Julian Lloyd Webber: ‘Music is for everyone, and everyone should have access to it’
Julian Lloyd Webber: ‘Music is for everyone, and everyone should have access to it’ 1 2
…of instrumentalist friends, so we were always hearing all kinds of different music.
And was it all classical?
I remember Andrew coming with Bill Haley records in 1956 or 1957, and I was only about five years old at the time!
‘In Harmony is producing amazing results, incredible, statistical results for the children, and for the parents – whole communities’
You do a lot of work with people who might not otherwise get access to classical music, most notably with Sistema [a charity, initially Venezuelan and now global, dedicated to access for all for music education]. Can you tell us more about it?
It’s a total continuation of everything we’ve been talking about. I’ve always believed that music is for everyone and that everyone should have access to it. When I came across Sistema initially, in 2007, I felt we should be doing something like this here. I made various noises about it and was contacted by the Schools Minister, Andrew Adonis at the time, and he asked if I would be interested in setting something like that up here. After long, long discussions the money finally came from the government for the In Harmony programme. The current government, to their very great credit, have continued the programme and have in fact expanded it. And it’s producing amazing results, incredible, statistical results for the children, and for the parents – whole communities.
‘The media, TV in particular, are scared of classical music…’
How do you see the health of music and music education in the UK, currently?
I think there’s a lot to be done, because some areas have very good music education and others hardly have any at all, so the upshot is we’re going to miss out on talent. I think we already have, in some places, because the children never know whether they have an aptitude or even a liking for classical music. There is far too much emphasis on pop music, far too much – you hear it all the time on TV, but not classical music, especially on the kind of programmes children watch. The media, TV in particular, are scared of classical music, and I don’t know why. I know an enormous number of very charismatic classical performers in this country, and when they do manage to get on TV there’s a tremendous response, Last Night of the Proms and so forth. And that response results in revenue: there’s a huge increase in sales after transmission and they’re not joke figures, either.
Is there any kind of music you like but that you haven’t yet tried?
I love music that communicates – I know I keep saying that! And that’s what I’m looking for, and I have to find things for myself. This brings me back to what I was saying earlier about the material for two cellos: all kinds of ideas were suggested to us but we didn’t do any of them, we kind of found our own way to it, and it resulted in something that rings true, rather than having been forced in a particular direction.
Do you still get a thrill when you pick your cello up?
Totally. I couldn’t keep going if I didn’t. The excitement of playing to an audience! I’m really looking forward to the tour, we’ll be going all over, and it will be different every night, that’s the joy of live performance.
And what’s in store for the future?
There’s lots going on. I’m going to be doing a conducting CD, which is something really new to me, English music for strings. And then, one thing I’m really excited about is I’m doing the Shostakovich concerto with the Moscow Philharmonic, in May, something that I’m really looking forward to.
Julian and Jiaxin Lloyd Webber will be appearing at the Key Theatre on Wednesday, 26 February at 7.30 pm. For tickets and information, ring the box office on 01733 207239.
Julian Lloyd Webber: ‘Music is for everyone, and everyone should have access to it’ 1 2
