Gramophone April 1999
Favourite Cello Concertos
A first-class package in every way. Julian Lloyd Webber has a firm, richly coloured and full-focused tone; moreover it records well. His lyrical warmth projects tellingly over the entire range. His account of the great Dvorak concerto is full of passionate feeling, with a tender Adagio, and Neumann and the Czech Philharmonic give him thoroughly persuasive backing. His performance of the Elgar concerto has the huge advantage of Lord Menuhin as his partner. Lloyd Webber proved that the original uncut version of Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations is superior to the truncated version used in most other recordings. Among the encores the lovely Traumerei stands out for its freely improvisational feeling. Ivan March
