ot! Very hot and humid! The room is filled with guitars and a tense excitement as we wait. The myriad of conversations are taking place in at least six different languages but they all are related to guitars, music, or guitarists . it is inevitable, I suppose, as we are waiting for the master, John Williams, and this is Castres in southern France where the 7th Rencontres Intemationales de la Guitare is being held. And then, catching us by surprise, he appears halfway down the isle, smiling, shaking hands, saying hello.
So the class begins, a rare and special occasion for all but most especially for the performers. There were twelve groups in the class, five soloists and seven duets, with up to 120 auditors in daily attendance. Mr. Williams had stated in his introduction that he wanted the emphasis of the class to be on transcriptions, and indeed this was the requirement of the taped auditions submitted by the performers. The music we heard ranged from transcriptions of Monteverdi to Focus, a Swedish rock group. Patient, complimentary and supportive, Mr. Williams' comments on each piece were a unique blend of criticism and positive encouragement.
The longest sessions during the ten day class were spent on the Bach Chaccone and Beethoven s Piano Sonata No. 25. Yves Storms, from Belgium, gave an excellent performance of his transcription of the Bach Chaccone which, in turn, prompted John Williams to give an inspiring 4½ hour lecture, phrase by phrase, on this very famous work.
Prior to the performance by Steven Novacek and Gary Bissiri of the Beethoven piano sonata, some of the students in the class, especially those from Germany, voiced dubious concerns as to the possibility of a successful transcription of this particular composer's work. However, the piece was received so enthusiastically that the audience broke into spontaneous applause after the first movement. Because Mr. Williams himself thought the Beethoven had been so successfully transcribed, he used the work throughout the class as a reference to demonstrate different transcription techniques such as rearranging octaves for color, and changing accompaniment figures to suit the guitar. John Williams frequently complimented Mr. Novacek and Mr. Bissiri, the only Americans accepted as performers, on the originality of their work as all their performances and submissions for the class consisted of their own transcriptions.
Another highlight of the class came with the performance by the German duo of Ansgar Krause and Thomas Muller Pering. They had transcribed Anonymous which had been composed by a Swedish rock group, Focus. Upon hearing a tape of Focus as they had performed the piece it was decided unanimously, by the class and Mr. Williams, that the transcription for classical guitar was far superior to the original.
Although he was extremely meticulous regarding the retention of the integrity of the transcribed music, Mr. Williams was never pedantic, and always open to the suggestions of others as to ways in which music could be adapted to guitar. He stressed the need for all guitarists to become better sight readers so as to increase their familiarity with a larger musical repertoire, stating that most guitarists are poor sight readers as they rely on reading fingerings as opposed to reading notes. With the more advanced performers Mr. Williams emphasized the importance of being confident of their own interpretations of pieces rather than imitating other famous guitarists. Mr. Williams also stated that, ultimately, a successful transcription would sound as if the music had been originally written for the guitar.
At the special request of Mr. Williams the ten day class ended with a performance by Steven Novacek and Gary Bissiri of their transcription of Handel's Suite No. 16, for harpsichord, which was followed by an open question and answer period. We were all reluctant to see the last day arrive as John Williams had conducted an entertaming and instructive class, one that was inspirational for all, a once in a lifetime experience.

Ann Conant, 1980