizing, a guitar competition in Switzerland and asked me to compete in it. At the time, I would have been the logical winner, so it was an attractive idea. But my father was against it, partly because I was still at school and also because he felt I was still too young. My mother, however, supported the idea of my entering, so in the end it was really left to me to make the decision

As it turned out, 1 decided not to enter, and very soon after received an extremely angry phone call from Segovia, in which he abused me roundly in Spanish and called me all sorts of names of names.

Anyway, we all got over that one, but in the years that followed there always seemed to be an edge of tension when he was present for Summer School in Siena. Mostly, the players there like Alirio Diaz and myself would teach each other, because Segovia wasn't always there a great deal, but when he did come, it often felt strained.

As I've said on other occasions previously, he taught mainly by example - four bars here, four bars there, in which you were meant to imitate him - and I suppose that my training at the Royal College was giving me a more structured and structural approach to learning music, so it was sometimes hard to adapt to his very individual teaching style.

John Williams and Andre Segovia in 1966

Having said all that, of course there were many positive aspects to Segovia and his influence on me as a guitarist and as a person. You couldn't help being influenced by him and his sound when you were as close to it as I was. And he was extremely generous and usually very sweet tempered most of the time. But it would be wrong, especially now that he is gone, to assume that there were never any difficult moments between us, because occasionally there were, especially musically.

As time passed, I found my interpretive approach becoming more direct, more linear, whereas Segovia's was often shaped by the beautiful resonant qualities of his Hauser, which didn't suit either my personality or musical inclinations in either solo or chamber music.

Also, Segovia emerged during the age of the other great soloists like Kreisler and Heifetz, and some would argue that their period sound is dated, and it may be, but you can't say its wrong, just different. But you can't change the fact that it all began with Segovia and his sound. We wouldn't be here now if it weren't for him. "

Australian Guitar Journal 1990 - John Williams

John Williams, from the "Australian Guitar Journal" interview by Austin Prichard-Levy - 1990

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