Rare Classical Guitar Video: John Williams - Koyunbaba - Presto

[rowbocaster]

I love Bream and Williams in their own ways. I wish I could play BWV-1006 as fast as John regardless if it's too fast or not.

[arfurlife]

This silly thing about who's the best classical guitarist makes me laugh. Even to be in the top 100 classical guitarists you would have to be jaw droppingly good. Williams is surely in the top 100, maybe top 10 even. The talent and musical genius these guys have is beyond most peoples understanding. We should simply revere them and not compare. It really isnt a competition.

I prefer Bream to Williams. Its so personal, who can actually say whos best and frankly, who cares. Are they good? Yes!

[Charl760]

Oops , bum note around 2:08 and shortly followed by another mistake . Must be nerves.

[TheDogfairy]

Listen to him play the complete "Koyunbaba" on his CD, "John Williams, The Guitarist". It's amazing. I feel it's the best version I have heard.

[wrongbuzz]

wow! JW makes mistakes as well.. it is confirmed now he's a human being!!!

[minesaker]

Li jie version is match better and si iz just 13.

[hataycan]

@minesaker Li jie is 30 you idiot. LOL.

[00sven00sven00]

@hataycan she was about 14 when she recorded her koyunbaba vid and the others

[TheGreatEscapes]

Once you are in the top few guitarists it is somewhat irrelevant who is best. I prefer Christopher Parkening as a performer and love John Williams and others.  Mr. Parkening himself has stated that he believes that John Williams is technically the best guitarist in the world.

[gianlucagiordano1]

ma ascoltate Aniello Desiderio e poi ne riparliamo

[gianlucagiordano1]

ma andatevi a sentire Aniello Desiderio ignoranti

[slowhand19]

this is very intense. i just heard and now i love this piece.

[ziriguidumtelecoteco]

If any other guitarist makes a mistake like those JW made, we wouldn't be discussing it. Discussing about JW little mistakes just proves the point: we always think about him as somekind of a guitar machine, as guitarist above all others. He's one of the greatests, and his Koyunbaba is the greatest one I've heard. (Sorry about my bad English.)

[focl2003]

I agree, John Williams is in my opinion the best classical guitarist ever, seeing him making those mistakes is quite uncommon, some days you want to play something you haven't studied for a long time so you don't hesitate and try to enjoy it.

[kalibramk]

Pôxa... ele toca bem mas não entendeu nada...

[oscarivera9]

I am actually quite content to hear a couple of mistakes in this performance. John Williams will definitely be remembered as one of the top five classical guitarists of the 20th century. I have had the pleasure of hearing him live a few years back and lucky enough to have heard him play the entire Koyunbaba suite.

Mistakes he makes in this video prove that he's human; he is known for being very precise in all of his performances---almost like a computer.

All in all--great performance!

[blenyesi22balazs]

exceptional right hand! seemingly so little effort, and what a huge result!

[focl2003]

I agree, this technique belongs to him unfortunately.

[RantzinmyPantz]

watch Aniello Desiderio , I swear he's better than the guy who wrote it/

[ArthurRubinstein]

Where are the other parts???? You focus on the last part only, whereas the other parts are also beautiful. I am very unhappy that you upload only this part! What is the reson of that illogical conduct? The same problem with other performances (for example David Russell's one)

[realmadridvideos]

I am sorry some one please tell me where the mistakes are ???? 99999999.9% of guitarists will spend there entire life practising wishing to play 20% as good as this only to realise they never will. Damn frustrating fact. So unfair. We all probably work 20 times harder than John Williams ... and yet thats the worst he can do ??????

[realmadridvideos]

I am sorry some one please tell me where the mistakes are ???? 99999999.9% of guitarists will spend there entire life practising wishing to play 20% as good as this only to realise they never will. Damn frustrating fact. So unfair. We all probably work 20 times harder than John Williams ... and yet thats the worst he can do ??????

[lsimo]

I think that this is J. Williams interpretacion of this piece and we have to respect him. J williams is j williams...

[temuera3]

To all you dickheads talking shit about John Williams' performance on this video: SHUT THE FUCK UP. If he's so talentless, why the hell did Andres Segovia teach him when he was young? Think about it you fucking morons. And besides, the only reason you people come on youtube and post pathetic, uneducated criticism on legends like John Williams is because you're just plain outright JEALOUS. JEALOUS, because you know you will never, EVER be 1/100th as amazing as he is. So get a life losers.

[LUCICAGNOLO]

williams is williams,a great guitarist  but this isn't his best performance.he played too slow and doesn't play correct in some passages.

[Artaxbozzim]

and if ye listened directly Domeniconi?

[X80band]

check out aniello desiderio's take, one of the best I've seen. Li Jie or David Russell too...

[X80band]

like watching a japanese robot make cars. I love John, this is not his best.

[asongnadance]

Not a typical JW performance for sure :(

[DecrepifiedThrone]

@ bassoprincipale, how is it mechanical? he changes from pontecello to dulce, his dynamics go with the music phrases of this song. his volume is very diverse too

[bassoprincipale]

like ever. without any feelings, mechanical, stiffly played. not a product of a good guitarist. unfortunately

[zadigjaja]

@bassoprincipale My kid is listening this guy all the time. Who would you prefer over J.Williams? I should get a couple of his cds.

[ricard]

hello,  in my opinion, julian bream walks over him any day. You should get a julian bream cd for ur kid

[jazbii]

@bassoprincipale

you sir are a succesfull troll

[Festerico]

I hate guitarists like this, they make it look so effortless..;)

[Quergitarre]

best part of this video 02:16 !

[JenniferHartery]

lol, nice to see that he's human like the rest of us :D he's still the man though!!

[notetoalex]

haha - a rare screw up!

[789vbc]

pthamos, do you mean Li Jie? Yes, that is an awesome one too. It gets the full piece 12:14.

[buracker]

this one is really rare i guess. i had searched for john williams's playing this piece to listen and see how he performed but i couldn't found any video or a track. what a chance to see it in related videos section. but i must say i am not impressed.john williams is my favourite guitarist but i didn't like this one.i haven't watched domeniconi's playing but the best one i have ever seen was xue fei yang's performence which was recorded when she was 16. its on youtube, 2 parts,just search it...:D

[enfantdecoq]

It is on his cd "The Guitarist" in full. I've listened to several versions of this, but I do prefer his cd version over the others I've heard. I understand there's a big difference as far as recording quality and stream quality on youtube vs. cd, and I'm sure that has something to do with it. But still, I strongly recommend the cd in whole.

[Orange1117]

youre right, hes not the big deal in this video (dont get me wrong hes my favourite guitarrist too)

I got the track of him playing it and its WAAAY better than this ;)

btw, there are videos of domeniconi playing the two last movements here on youtube (one for each) and trust me, NOBODY plays it like him =D

[thejugglenaut91]

she wasn't 16!

[MrPasamu]

What is "Koyunbaba"? Is this a Turkish word?

[buracker]

yes, actually there are two combined words in koyunbaba. they are "koyun"(which means sheep) and "baba"(which means father). plus i heard that it is a name of a place, i guess a village.

[xorxe10]

hey Buracker, go to vodpod com, type Koyunbaba in the search box, and you will find high quality mp3s of this piece and the other three movements, played by John williams. Thx.

[MrPasamu]

Ya ben Türküm üstat şunu bi daha anlatsana sana zahmet. Kimin bestesiymiş bu?

[pthamos]

list lie jie you wıll see how could play koyunbaba

[liunandaboy]

he make this song look easy!!

[acasino]

For a professional IS easy...

[AFSCO93]

hey, teneis que ver a willliam kanengiser tocando esta, es impresionante!

[classicguitargirl]

He is and has been a great guitiarist but the way he is playing is off. Listen to Domeniconi play this piece.

[dirtyskank007]

john williams is absolutely crap, way over-rated. there are plento better guitarist out there, some of them 1/5 his age.

[churchula]

Casuálmente hay dos John Williams que son inmensos músicos.Tanto el compositor como éste,el guitarrista.Quizá,el guitarrista clásico vivo más importante.Lo mismo podría decir del compositor.(DOS GUILLERMOS IMPRESCINDIBLES,HITOS DE LA INTERPRETACIÓN Y COMPOSICIÓN RESPECTÍVAMENTE)

[darthtuq]

is this that john wiliams that composed music for star wars??

[guitargurugu]

of course no!

[SmilinShadow]

:D this is one of the best classical guitar players ever

[tuashiave]

yet he makes so many mistakes !! watch Aniello Desiderio if you want to see how this song should be played. and he makes many buzzes and different mistakes. i thought he was better.

[cubencis]

yes, he wrote star wars theme, reqiuem for a dream, indiano jones theme and many other hollywood scores

[Sanelora1]

... wrong John Williams dude.

I can assure you that the John Williams that wrote the Hollywood scores is an AMERICAN born composer and not an AUSTRALIAN born guitarist.

[dudwns220]

@Sanelora1 He is the world best guitarist!

whats wrong with having the same name as the composer John Williams whom sux more then the guitarist J.Williams

and Its a very common name

[Sanelora1]

@dudwns220 what? John Williams the composer is great too. I was just pointing out that this guy didnt write the score to Star Wars :P

[SmilinShadow]

no idiot that's another john williams!

[bagre16]

are you seriously that stupid?

[tarquin161234]

JW is still my favorite guitarist ever though.

[tarquin161234]

OMG never seen JW make mistakes like that LOL!

[balamanti2]

SLOW

[reverieunicorn]

I can't believe this is john Williams ,he made so many mistakes.

[heilavirlan]

Yeah, he´s human!...maybe he had a bad day, we all do, big deal.

[goyroyni]

Big deal indeed as already commented. I saw him a few days ago (march 12, 2009) at his Athens Concert Hall recital and he definitely was the legend he has always been. The occasional mistake can never negate a vast performance. His "Valses poeticos" alone were worth enough to be there.

[jllobet]

I saw John Williams last sunday, he was simply brilliant, he showed the audience why he is the best guitarist ever born.

[ricointx]

Who was he staring at around 3:29- 3:31? Looks like he's annoyed at someone.

[rudyrg64]

WoW.. jajaja... you are right... maybe he is trying to send a message.. lol.. good observation out of u... ANYONE that would dare.. try to criticize A LEGEND would have to at least be at the same level.. like leilavirlan said... BIG deal.. JW.. es the master!!! love koyunbaba

[guitar4everrr]

lacks expression..

[blinkkk1007]

I adored Jown Williams till I saw this video

[Zstriker]

i would love to see JW play all 4 parts

[unmaskedbandit]

When I played the version from 'The Guitarist' for one of my friends he asked "That's good, who are they?"...

Thanks for posting this vid, JW is my favorite classical guitarist.

[bbhakan]

Sorry, no feeling here. Totally mechanic.

[typeinbolivianbug]

stupid man

[bbhakan]

dumb asshole

[OoSauronoO]

BBQ!

[mikeswbr]

couple of tiny rare mistakes but I think this is the best performance of this piece on all of youtube.

[classical193]

i beleive what we are hearing is the poor quality of the video and audio

[Deerse]

Everyone must listen to Antigoni Goni playing this piece .She is the GFA winner of 1995 .

It is farout superior .

It is to be found on a cd produced by Norbert Kraft ( Naxos ).Her timing and tone are flawless .A pity she not here on YT.

[mp34x]

ser.,mukang naliliitan ka ata sa gitara mo.,maliit lang akong lalaki.,pwedeng akin nalang? ano bang height mo? for charity tol.,gusto ko kasing matutung mag gitara.,yung roomate ko magaling.,Julliard School of Music siya.,baka meron ka namang private lessons.,

[mp34x]

ser.,hinga ka naman.,mukang stif na stif ka.,relax.,alam namin magaling ka.,

ser.,roomate ko idol ka.,

magaling ka daw talaga

[GinoTheSinner]

the more technical demanding piece, the better he plays.

[colliro]

da lo mismo si se equivoco como en 2 partes.

Queda a la evidencia la genialiad de JW, la tecnica de la mano derecha es maravillosa al igual que la mano izquierda!

para mi aun sigue siendo el mejor

[agvap]

maybe the others just added some parts xD

[dnollmeyer]

I have the cd. The tempo he is using is good but I do not believe that even on The Guitarist is sounds finished. No one plays this song polished. JW is the best on youtube however.

[focl2003]

Everything's very clear, he's forgotten some parts of the piece, why?, the best guitarist in the world is a human being.

[jczalaquett]

To be honest, it does not matter. JW is a genuine musician and the best guitarist in the world.Bear in mind he is playing in live;possibly, he was a bit tired.He is not a CD! Come on!Music in live is a bit wild and the guitar is not a mild instrument: flesh and nails are on the strings and it is required to be accurate and one or two little mistakes, it is really nothing!

[isocrate27]

@jczalaquett I absolutely disagree with you.

1) Julian Bream is the best guitarist in the world. Williams is very weak compared to Bream's expressiveness.

2) I have seen Bream when he was 66 years old in Montreal in his farewell tour. The concert lasted 2:45 hours (3 recalls). Everything piece he played was exactly like the ones on his CDs. Same sounds, same pace.

3) Williams plays faster, but rushes through everything.

[xsoma]

@isocrate27 Paco De Lucia is the best guitarist in the world.

[Orange1117]

@xsoma Paco is flamenco, not classical, its like comparing an apple with a tomato. I consider both Williams and Bream the best classical guitarists of all times, and I also recognize Paco as the best flamenco guitarrist of all times. But I dont think a comparation can be made between them because they play different genres, different music with different styles and different techniques. Similar to each other in many ways, but similar is not the same as equal. Greetings my friend.

[MrGayItUp]

@isocrate27 It's biased and subjective when it comes to opinion.

[cheradinine8]

@isocrate27  Bream is not in the same class as Williams as a guitarist, however he IS the world's best lutanist...

[poupee58]

Williams sloppy? One would have thought he could afford to buy a real guitar though.Seriously,wonderful playing as always

[craigalake]

He did, apparently he bought a Bernabe recently! It would have cost less than the Smallman however.

[Ahmetal]

sloppiest I have ever seen/heard him... sooooo disappointing. :(((( oh well. He is still the best, musically and technically and tone wise, the last you can especially notice when he is playing something other than a Smallman, not to knock Smallmans ...not to defend them either. ok I've said enough. One more thing, thank you for this vid ;)

[craigalake]

You are right, this is sloppy FOR WILLIAMS, for anyone else on the planet it was a great concert. It must have been a bad night cause there's a slip in the video of Julia Florida from the same concert. He would have been livid with that. (I'll quite happily knock Smallmans).