ABSTRACT
John Williams’ approach has been in marked contrast to that of his mentor Segovia, as well as that of many other contemporary guitarists. Indeed, he has often been viewed as something of a rebel in this context. Segovia’s rather narrow views about both the history and future of the instrument seemed, at times, to have been universally accepted by other classical guitarists and Williams frequently rallied against this tendency. The contrast between scholarly guitar-based literature, written from the 1950s until the 1980s with work that has emerged from the 1990s to the present day reflects changes in attitude towards the guitar which have either affected or been affected by the career of Williams. Williams has sought to move guitarists away from some of the ‘Segovian’ traditions. The guitar’s universal presence in the world testifies to its long history of crossing cultures.
