Beare he managed to obtain a 1690 cello – a possible Giovanni Grancino. However, as he began to get more solo engagements, the time came to find something more sophisticated, and through J.&A. Having moved on from his first full-size cello, a Joseph Hill, Lloyd Webber was by now playing an instrument by renowned French luthier Paul Bailly, of which he was particularly fond.

The May 2021 digital magazine and print edition are on sale now To read it in full, click here to subscribe and login. The following extract is from The Strad’s May issue cover feature celebrating cellist Julian Lloyd Webber’s career. And it's a wonderful key, this, 'cause it's so warm.With conductor Vernon Handley (left) and Ursula Vaughan Williams (centre) ''The Music of the Night' is in fact in D flat. He's investing in the future of the industry that he's helped shape for the past half-century.Īs a composer, he described using music to control the evening: 'Keys are really vitally important,' he said. Profits from the musical helped fund the $100 million renovation of Lloyd Webber's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London. Of course, 'Phantom' is one of those 'very, very big hits.' It grossed an estimated $6 billion worldwide since it debuted in London in 1986. 'You can't sustain, as it stands,' he said. So, Broadway is going to turn into the equivalent of Fifth Avenue where, you know, if you want to create a brand, you put it on Broadway knowing you're not ever going to really make any much money in it, but they have to be there.'Īnd then, there's the price of tickets. 'The running costs are so incredibly high. 'I'm a bit worried about the future of Broadway,' said Lloyd Webber. I mean, if I knew this, why 'Phantom' has really touched so many people, then I'd do it again!'Īnd the 75-year-old composer says it is getting harder to put on a show here, creating barriers to experimentation. On stage in New York a few days earlier, Lloyd Webber reflected on 'Phantom''s record-breaking 35-year run, and was asked why he thinks the show has resonated for so long. Correspondent Seth Doane and Andrew Lloyd Webber on the stage of the Majestic Theatre, days before 'The Phantom of the Opera' held its 13,981st (and final) performance. He dedicated the final Broadway performance of 'The Phantom of the Opera' to his late son. 'I mean, it's very hard to put into words, but I think about it a lot. 'Well, I'm not sure I dealt with it very well,' he replied.

'I don't think it really has completely sunk in yet,' said Andrew.ĭoane asked, 'How do you deal with something like that?' Nicholas Lloyd Webber, a Grammy-nominated composer, died in March after battling gastric cancer. 'No, because my son, 'cause he died, you know, on the day after it opened.'

Bring eye plugs.' But the composer said he hadn't read any of the reviews. It got some pretty scathing notices The New York Times wrote, 'Bring earplugs. Lloyd Webber said, 'I'm completely baffled how a show in London could have probably had the best reviews of my career, what the nerve it touched in New York which made everybody feel so bad about it?' It closed prematurely this past week, ending his decades-long run with a show on Broadway. There were no Tony nominations this year for Lloyd Webber's newest production, 'Bad Cinderella' - a playful, 'alternative' twist on the fairy tale. There was that moment when sort of 30 people would come on stage, 'cause they're all 'producers.''

'But it needs to be addressed, you know, because it is a bit silly. 'Somebody puts $20,000 into a play or something, and then a play wins best play, and they can say, 'Well, I'm a Tony Award-winning producer.''ĭoane said, 'The Tony Award people are not gonna like that comment.' Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. The man who helped define the Broadway blockbuster also says what he wants: 'You can get a Tony Award for putting up a bit of money and saying you're a producer,' he said. 'So, what's the secret? How did you avoid being put in that box?'

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