The Judges
We are proud to present the panel of judges:
Biographies
Julian Lloyd Webber - Cellist
Widely regarded as one of the most creative musicians of his generation, Julian Lloyd Webber has collaborated with an extraordinary array of musicians from Yehudi Menuhin, Lorin Maazel, Neville Marriner, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Georg Solti to Stephane Grappelli, Elton John and Cleo Laine.
Julian has made many outstanding recordings including his Brit-Award winning Elgar Concerto conducted by Yehudi Menuhin (chosen as the finest ever version by BBC Music Magazine) the Dvorak Concerto with Vaclav Neumann and the Czech Philharmonic, Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations with the London Symphony under Maxim Shostakovich and a coupling of Britten's Cello Symphony and Walton's Concerto with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, which was described by Gramophone magazine as "beyond any rival". Julian has also recorded several highly successful CD's of short pieces for Universal Classics including Made In England, Cello Moods, and Cradle Song: "It would be difficult to find better performances of this kind of repertoire anywhere on records of today or yesterday" - Gramophone.
Julian has given more than fifty works their premiere recordings and has inspired new compositions for cello from composers as diverse as Malcolm Arnold and Joaquin Rodrigo to James MacMillan and Philip Glass. Recent concert performances have included three further works composed for Julian - Michael Nyman's Double Concerto for Cello and Saxophone on BBC Television, Gavin Bryars' Concerto in Suntory Hall, Tokyo and Philip Glass's Concerto at the Beijing International Festival. Julian's recording of the Glass concerto with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic conducted by Gerard Schwarz was released on the Orange Mountain label in September 2004.
Julian's most recent recordings include Phantasia, based on Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera and featuring violinist, Sarah Chang. Another new EMI disc, Unexpected Songs, was released in 2006. Despite his crowded schedule, Julian finds the time to write a monthly column on music and musicians for the Daily Telegraph.
Julian Lloyd Webber plays the 'Barjansky Stradivarius cello of c.1690.
http://www.julianlloydwebber.com
Clio Gould - Leader of RPO
Clio Gould enjoys an unusually varied career as a violinist, and performs as soloist, director and leader throughout Britain and Europe.
She made her BBC Proms concerto debut in 1999 with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and has made concerto appearances with the London Sinfonietta, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Ulster Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. These concerts cover a broad repertoire, and include many newly commissioned works, some written especially for her.
In 2002, Clio was appointed leader of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, becoming the first female leader of a symphony orchestra in London. She holds the position of principal violin of the London Sinfonietta and was Artistic Director of the Scottish Ensemble from 1993 to 2005.
She is increasingly involved in the performance of contemporary solo repertoire, and has worked with many leading composers. UK premieres she has given include John Adams' Road Movies for violin and piano and Anthemes II for violin and live electronics by Pierre Boulez at the South Bank's celebration of the composer's 75th birthday. Clio gave the UK premiere performance of Oliver Knussen's Violin Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the 2003 Aldeburgh Festival, with the composer conducting. She has since performed the concerto in Japan, Finland, Gothenberg and Budapest.
Clio plays the Rutson Stradivarius of 1694, which has generously been lent to her by the Royal Academy of Music where she regularly directs the Royal Academy Soloists. In 1999 she was awarded an Hon RAM.
Debbie Wiseman - TV and Film Composer
Award-winning composer Debbie Wiseman has composed and conducted over 150 scores for film and television productions.
Her credits include the scores for WILDE, JUDGE JOHN DEED, TOM & VIV, FREEZE FRAME, THE GUILTY, BEFORE YOU GO, OTHELLO, ARSENE LUPIN, HE KNEW HE WAS RIGHT, MY UNCLE SILAS, TOM'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN, WARRIORS, JOHNNY & THE BOMB, HAUNTED, CATHERINE THE GREAT, STIG OF THE DUMP, and THE PROJECT.
Debbie also composed the music for the BAFTA award-winning television series of FEATHER BOY and is currently working with the lyricist Don Black on FEATHER BOY: THE MUSICAL which will be performed at the National Theatre in July 2006 as part of their youth theatre series "Connections".
Her album of music to accompany the fairy stories of Oscar Wilde was nominated for a Grammy Award and was then made into a trilogy of animated films - WILDE STORIES - for Channel 4.
She has also won and been nominated for two Ivor Novello Awards, a TRIC Award, and two RTS Awards.
Two of her most recent film scores - MIDDLETOWN - starring Matthew MacFadyen, and THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE (featured on this album) which stars Jennifer Love Hewitt and Dougray Scott are due for cinema release later this year.
Debbie has also composed the anthem for World Peace Day. The anthem - "No Wars Will Stop Us Singing" - has lyrics by Don Black and will be performed by schools across the country on September 21st 2006.
Debbie was honoured in the Queen's New Year's Honours list with an M.B.E. for services to the music industry.
John Evans - Classic FM Magazine Editor
John Evans is one of those who studied not at university but at music college, Manchester's Royal Northern and London's Royal College to be precise, where he dreamed of being a concert pianist. Unfortunately, the experience was sufficient to drive him from music into the arms of a career in sales and from there to journalism. He still plays the piano and gave his last recital in 2004 at the Clapham Arts festival. He has been editor of Classic FM Magazine since 2001.