Interview: Julian Lloyd-Webber

Julian, 57, told The Wharf the piece, a concerto adapted from hit musical Phantom Of The Opera, will surprise fans of the stage show.

He said: "Anyone who thinks Phantasia will just be a play through of show tunes will be in for a shock. It's a 35 minute concerto for cello and violin.

"It's a very long, difficult virtuoso piece, with no break. I'm very excited about premiering it and it will be very different to what people expect."

Julian revealed the work was a long time in development.

He said: "Andrew wrote Phantom of the Opera back in the early 1980s and thought it would make a really good concerto. But because he was so busy it never really happened. But when he worked on the film version three years ago it finally came about."

Although his brother tends to attract the limelight with his enormous success with shows like Phantom, Julian is very much an international music star in his own right.

He has given over 50 works their premiere recordings and is one of the world's leading cellists. But it's not just natural talent that keeps him there. It also takes a lot of hard work.

He said: "On a good day I practice for about four or five hours and for never less than two. You have to keep the fingers going and it never lets up. Like sportsmen you have to practice, but musicians tend to carry on their careers longer."

The keen Leyton Orient fan, who admitted to being "disappointed" by his side's start to the season, was also the first person to be granted a busker's licence on the Underground.

He said: "It was a few years ago when they launched the audition scheme and they invited me to be the first musician to give it a go.

"I spent an hour at Westminster Station and made over £200, which went to the Prince's Trust charity. But I prefer playing concert halls. They are always a lot warmer."

Julian Lloyd-Webber premieres the Phantom Phantasia concerto at Indigo2 on Wednesday, October 29.

Visit www.indigo2.com for details.