The first arranger of Vivaldi’s concertos was Vivaldi himself, and Julian Lloyd Webber’s new versions in this recording reflect the composer’s pragmatic attitude and zest for experiment.

Vivaldi’s Concerto in G minor RV531 is his only original concerto for two cellos. Alongside this appear works both popular and recently discovered, the mercurial moods of the cellos representing instruments from mandolins to hunting horns. Piazzolla’s Milonga displays all of his most distinctive hallmarks.

This release follows Julian and Jiaxin Lloyd Webber’s highly successful album 'A Tale of Two Cellos' (8573251), with its two cellos “beautifully played and blended together” (Gramophone) and considered a thing of “rare beauty” by The Strad. This recording of Vivaldi concertos will have poignant associations and special value for Julian’s many fans, as he has since been forced to withdraw from performing due to injury.

Julian Lloyd Webber is one of today’s leading cellists. He has given the premières of more than fifty new works for cello and has inspired new compositions from composers as diverse as Malcolm Arnold and Joaquín Rodrigo to James MacMillan and Philip Glass.

Jiaxin Lloyd Webber graduated from Shanghai Conservatory of Music, China, in 1997. She was already giving performances with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra but left China for further studies in New Zealand where she received her master’s degree at the University of Auckland in 2001. While in New Zealand she was principal cello of the Auckland Chamber Orchestra and played regularly with both the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Jiaxin Lloyd Webber was also a founding member of the Aroha String Quartet. Since moving to London in 2007 she has performed as a soloist at the Royal Festival Hall and broadcast for BBC Radio 3. Jiaxin is married to fellow cellist Julian Lloyd Webber.