Julian Bream & John Williams - Brahms

[hmbarn01]

14 people play Guitar Hero. On Easy.

[Rentaghost76]

two of the best guitarists ever playing together at the peak of their powers, pure bliss!

[MyLord96]

Who knows where to find sheet music?

[googlekopfkind]

@MyLord96 imslp

[mohsenuk1]

what does brahms means?

[tmjcbs]

@mohsenuk1 What does "what does brahms means?" mean?

[rockhammer666]

@mohsenuk1 Johannes brahms?

[SeReZiN1]

@mohsenuk1: brahms is the composer

[classicoALEX]

@mohsenuk1 i think he's the composer :P

[birtwellp]

Love this piece. Should check out Mark Switzer too. Mark has an excellent classical guitar instructional DVD available.

[goemaeregert]

wow this is amazing. where can i find a reliable score of this? imslp only has piano reductions...

[chaconne11]

Simply STUNNING. Maestro Williams and Bream are playing at their peak. It's really a good luck that I can view this rare video. Thanks youtube.

[ReturnOfTheStienway]

Oh God... another BRAHMMY!

[Sirvanta]

is there sheet music available for this aragment(sp?)

[EarlLedden]

Hey J and J, how about a revisit... Glen Gould " Goldberg Variations" style... There are 222,000+ hits here and I know i speak for every one of them. Earl Ledden

[lujoguitar]

El colorido de Bream es algo inigualable... un dúo fenomenal, muy distintos entre ellos pero con un sentido musical común. Lamentablemente ese proyecto no dejó más testimonios. Da gusto ver artistas de esa categoría.

[joab321]

Yeah... there is counterpoint... but I think monophony refers to one note at the time.. so according to me (not very trustworthy) it could not be monophonic

[scarletfever72]

amazing co-ordination and harnonizing, espeically at 5.38 after dizying apegios , almost frabtic comes a peaceful, elegant section, wonderful. Its a pity there aren't any current under 25 - 30 year olds performing as classical guitar duets, a sign of the times maybee?

[vivo75]

does anybody know how to find this score? Thanks.

[Benj888]

Memorizing just one of these guitar parts would drive me nuts.

[trevjr]

this sounds like a transcription of the piano work, it is incredible, 2 great guitarists. you can tell how bream's picado is sweeter than williams. still, this is magic

[CardiffClassicGuitar]

I'm looking everywhere for a copy of the sheet music for this. If anyone has it I'll do a swap for a rare transcription of the Allegretto from beethovens' 7th.

[CardiffClassicGuitar]

I'm looking everywhere for a copy of the sheet music for this. If anyone has it I'll do a swap for a rare transcription of the Allegretto from beethovens' 7th.

[davehshs]

Amazing piece! Too bad about the sound quality. The distortion is terrible.

[davehshs]

What an incredible piece! Beautiful and fascinating to listen to. Does anyone know which "theme and variations" by Brahms this is? (He composed several, based on themes by various composers.)

[evolve749]

@davehshs This is the Theme and Variations from the String Sextet #1 of Brahms. I believe he also transcribed it for piano, but it was originally from the sextet. This is an interesting arrangement, but I much prefer the original versions.

[davehshs]

@evolve749 Thanks! I just found some clips of recordings of that movement from the sextet. It's beautiful and very powerful. Its impact on this listener is akin to that of the Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia.

[sstrunks5555]

Is this John Williams the composer? or some other John Williams

[AlsatianCousin]

@sstrunks5555 - this is another John Williams.

[sstrunks5555]

@AlsatianCousin Okay, I figured. Thanks. LOL

[johnquantran]

John Williams plays as Guitar 1 and Julian Bream plays as Guitar 2.

[AntonHAF]

nai les kai katalabame ti leei !!

[chinoapestoso]

アジアの場合は死ななければならないクソ

[takanami100]

こんな演奏があったなんて。YouTubuでまた新しい発見がで­きた。動画の投稿者に感謝します。

[chinoapestoso]

@takanami100 1,2,3 chino japone a cua de ro tre le apeta lo pie xDxDxDxD

[Cinturatorrente]

commovente

[kiaramaul]

Brilliant

[key2kingdom]

A lovely tune. It would work well in one of Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns - reminds me of the tune during the stand-off between himself, Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef at the end of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly :o)

[marioestanislau007]

fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[polloyt]

Great arrangment and awsome players.

I love it, everything so clear, full of emotions. Thank you for posting this!

[Fr3derick]

Marvellous!!!

Grandma mary

[AlborzZagros]

Lovely! Thank you Masters!

[jprarch]

Just amazing! Listen to the three Bream Williams LP's from the 70thies (available as CD's): Togheter, Togheter again and Bream Williams Live.

[paulostroff99]

Awesome and beautiful do not do this justice.

Bravo! Bravo! TY.

[CardiffClassicGuitar]

Stunning, nothing is more beautiful than a guitar, save perhaps two.

[leorozas]

As Chopin said, yes.

[wmhough]

There is no evidence according to Chopin scholars of this being a quote of Chopin's - the first appearance of the quote is approx 1949 by John Duarte in BMG and probably a way of promoting the guitar at that time in England.

[leorozas]

That is a reasonable possibility of course. We don't have any way to prove that Chopin or any other composer who died long time ago said any quote, except if they wrote it down and some experts can compare that with other manuscripts to make sure of the authenticity.

Anyway, I think Mr. Duarte did great using that quote to promote the guitar (if that's the case), it's a beautiful phrase by itself.

Regards.

[wmhough]

I agree my friend - it is a beautiful phrase and it certainly hasn't done any harm for the guitar!

[bintheloft]

@CardiffClassicGuitar I believe Brahms said that first! But I totally agree with both of you.

[cheapacoustic]

I can't count the number of times I've watched this video. Does anyone know of a simpler, easier arrangement of this theme. What's it called?

[noguitango]

It's theme very close to Spanish dance music theme La Folia.

Heandel's Saraband's thehe is La Folia.

Perhaps you know the solo guitar piece 'Sarabnd'.

[oiznas]

I have to find the sheet music somewhere at home...this arrangement of the original sextet setting was published!

[GabeMooreLovesCheese]

@oiznas I would love to find this music, I have searched a lot but cannot find it.

[Deerse]

Well I do have the Williams transcription .

[GabeMooreLovesCheese]

really? i looked everywhere. do you have a pdf you could email?

[scottcao2008]

Hello Deerse, could I have a copy of the Williams transcription ? via email .

Regards,

Kenny

[rodcavazos]

Que mamon tocan los viejos essos!!

Yo ví a Williams en MTY

REgards,

Rod

[Thuringen]

These two definitely make an excellent duet. the Spanish dance by them is amazing as well.

[Adamkhant]

does anyone know what piece of music this theme and variations is based on?

[dawgfan0045]

This is Sextuor by Brahms, but in this case it has been arranged for 2, so some is left out

[pihi92]

this is so awesome, I wish I could play like that...

[Sopranoguitar]

Both are one of greatest classical guitar players in 20th century, however, the song and arrangement sounds uninspiring to my ear, basically it is a boring performance, sorry :(

[ludachris475]

Fortissimo.

[ludachris475]

I like to masturbate to classical music.

[leonardorozas]

This is the most stupid answer I've seen to a high level classical music video like this... mental poverty...

[ludachris475]

Chamber music makes my cock throb uncontrollably.

[ludachris475]

Contrapuntal.

[Thansferium]

More Brahms at monteverdi &dot& tv slash rco. A performance of his second symphony by the finest orchestra in the world today, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra can be downloaded for free in high quality mp3!

[clcl1109]

julian bream is my son. :>

[nellossie]

I hope not.. Or else you'd be REALLY old...

[killzone3000]

so wait... is theme and variations considered counterpoint or monophony

[tmjcbs]

Mmm...I would say it's basically a melody and variations with accompaniment, which is either chords or single notes. Bream and Williams often changed lead and accompaniment several times in a piece when playing variation-like pieces.

[jojobutbut]

@killzone3000 Theme and Variations is polyphony. While the general chord progressions and melody stay the same, different things are changed to make variations. Depending on the composer, this could be the rhythm, harmony, texture, or even the playing technique.

[nathanplayspiano]

@killzone3000 It's a form. Counterpoint is a compositional technique and monophony is a texture.

[parakeethands]

can anyone tell me please what the name of this album is? i would love to purchase it. thanks. :)

[tmjcbs]

This piece was recorded live on their 1979 recording 'Live'. Most of this recording was added as filler to new releases of their studio recordings 'Together' and 'Together Again', but unfortunately for you this Brahms piece was not included. There is an old CD release of 'Live' that does include this Brahms piece, but that is no longer available, you may find it on eBay.

[parakeethands]

Yes I purchased the "Together" CD recently for the version of "Claire De Lune" but could not find this particular piece on either CD. Thank you.

[antione101]

@tmjcbs

I had to buy a record produced in 1977 and made (and shipped) in England in order to hear the live recording of this song. I have not found it on professional record anywhere else. Another song on that record I couldnt find anywhere else was a Fantasia by Fernando Sor.

[bergeronf]

The ending is so amazing.

Where did you find this video?

[keybabs]

Julian Bream is truly the greatest! Why on earth hasn't he been knighted for his amazing contribution to music? Let's hear it for Julian!

[tokaicarl]

you are so right- probably the only person i like in the whole world- when he's gone i will be finished

[antione101]

@keybabs  ummmm he has been Sir Julian Bream

[muznuts111]

@keybabs lets not compare the performances, theyre both good, but Breams haircut has got a bit of everything!

[noamboyk]

@keybabs he does have a C.B.E.

[bintheloft]

@noamboyk Sir Julian would be better. After all, we have Sir Cliff...

[luisantonio47]

simplemente fabuloso

[WolfishNuckajuh]

bream used to come to me for guitar lessons few years back, he's a really down to earth guy, its nice to see him stick to the style i taught him

[gasparcs]

I listen to this piece almost every day. It remains exciting again and again. Thanks for posting it.

[southernmagnus]

Is there any guitarist as expressive and tonally gifted as Bream? I'm genuinely curious.

[tmjcbs]

no.

[mcondra99]

@tmjcbs. In the 1960s-70s when I followed classical guitar, and maybe since, Bream stood out for playing complex pieces and maintaining rhythm as part of a group. He had an Elizabethan ensemble; that may indeed have been its title. Some players maintain technical mastery by sacrificing rhythm; this is because the instrument is physically demanding of the left arm. Note in the middle of this piece, the long run of single notes that Bream plays without showing sign of fatigue.

[LeedsUnitedLoyal]

O! Ye Gods!!

[Zora1337]

Very Very VERRY Nice , there are a good team is can listen it all the time =)

[ayeGyi36]

their use of dynamics like ponticello, dolce, pizz, mute,etc.. are truly amazing, not to mention the rhythmic precision and synchrony.

[Klaudiusz1983]

This piece is like a jurney in to the see of sounds.......I like it

[AndanteLargo]

Sigh... this is one of the most beautiful pieces ever... Brahms.. my almost favourite composer... after Bach!

Per-Olov

[jbtaylor892]

Julian Bream's guitar is awesome! Not to say John William's is not but I like Bream's better. 1 quick question though. When you look around 1:25 at John Williams left hand thumb you can see it sticking above the level of the fret board. I thought you were supposed to have you thumb in the middle of the neck? It might just be that his guitar is a little thinner then normal but it kind of confused me.

[goyroyni]

Williams often does that, it's just how his technique works for him. Just watch Bream's left hand fingers for an even weirder sight :)

At this level of perfection all that matters is the musical output anyway, technique (of any sort) becomes a mere servant and not an objective to stick to.

Regards

[tinnycringe]

me gusto mucho! formidable! incredible!

[jargenlink]

fantastic my mind is high.

[sglooney316]

WOW, such flawlessness and beauty have my ears yet to perceive

[regio180]

La quimica que se logra a travez de interpretar juntos, es superior a las individualidades ya que se recrean en lo que mas les gusta, tocar la guitarra.

[joe983]

Is this published?

[JacarandaMusic]

Yes its published, I've played it a few years ago. Extremely tricky in places but worth getting to see how its done.

[jeffbw]

Nine minutes of perfection.

[majamo7]

no es por nada, pero se ve bien chistoso john

[BubCar2]

This is one of Brahms's rather clunky exercises, but these two actually manage to bring it to life as a piece of music. A real collector's piece :)

[pabzum]

Thank you for posting this.

Wonderful JB, JB & JW.

[uruchi80]

This is music in the form of divinity.

[MRM1967]

This is the Theme and Variations from Brahms' Op. 18 String Sextet (2nd movement), which has also been transcribed for piano. (Look for Radu Lupu's recording.) Made famous by Louis Malle in Les Amants.

[fielherzog]

no word can explain how i am feeling now after watching these stupid monsters playing with so maestry and poesy.

[jvz112]

Nothing is better!! Perhaps the other piece that they play: suite for two guitars from Lawes!

[jvz112]

Nothing is better!! Perhaps the other piece that they play: suite for two guitars from Lawes!

[chirpybee]

I love both these guys - but this Brahms piece is like some exercise programme. Not a great piece of music - even with their gifts for interpretation and tone.

[prasiddha]

Two of my favorite classical guitarists. I love the fact that unlike most elitist and snobbish classical musicians/lovers, they actually love contemporary music (rock and roll, jazz). Bream was said to have enjoyed playing Jimi Hendrix for a period in his life. Williams played the rock fusion band Sky.

[paganiniGOGO]

bream never said that my boy

[Ahmetal]

Anyone know the name of the piece?

[cialis4you]

Even in the bad audio quality you can just hear the extreme musicianship of two of the greatest guitar players ever.

[guitardode]

played with great passion and a awesome talent combined together into a voice not heard often in todays music -listen and learn!

[tnmtemerity]

It was recorded over 30 years ago - so it isn't totdays music - what did you learn from it?

[zaj0rcrist]

hAHAHAHAH

[savagerabbit]

He didn't say it was "today's music", jackass. He said it evoked things not often heard in today's music.

[tnmtemerity]

Dear Kind sir (or Madam) and I just said it wasn't today's music. I also inquired about what he felt he learned from it. I'm sorry that rubs you the wrong way - I didn't resport to calling anyone names. Apprently you believe conversation is what Bill Orilley has and not say what Oprah has if your so quick to call someone a jackass...

[savagerabbit]

Eh, you're right, name-calling was harsh.

[damien777]

tnmt wins!

[YayBenSpeck]

classical music is eternal. it's today's music everyday.

[petrosxnkis]

Yes I heard Milica and v impressed too. But love these two, so inspiring.

[chalet456]

time passes so fast! feels like history now. but still a wonderful sound. I've been listening a lot to Milica Ilic who is my guess for the future. a beautiful sound.

[amanogawa1]

jules is so passionate!

[vergilg2]

nice comeover

[cholling]

This sounds really nice, but plugging in their guitars, I feel, would have greatly enhanced the quality of their performance.

[tmjcbs]

What could plugging possibly add to the sound of a classical guitar, well...any classical instrument, for that matter?

[cholling]

Well, with electricity added, these guys could add in lots of feedback here and there to give their performance lots and lots of raw power.

[amanogawa1]

yA! An A pHazer Too, MaN!!

[hooptydoo11]

lol, feedback.

[ILikeClassicalGuitar]

ROFL! With a whammy pedal, I'm sure these guys would sound just as good as John Williams and Julian BREAM! Oh wait. They are John Williams and Juliam Bream. Why in the flying blue f*** would they ever play this beautiful music on a noisemaker?

[cholling]

Well, suffice to say, they could learn a thing or two from Neil Young. Ode to Powderfinger!!!

[pigeonhammer]

I have to strongly agree with tmjcbs on this one. Much as I love the electric guitar, theres a time and a place for it. Theres no way you can beat the purety of an acoustic in this style of playing

[ergon133]

what is power got to do with musicality? power is only one of many tools a musician can use to enhance his or her performance. its not something to be thrown in for the fun of it.

i feel that these 2 have got it just right... john williams is a very pure musician and his musicality surfaces in everything he plays. Julian bream i have heard much less of but from waht ive seen they are a very good pair. good performance i say! thanks for the upload mate

[clash44]

well just for your personal gain if you are interested: Julian Bream was the number one lutenist pretty much i the world for some time, he focused on reestablishing the lute and reembeding it into modern musical culture and maded a pretty fare dent. However he wanted to bring traditional lute and guitar music back to the world- things like baroque and elizabethan styled tunes. You obviously don';t hear as much of that on the radio as you do say cold play; but yeah.

[MBledzephed]

pure magic

[KauroSA]

Beautiful and amazing. Gods of the guitar.

[mkinosch]

nice harmoney

[mote440]

Two great musicians playing the music of a great composer while tripping!

[ted5kennedy]

awe inspiring!

[Robertdieri]

superb

[saffsgrandad]

Two of the finest technicians of all time, but a little lacking in feeling for my taste, they are so technically perfect they are almost human tape recorders. My cousin studied guitar under Williams and he's just the same, if its on the paper he can play it, take the sheet music away and he's lost. My technique stincks like rotten fish, but at least I have some soul.

[tmjcbs]

Well, there's no accounting for taste of course, but lacking in feeling???? If you think so, I would like to know who your favourite guitar players are.

[saffsgrandad]

My favourite player is not classically trained, more folk orientated in fact. Martin Simpson. As you say, its a matter of taste. I find all classical guitarists slightly boring whilst at the same time being in awe of their phenomenal skill.

[psyentist420]

why dont you try to improvise a classical guitarists repertoire some time then you will understand that of the hundreds of songs a classical guitarist learns there are only a few that they may come to memorize. There are hundreds of chord progressions and once you get a few stuck in your head its very hard to go back to ones you may have remembered even only a couple months ago.

[saffsgrandad]

Just because I am not a classical player, it does not mean that my repertoire is small. Not only do I have to memorise hundreds of chord progressions, I have to adjust to several completely different genres and styles. At the moment I concentrate on traditional English and Celtic music and on any given night chose up to 25 songs from about 60 that I have memorised. Some simple some as complex as anything classical with no sheet music in sight.

[psyentist420]

thats impressive indeed and i obviously didnt understand the breadth of your musicianship. I guess then it really is just a matter of what you appreciate about the music you listen to and what you strive to achieve with your own.

[saffsgrandad]

Thanks for that, but please understand that I lay no claim to be a great musician. As I say in my first comment, my technique stinks and I truly am in awe of the skills of even a run-of-the-mill classical player. The only thing I claim to bring to music, that I can't hear in them, is individuality / personallity. My music has "soul" for want of a better word.

[Noctiferous]

If you don't ear felling in this music...go buy amplifon please. ;)

[swans1997]

I always thought these two would be so cool breaking into improv, but that's a no no in the classical world. Still wonderful these two together.

[bergeronf]

Break the mold!

[topc2011]

Does anyone know how I can get hold of the score for this piece? I mean the Williams guitar duet version as played here. I can't seem to find a supplier on the net anywhere!

Thanks

[BEEFYTOMO]

Beautiful playing from these two masters.Love it..

[gerryrains]

This is a marvelous performance - but what else can be expected from two guitarists of this quality? The tape recording seems mediocre. Does anyone know when the original taping was done?

[brtherjohn]

In the US, the complete lp concert, on RCA, was never put on cd but rather selections from it were used as fillers for the duo's earlier studio recordings and reissued as such (with applause carefully edited out). The missing selections are this excellent Brahms variations (published by Williams), Albeniz' Castilla and the Sor Fantasie Op 54. (But in the UK the complete concert was issued on CD nearly 20 years ago I think.)

[jmardinly]

I got real lucky back in the 70's when I got THE front row center seat for a Bream & Williams concert in Ann Arbor. They did the Brahms at that concert. It just blew me away then, and now over 30 years later, it still blows me away. I still have the 2-LP recording of that program that they issued, but it was never issued on any CDs. Even a just a decent video of that performance would be a greater treasure than the contents from Aladdin's cave.

[codonauta]

Is This  a Brahms composition really?

[limpi1950]

Brahms Sextett op. 18 second movement

[limpi1950]

Barhms op 18 , 2nd movement, see search result "Brahms Sextett op 18" -> Star-Trek

[Oxy151268]

Yes it's the 2nd movement from his first String Sextet. He write 2 and they're both phenomenal!

[analuciahernandez]

sin duda, el mejor guitarrista del mundo

[racer500gp]

Beautiful. Fantastic!

[djbmx91]

Is that what Heaven sounds like

[abelanna]

So happy that this kind of videos are around and viewable now! I have the music on recordings, but never hoped I would actually see these two playing. They are probably the best duo I have heard, and is Brahms piece is probably the best (also check out the Debussy recording hey made together, Does anybody have those too??)

[jimraw1]

WoW!

[ulyssesjj]

This is difficult enough to create a full sound with a sextet never mind a duo - stunning playing!

[MJKim75063]

Marvelous harmony