After Dinner Speakers: Julian Lloyd-Webber, George Yip, Lesley Waters

Widely regarded as one of the most creative musicians of his generation, Julian Lloyd Webber has brought many new listeners to the cello. Since 1984, he has recorded more than 50 works, among them are the first recordings of Frank Bridge’s Oration (Concerto Elegiaco), Britten’s Suite No. 3, Holst’s Invocation and the new concerto by Gavin Bryars – Farewell to Philosophy. Lloyd Webber’s interpretations of the standard repertoire have also won critical acclaim. His award-winning recording of the Elgar Concerto with the late Sir Yehudi Menuhin and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was chosen as the finest-ever recorded version by BBC Music Magazine. Further recordings include the Dvorak Concerto with the Czech Philharmonic under Vaclav Neumann and Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with the London Symphony Orchestra under Maxim Shostakovich. He has frequently chosen to couple well-known works with comparative rarities: the Saint-Saëns Concerto, with the English Chamber Orchestra under Yan Pascal Tortelier, is coupled with the Honegger Concerto and d’Indy’s Lied while the Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations is paired with the Miaskovsky Concerto. In the concert hall, Lloyd Webber has collaborated with many leading orchestras and musicians including the Berlin Philharmonic under Lorin Maazel, the Czech Philharmonic under Vaclav Neumann, the Royal Philharmonic under the late Sir Yehudi Menuhin, the London Philharmonic under Sir Georg Solti, the Swedish Radio under Esa-Pekka Salonen, and the pianists Murray Perahia and Sir Clifford Cuzon. He has given performances at the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the Salzburg Mozarteum, the Sydney Opera House and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. His new recording of the Walton Concerto and Britten’s Cello Symphony with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner was released in July 1997 to rave reviews, with the latter being described by Edward Greenfield in Gramophone as “beyond any rival”. Another recent release recorded the complete works for cello and piano by Grieg and Delius with pianist Bengt Forsberg. His recent concert appearances include the performances of two works written for Julian Lloyd Webber – Michael Nyman’s Double Concerto for Cello and Saxophone on BBC Television, and Gavin Bryars’ Concerto in Suntory Hall, Tokyo.