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Williams performs a charming concert

John Williams' effortless technical skill and artistry captivated all in attendance Tuesday night at Rackham Auditorium. Arguably the world's premier classical guitarist, the Australian-born musician performed a wonderful range of guitar music from various periods.

Williams requested that no notes about the composers or the musical selections be included in the program. Instead, he provided witty and quite lengthy explanations of many of the pieces.

The guitarist eased the crowd into the spirit of the evening with the familiar melodies of Michael Praetorius's "Three Dances From 'Terpischore.'" The third La Volta was especially impressive. Williams maintained a delicate balance between various voices, releasing the clear, soaring melody over the lush layers of the bass line.

Williams selected mostly compositions based on dance and folk rhythms. Even the Baroque period's representative, "Chaconne" from "Violin Partita No. 2 in d minor" by Bach, borrowed popular dance forms from the period. In his composition, Bach drew on basic flamenco chord progressions. Williams was able to capture the subtle melancholic flavor of the flamenco folk tunes, while dutifully preserving the measured richness of Bach's Baroque music.

Four pieces by the Spanish composer Isaac Albeniz clearly highlighted the performance. Four places in Spain -- Asturias, Mallorca, Sevilla, and Cordoba -- inspired the creation of the four pieces and ultimately became their titles.

Williams performed the compositions with a strong sense for the pieces' passionate, folky rhythms, never relinquishing the images and spirits of Spanish landscapes that inspired Albeniz.

The guitarist followed with an amazing display of technical prowess firmly anchored in the classical forms of Nicolo Paganini's guitar compositions. Although Paganini primarily wrote solo music for the violin, he also tried his hand at composing for his second instrument, the guitar. And his guitar pieces prove to offer a technical test similar to his infamously, difficult violin solos. Williams awed the crowd, leaping with ease over the technical hurdles in Paganini's "Romanza and Caprice No. 24."

After a piece by the 20th century British composer, Stephen Dodgson, Williams concluded the program by exploring some of the newly published material of the Paraguayan Agustin Barrios Mangore. Mangore lived in the first half of the 20th century, but the majority of his compositions only recently became available in published form. The guitarist beautifully rode the soft, musical waves, letting his guitar convince the audience why Mangore has become one of the most important guitar composers of this century.

The crowd voiced their admiration of the guitarist with an immediate standing ovation. Williams indulged the approving audience with two short encore pieces, performing a well-known Neapolitan folk song and a Mangore waltz.