Music transcends barriers

 

Top: Julian Lloyd Webber performs at the closing ceremony of London's Olympic Games. Jewel Samad / Agence France-Presse Above: Music has brought Lloyd Webber and his wife Cheng Jiaxin together. Provided to China Daily

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Julian Lloyd Webber is known as the 'doyen of British cellists'. He also has a close connection with China - he is married to Shanghai cellist Cheng Jiaxin. He shares his life story with Chen Nan.

At the closing ceremony of London's Olympic Games, cellist Julian Lloyd Webber performed his signature Elgar's Salute d'Amour with the London Symphony Orchestra, alongside rock legends like Queen and The Who, in front of more than a billion people.

He rehearsed just three days before the show and when he eventually played on stage, he says he was overwhelmed by the atmosphere and the theme of peace brought by the Games.

"Though I've gotten used to playing at all kinds of venues, this is different," he says. "It's all about peace, just to show how music can be and how music brings people together."

"There is no barrier, just music," he adds.

At 60, the renowned British cellist still has a busy schedule touring around the world and exploring music's infinite possibilities.

On top of his agenda are the upcoming performances with National Youth Orchestra of Iraq at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on Aug 26, and at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on Aug 28.

He also continues to lead "In Harmony Sistema England", the English community program inspired by Venezuela's hugely successful El Sistema, a music project in schools where professional musicians help children achieve their musical potential.

The musician's life is also as romantic and colorful as his exquisite music pulse.

He says his wife, Shanghai-born cellist Cheng Jiaxin, 37, whom he met in 2000, inspires him. "Music has certainly brought us together. It's the ultimate food of love."

Lloyd Webber had been married before, and thus, he was very careful about marriage. But the couple's romantic attachment made them believe that it will work.

On the day of the wedding in 2009, the couple recall, the sun suddenly came out one hour before the ceremony after raining the whole morning. The rest of the day was clear.

"It was a wonderful day and the marriage actually made us grow stronger together," Lloyd Webber says.