Watching and listening to these two supreme masters of the guitar is fascinating on several levels.

The musical experience was stimulating and inspiring with John Williams on his classical guitar and John Etheridge on steel stringed and electric guitars, in solo performances and together.

The music was all new to me. There was no crowd-pleasing familiar work. Both musicians eschew barriers of genre and embrace the traditions and rhythms of music wherever in the world they find them.

It was exciting. Music garnered from Africa, Mali, Madagascar and South America was full of the warmth and colour and the infectious rhythms of the culture which inspired it.

The more mellow guitar of Williams seemed sometimes to be in an accompanying role to the raw sound of Etheridge’s steel strings or the vibrant electric guitar. And yet they complemented one another magically.

Their personalities are as in as sharp contrast as their instruments; Etheridge extrovert, ebullient, mobile; Williams quiet, still, the only movement in his phenomenal fingers and occasionally a smile. Yet Williams is far from overshadowed. With his stillness goes total assurance in and passion for what he is doing.

Each played several of their own compositions, Williams’ From a Bird notably mellifluous, and with sweet harmonies; Etheridge’s Strange Comforts atmospheric, bluesy and joyful.

Together they played Ludwig’s Horse by Williams’ fellow Sky band member Paul Hart. With it went a quirky story about Ludwig van Beethoven (and a horse) and it opened with borrowed strands from one of his piano sonatas. The rest was colourful, narrative and a perfect vehicle for the styles of the two performers.

Incredibly they had not played together for seven months and Etheridge had flown in from Italy only that morning.

It is a measure of their consummate skills that if there were any cracks they didn’t show or they jammed their way through them.

It was an unforgettably rich musical evening.