Musician without borders

Being a musician is more than just playing an instrument, as cellist Julian Lloyd Webber, 67, can attest. He devoted himself to music education three years ago after an accident ended his stage performances.

As Principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Lloyd Webber was recently in Shanghai, planning an international viola competition with the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and discussing a student exchange program for next summer.

“Look outside the box, we always say,” Lloyd Webber said. “And that may always help you in the future.”

The son of composer William Lloyd Webber and piano teacher Jean Johnstone, the artist grew up surrounded by music. His elder brother is Andrew Lloyd Webber, a composer and musical theater impresario famous for hits like “Phantom of the Opera.”

“There was no particular pressure for me to do music,” said Julian Lloyd Webber. “I chose to do it myself.”

He took up cello when he was 4, but it wasn’t until he was 12 that he began to take studies seriously. A visit to England by renowned cellist Mstislav Rostropovich inspired him to play cello for life.

Rostropovich played the instrument differently from anyone else, said Lloyd Webber. He showed it as a true solo instrument, with strength and power.

“It is sometimes very important for young people to have a role model — someone that you can connect with,” said Lloyd Webber. “Rostropovich was the one for me.”

Pierre Fournier, with whom he studied with at the Royal College of Music, also inspired the young talent.

With a lot of hard work, Lloyd Webber made his debut at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London in 1972, launching his career as professional cello soloist. He collaborated with a wide variety of musicians, including conductors Yehudi Menuhin and Lorin Maazel, pianist Clifford Curzon and musicians Elton John and Cleo Laine. He recorded more than 50 works, and inspired new compositions for cello from composers like Malcolm Arnold, James MacMillan and Philip Glass.

Romantic music that speaks from the heart suits Lloyd Webber best. His repertory includes works by Elgar, Prokofiev and Shostakovich, and he is also a big fan of Mozart.

“Mozart is a real genius who wrote very direct music, but sometimes his music is not played as it should be,” Lloyd Webber explained. “They mess around with his music and make it not direct. The best music directly touches people’s hearts. Otherwise, it has no point.”

In his spare time, Lloyd Webber said he likes listening to rock and roll. In May 2001, he was granted the first busker’s license on the London Underground. He even recorded a CD of the songs composed by his brother Andrew Lloyd Webber.

“My brother and I grew up together, and we shared a common interest in music,” said Lloyd Webber, “We both love Prokofiev, and we both like listening to Elvis.”

In 2009, Lloyd Webber married fellow cellist Cheng Jiaxin, a graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

Classical music is complex and challenging, he said.

“You may need to listen to a piece many times to grasp its most powerful elements,” he said. “One big difference between pop and classic music is that the pop music seems to depend more on particular performers, while classical music does not. It is not rare to see people around the world imitating Elvis, the Beatles or Michael Jackson, but for classical music, it’s a matter of different interpretations.”

In 2014, Lloyd Webber announced his retirement from public performances as a cellist after an accident left him with muscle weakness in the arms. A wrong injection for relieving muscle pain weakened his muscles for cello playing. He kept trying to recover but only regained his ability to play gentler pieces.

“It was a really horrible time for me, but I knew that I really had to stop,” said Lloyd Webber.

His final public performance as a cellist was on May2, 2014 with the English Chamber Orchestra. He played his 300-year-old Barjansky Stradivarius cello, which was part of him for more than 30 years.

Prior to the injury, Lloyd Webber had begun conducting.

“I like conducting, though it was new for me at the time,” said Lloyd Webber. “What excited me was that I could do music that I could never do as a cellist. For example, I can conduct pieces by Mozart, who didn’t write anything particularly for cello.”

He has also turned his attention to music education.

Apart from giving master classes wherever he visited, he formed the Music Education Consortium with flutist James Galway and percussionist Evelyn Glennie in 2003.

It was an attempt to address the problem of music education disappearing from British school curricula due to financial shortages.

“Music is very important for children,” Lloyd Webber said. “You cannot teach just a small range of subjects at school. There should be something else in young lives. Not everyone is great at doing science, math or language. But music is something that some people may be very good at.”

Some music classes were gradually reinstated in schools, in part because of the consortium’s work, but Lloyd Webber worries that ground is now being lost.

“They are not teaching music in public schools,” he said. “What happens then? Only rich parents can afford the instruments and lessons. To me, that’s wrong because music should be for everyone. I will keep advocating for that.”

In March 2015, he was named Principal of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, a very forward-looking school with a 160-year history.

The conservatory’s new building, which has state-of-the-art facilities, greatly impressed Lloyd Webber. Also the fact that it becomes part of a comprehensive university.

“It is near schools in computer technologies, fashion design, media studies and other disciplines,” he said. “So if one of our students wants a website, he can simply collaborate with a student in a related major in the neighboring building. It is refreshing to have a music school where students can expand beyond just music and know a bit more about the world.”

Lloyd Webber encourages communication and exchanges between schools in different cities and different countries.

“Never limit yourself,” he said. “Look around you and try to experience different cultures and different ways of thinking. It will help open your mind.”