Julian is widely regarded as one of the most creative musicians of his generation and now leads England’s ‘In Harmony’ programme. He won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music when he was sixteen and completed his studies in Geneva with the renowned French cellist, Pierre Fournier. Since then he has collaborated with an extraordinary array of musicians from Yehudi Menuhin, Lorin Maazel, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Georg Solti to Elton John and Stephane Grappelli.
Julian has won numerous awards for his services to music, including the Crystal Award (presented at the World Economic Forum in 1998) and the Classic FM Red Award in 2005. In 1994 he was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Music. As leader of ‘In Harmony’, the British Government's new music programme, Julian is working to promote personal and community development in some of England's most deprived areas, through orchestral-based learning and musical experiences.
Among Julian’s many outstanding recordings, include his Brit-Award winning Elgar Concerto conducted by Yehudi Menuhin the Dvorák Concerto with Vaclav Neumann and the Czech Philharmonic, Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with the London Symphony 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”.
Julian joined the Board of Governors of London's Southbank Centre in September 2009 and earlier that year – in recognition of his lifelong devotion to Elgar’s music – was elected President of the Elgar Society. Julian is married to fellow cellist Jiaxin Cheng. He is a passionate supporter of Leyton Orient football club and was London Underground’s first official busker.
View tracks by Julian Lloyd Webber