Mail on Sunday 15th March 2015
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Julian Lloyd Webber And The Bndge Is Love. Naxos, out now *****
On this winning album, Julian Lloyd Webber emerges as a conductor of some distinction, drawing eloquent performances from the English Chamber Orchestra of an enticing blend of familiar and unfamiliar English music for strings, including four world premieres.
Touchingly, there is also Julian’s final appearance as a cellist, in a performance of Howard Goodall’s And The Bridge is Love, a moving elegy for the daughter of some close family friends, who died tragically young in 2007 aged only 17.
Julian displays his conducting mettle with an excitingly propulsive account of Elgar’s Introduction And Allegro, a masterpiece that has rarely sounded better on disc.
In more relaxed mood, he directs elegant performances of Elgar’s Serenade; his haunting Sospiri; and the Chansons De Matin and De Soir.
There’s also a touching tribute to Julian’s father, William, in a piece dad LW wrote in 1950 entitLed The Moon, a work of real quality that more than justifies its inclusion here.
And there’s a brief Vaughan Williams rarity: the opening movement of his Charterhouse Suite, originally for piano but arranged for strings in 1923 under the composer’s supervision.
This is as lovely an album as I expect to hear this year, making a powerful case to put English string music up there among our nation’s greatest musical achievements.
David Mellor
