Tag Archives: Julian Bream

R.I.P. Julian Bream

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Julian Bream was one of the most brilliant guitarists of the 20th Century.

I saw him live in Cardiff in the 70’s. Seeing him in person was even more engaging and enjoyable than this beautiful performance:

From the BBC:

Classical guitarist and lute player Julian Bream has died at his home in Wiltshire at the age of 87.

The virtuoso musician performed globally during his heyday, and was renowned for his recordings of new compositions and masterclasses.

He won four Grammy Awards and received 20 nominations between 1960 and 85.

A self-taught musician, Bream learned playing to radio dance bands with the lute his father bought from a sailor on London’s Charing Cross Road in 1947.

As a child prodigy, his early recitals led to him being “acknowledged as one of the most remarkable artists of the post-war era”, according to the Royal Academy of Music.

As Chopin observed: Nothing is better than a guitar, save perhaps two

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Here are Julian Bream and John Williams playing the exquisite Suite for 2 Guitars by William Lawes.

Lawes was a 17th century composer, son of Thomas Lawes, a vicar choral at Salisbury Cathedral. He wrote quite a lot of secular and sacred music; this particular piece is probably among his best known compositions.

I saw Julian Bream in person in Cardiff in the late ‘60s; I confess, for me, the highlight of his performance was a mistake he made in something I was attempting to play at the time.

Interestingly, even though Bream and Williams are among the foremost classical guitarists of their generation, neither is a musical snob. Bream loved nothing better than to thump out some Django Reinhardt gypsy jazz with his mates and Williams has recorded many jazz and pop tunes.