“For example, I’ve tried to keep it comfortable, like a person, by not letting it get too hot or too cold.Īntonio Stradivari was born in 1644, and ran a workshop in Cremona, Italy, until his death in 1737. “I polish it every now and then but haven’t changed things and I have tried to look after it. “I’ve done the minimum necessary,” he says. “I just don’t think you can get that quality of wood – it’s tough and takes the strain.” “They get close, but I think a Stradivarius is still 10 per cent better. “Despite all the technology, modern manufacturers have still not been able to create an instrument that sounds like that. “And yet the are still the instruments with the biggest sound. “The most extraordinary thing about Stradivarius is that he had no idea of the kind of places that his instruments would end up being played in, such as The Royal Albert Hall. “There are some very good cellos being made today.
Julian Lloyd Webber at his second home near Chipping Campden “It depends how much somebody really wants it,” he replies. How much is the Stradivarius worth, I ask rudely. “It’s not nearly what she would say is a good instrument, but she loves her own cello,” Julian smiles. One of the ownership contenders is not going to be fourth wife, Cheng Jiaxin (2009), despite being a leading cellist in her own right. “The most criminal thing would be if it just ended up in a museum – I would just like to see it go to a good home and hear it played again.” “I don’t even have it with me at the moment, but the main thing about an instrument like that is that it needs to be played. “It’s not really about the money,” says Julian, now 63. Nor would he necessarily be prepared to offer it to someone like an oil rich sheikh as the plaything for a child. Yes, it’s quietly up for sale, folks, with vital statistics including length: 29 15/16” breadth upper part 13 ½” breadth lower part 17 3/8”.īut a 325-year-old instrument acquired via Sotheby’s in 1983 for a then world record (but undisclosed) price is not the sort of thing you can just stick on eBay and hope for the best.
Having spent years practising for more than four hours per day to grace the world stage, Julian’s involuntary exit from the international spotlight has also produced an extraordinary kind of headache – what to do with his c.1690-1700 Stradivarius cello. World class cellist Julian Lloyd Webber gave his final live concert at Malvern’s Forum Theatre on May 2, 2014.Įxactly nine months on, the mental anguish of no longer being able to perform is still greater than the physical pain he had to endure while playing despite a neck injury which had weakened his right (bowing) arm.
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