JULIAN LLOYD WEBBER FOR KZNPO

Top international cellist to perform with KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic on February 25.

Top international cellist Julian Lloyd Webber is to perform the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 in this week’s World Symphony Season concert on February 25 in a programme conducted by Yasuo Shinozaki.

An extremely creative musician, Julian Lloyd Webber has premiered more than 50 new works for cello and has inspired new compositions from diverse composers. Presented with the Crystal Award at the World Economic Forum in 1998, Julian is working to promote personal and community development in some of England's most deprived areas, through orchestral-based learning and musical experiences. He plays the ‘Barjansky’ Stradivarius cello of c.1690.

Conducting the orchestra for the third consecutive year, Yasuo Shinozaki has acquired a truly international reputation for his emotionally direct style of music making. This style is perfect for Shostakovich's playful Festive Overture. Musicologist and friend of Shostakovich, Lev Nikolayevich Lebidinsky, said of this composer: “when [Shostakovich] wrote light music he was able to talk, make jokes and compose simultaneously.”

Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2, marked by the typical Rachmaninov combination of melancholy and sweetness brings the evening to a close.

The concert takes place on February 25 in the Durban City Hall at 19h30 (doors open at 18:30). Booking through Computicket or tickets at the door. More information on the KZNPO, click on the banner advert above.