Concert review: Julian Lloyd Webber 75th Birthday Gala

On the day of his 75th birthday, cellist Julian Lloyd Webber brought together a group of musicians at Wigmore Hall with a concert in aid of the charity Music Masters.

Following BBC Young Musician winner 2018 Lauren Zhang’s seamless performance of Liszt’s Réminiscences de Norma de Bellini, Jiaxin Lloyd Webber, also a cellist and Julian’s wife, played Bach’s Cello Suite no.1 and a Chinese work – Xiaolong Huang’s Saliha. Jiaxin’s playing is technically precise but lacks nuance: it’s tight and sometimes brash, and, for Bach especially, requires a more spontaneous approach to emotional communication.

The concert’s second half opened with the youngest of the Kanneh-Mason family – 16-year-old cellist Mariatu – making her Wigmore debut with Falla’s ‘Nana’ and the third movement from Rachmaninoff’s Cello Sonata. This young cellist has the star quality seen in her older brother Sheku: her bow control is admirable and she’s a beautiful communicator.

A surprise next, when Julian Lloyd Webber arrived on stage with his cello – it’s over 15 years since he himself performed publicly, owing to a shoulder injury. Fauré’s Élégie was his work of choice, accompanied by pianist Rebeca Omordia. What is without doubt is that this took courage. His playing was careful and controlled and choice of work a good one to hide much of the technical loss.

The concert finished with all performers on stage for Monti’s Csárdás alongside students from the Music Masters charity. This is an arrangement by the Kanneh-Mason family and Tom Coult which I’ve never liked. It’s an exhausting listen and texturally erratic. Still, its inclusion put into practice Lloyd Webber’s staunch, important advocacy for emerging performers.

HATTIE BUTTERWORTH