Charting a New Repertory for Guitar

In this article, reporter Allan Kozinn profiles guitar virtuoso John Williams, focusing on a review of a recent performance, and using that as a platform for discussing the state of classical guitar music in general.

Kozinn begins his piece with a startling statement lede that may not be as enthralling to the reader as he intended it to be- "Guitarists seem to be navigating a minor repertory crisis these days."  Probably startling in the sense that most people are not aware of this "minor crisis" in the classical guitar community, but not the catastrophic event of the day either.  Chances are only a person with significant interest in the topic (a guitarist, or a classical music aficionado for example) would continue reading.

Nevertheless, as a beat piece Kozinn's article does not have to lure all readers, it can cater to the niche crowd of enthusiasts, which it does rather nicely.  As a guitarist myself, I found his article both enjoyable and imformative.

Kozinn briefly names a few legendary classical guitarists and their contributions to the music before settling on his main topic, a recent performance by John Williams at Zankel Hall.  He points out that Williams is setting a new standard for classical guitarists by continuing to write his own new works, thereby expanding the repertoire of his genre.  This brings the reader back to the predicament Kozinn presented in his lede- the lack of new repertory for new players- and therefore nicely ties the story together.