11/04/2008
Standing ovation: Guitar maestro and pacifist John Williams delighted the public with a number of Venezuelan songs.
Concert against Nuclear Arms

Performing pieces by J.S Bach, Domenico Scarlatti, Isaac Albéniz together with pieces from his own collection, the British maestro closed his performance with Los Caujaritos from the famous Venezuelan composer. Other pieces performed at the concert against nuclear arms were Como llora una estrella and El Totumo de Guarenas.

London – The church of St James in Piccadilly, with its splendid acoustics was the location of the latest concert, by one of Great Britain’s most talented guitar players, John Williams. Williams delighted his guitar loving public with a repertoire that included pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, Isaac Albéniz and Domenico Scarlatti, alongside pieces by Venezuelan composers such as Ignacio, El Indio, Figueredo, Antonio Carrillo and Benito Canónico. He also included some marvellous pieces of his own composition.

A perfect performance, full of imagination and his sublime delivery served as a celebration of life itself, in particular of a life and world without nuclear arms. This concert is the beginning of a programme that pays homage to the twenty-fifth anniversary of Musicians against Nuclear Arms. This organization was founded by a group of eminent British musicians that work towards achieving world peace. The president of this society MANA is the famed guitar player himself.

Furthermore, within the audience of guitar lovers and followers of Williams’ career, were members of the organization against Nuclear Arms, progressive peace activists, and also the outstanding Venezuelan piano player Clara Rodriguez. The Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in London, Samuel Moncada, together with his full diplomatic body, occupied a place of honour in the auditorium.

A devil let loose in London

Williams, winner of numerous and prestigious awards, is considered one of the finest guitar players in the world. He trained in Spain under the supervision of Andrés Segoviano, later studying musical theory and the piano at the Royal College of Music in London. He has a longstanding relationship with Venezuelan music. This is reflected in his music CD John Williams, El Diablo Suelto, (A devil let loose),which was edited in 2003, where he performs a collection of 26 Creole pieces by great Venezuelan maestros like Vicente Emilio Sojo and Antonio Lauro, alongside popular musical geniuses such as El Indio Figueredo.

Williams himself spoke of his admiration for the great Venezuelan guitarist, Alirio Díaz, who he greatly admires and briefly met when he was younger. The genius Alirio Díaz deeply marked young Williams, an influence displayed in his brilliant performance today and in his deep passion for Latin American music, and in  particular for Venezuelan music, for which he confesses a  particular affinity for.

Generous words vis-à-vis “the important efforts of Venezuela to promote music and social inclusion” by Mrs Joan Horrocks - an outstanding member and administrator of the organization- were the prelude to the infinitely esthetical performance. “The music seemed to flow from the maestro effortlessly” commented Ambassador Moncada, praising the musician’s modest personality and humble interaction with the audience.

After listening to pieces by J.S.Bach, Domenico Scarlatti, la Córdoba and Torre Bermeja by the Spanish composer, and pieces by Steve Dawson and the Paraguyan Agustín Pío Barrios, the maestro Williams performed pieces from his own repertoire, such as Prelude to a song, Open End and Song without Words.

To close the program, the maestro treated his audience to performances of Los Caujaritos, by Ignacio El Indio Figueredo, Como Llora una estrella by the Barquisimeto-born Antonio Carrillo and El Totuma de Guarenas by Benito Canónico.

Williams, who is widely renowned for his decisive support in favour of Chilean exiles and against the Pinochet dictatorship, dedicated his final pieces to the Venezuelan nation for its commitment to world peace and in particular thanked the Ambassador of Venezuela in London, Samuel Moncada, and his staff for attending.

The interval was also dedicated to peace

After the interval, the chairman and Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn, representative of the district of Islington in London said a few words to the audience. He thanked Ambassador Moncada for being present at the event and with the same kindness maestro Williams and Mrs. Horrocks congratulated the Venezuelan nation for its commitment to peace and the important achievements attained in the field of social inclusion.

The MP also noted that Great Britain “has no right to tell other countries not to develop nuclear arms when there are politics designed to maintain our own nuclear arsenal intact”.  On the other hand, he described the excuse of safety, of arming oneself for protection, as foolish, proposing that a policy of good neighbourly conduct would generate more security than “arming oneself and protecting our gardens with security fences”. “Can you imagine how different the world would be if all human and material resources that are employed in the nuclear arms industry were used instead to develop social programmes”. Finally he praised the work undertaken by the organization Musicians against Nuclear Arms.

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