John William Duarte (2 October 1919 – 23 December 2004) was a British composer, guitarist and writer.
Career
Duarte was born in Sheffield, England, but lived in Manchester from the age of six months. It was only in 1969 that he finally abandoned chemistry in favour of full-time dedication to music, after having been persuaded by Len Williams, father of John Williams. His only formal musical education consisted of jazz guitar lessons with Terence "Terry" Usher
Duarte taught at the London-based Spanish Guitar Centre, which Williams senior had founded and where the young John Williams studied with him for a period of three years before entering the Royal College of Music. Williams acknowledged the early influence of Duarte by including his transcriptions of Bach cello suites in his first recordings, along with Variations on a Catalan Folk Song, Op. 25, one of the most enduring and most recorded of Duarte's compositions.
He sustained several lasting friendships with great musicians, including a 39-year-long relationship with Andrés Segovia and another with Ida Presti, who died prematurely at the age of 42. Duarte edited "Tríptico" by Venezuelan guitar composer Antonio Lauro, who, in 1982, published his "Suite: Homenaje a John Duarte". Duarte also wrote a memoir of his relationship with Andres Segovia, Andrés Segovia, As I Knew Him (1998). For Presti and her husband Alexandre Lagoya, Duarte wrote Variations on a French Nursery Song, Op. 32 ("J'ai du bon tabac"), a difficult work that tested even that legendary duo's abilities. As late as 1985, Duarte wrote a piece in Ida Presti's memory, Idylle pour Ida, Op. 93, for guitar solo.
John W. Duarte died on 23 December 2004. He was survived by his wife, Dorothy, whom he married in 1943, and by two sons and a daughter. His works have appeared on three Grammy award-winning albums, by Sharon Isbin and Berta Rojas.
Other than the English Suite, Duarte's Variations On A Catalan Folksong and his arrangements of Bach's Cello Suites also achieved more widespread popularity. Over 60 different solo guitarists and ensembles have performed and recorded his music.