the composer William Lloyd Webber (some of whose pieces for cello he has
recorded) and the younger brother of Andrew Lloyd Webber. In 1978 the two
brothers collaborated on the classical/rock recording Variations — based on
Paganini's A minor Caprice for solo violin.
Lloyd Webber has collaborated with a wide variety of musicians from Yehudi
Menuhin, Lorin Maazel, Neville Marriner , Georg Solti and Esa-Pekka
Salonen to Stephane Grappelli, Elton John and Cleo Laine.
Lloyd Webber has made many recordings, including his BRIT Award winning
Elgar Cello Concerto conducted by Yehudi Menuhin (chosen as the finest ever
version by BBC Music Magazine), the Dvořák Cello Concerto with Vaclav
Neumann and the Czech Philharmonic, Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations with
the London Symphony Orchestra under Maxim Shostakovich and a coupling
of Britten's Cello Symphony and Walton's Concerto with Sir Neville Marriner
and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, which was described by
Gramophone magazine as "beyond any rival".
Lloyd Webber has given more than fifty works their premiere recordings and
has inspired new compositions for cello from composers as diverse as
Malcolm Arnold and Joaquín Rodrigo to James MacMillan and Philip Glass.
Recent concert performances have included three further works composed for
Julian - Michael Nyman's Double Concerto for Cello and Saxophone on BBC
Television, Gavin Bryars's Concerto in Suntory Hall, Tokyo and Philip
Glass's Concerto at the Beijing International Festival. His recording of the
Glass concerto with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic conducted by Gerard
Schwarz was released on the Orange Mountain label in September 2004.
Lloyd Webber’s recording, Phantasia, is based on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s
Phantom of the Opera and features violinist Sarah Chang. A recent EMI disc,
Unexpected Songs, which included collaborations with harpist Catrin Finch
and singer Michael Ball was released in June 2006.
Julian Lloyd Webber has also been greatly involved in music education and
formed the 'Music Education Consortium' with James Galway and Evelyn
Glennie in 2004. He received the Crystal Award at the World Economic Forum
in 1998 and a Classic FM Red Award for outstanding services to music in 2005.
He was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Music in 1994.
Julian Lloyd Webber plays the Barjansky Stradivarius cello, dated c.1690.
Thank you so much dearest Julian for your music, your friendship and this
wonderful interview.
Sandra - What prompted you to begin writing/playing music?
Julian - I came from a very musical family so there was always music in the
background. I played the cello because I loved both the natural way it looks
when played and the sound it makes.
Sandra - Do you remember your first piece?
Julian - The first piece I clearly remember playing was the Tarantella by W.H.
Squire.
Sandra - You come from a musical family: your father and your brother,
are composers, and your mother was a musician too. Can you tell us how your
childhood experiences of music?
Julian - I was always surrounded by music of many different kinds. This has
been very important to me as I was never made aware of barriers in music. I
grew up appreciating music for what it is. I thought Buddy Holly was one of
the greatest musicians I ever heard. But, at the same time, I was completely in
love with the cello which leads to your next question…
Sandra - Who have been your greatest musical influences? Why?
Julian - My greatest musical influence is probably the great Russian cellist
Rostropovich. I loved his passion for music and the way that he always put
the music first before projecting his own personality. Of course many
composers were also huge influences- particularly Shostakovich,
Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Delius and Elgar.
Sandra - Are you more drawn to Performing than composing?
Julian - I have always been a performer rather than a composer. It was Gustav
Holst who said “you should never compose a piece of music unless the not
composing of it becomes a positive nuisance to you”. Wise words!
Sandra - You've worked with some greatest conductors and artists including
George Solti, Lorin Maazel, Stephane Grappelli, Elton John, Cleo Laine. etc.
Do you have any anecdote when you worked with them?
Julian - I have many anecdotes I could tell. Perhaps my favourite is when I
knocked on the door of Yehudi Menuhin’s dressing room in Sydney ,
Australia to discuss a finer point of interpretation shortly before a
performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto. Yehudi liked to practice yoga and
was standing on his head. So I placed the score of the concerto upside down
in front of his face and had a lengthy discussion with him about the slow
movement while we were both lying on the floor.
Sandra - Phantom phans worldwide love your work in Phantasia (together
with Sarah Chang), how was this music experience for you? What power or
mystery has this music which astonish everyone worldwide during so much
years?
Julian - Phantom is obviously one of Andrew most personal works. I always
thought the idea of the violin playing Christine and the cello playing the
Phantom was great. It took a long time to come together but I think the final
result was worth it. At present it has never been played ‘live’ but there are
plans for quite a lot of performances worldwide next year…
Sandra - Although your career and your brother's have focused on different
musical genres, you have occasionally worked together. How similar or
different are your musical opinions and tastes, and has this had an effect
when you have worked with each other?
Julian - Obviously Andrew and I heard a lot of the same music as we grew up.
But Andrew always wanted to compose for the theatre while I wanted to be a
cellist. We both have a very wide knowledge of different musical genres.
When we work together we are determined to achieve the best results.
Sandra - Tell us about your future projects.
Julian - I currently have a busy concert schedule but I am also very involved
with commissioning some new compositions for cello and with trying to
improve music education in the UK .
Sandra - Can you dedicate some words to your admirers worldwide?
Julian - Every performer likes to know that their work is appreciated. I have
always tried to bring the cello to the widest audience. I love the instrument
and so much great music has been written for it. Some wise person once said
“a life without music is a mistake “. They were right.
Please, don't copy this text without my permission.
Copyright by Ladyghost.
