Cellist Julian Lloyd Webber has said that he always gets a “fantastic reaction” in Ireland, although he confessed he was put in quite an awkward position on one occasion.
Following his appearance on Friday nights Late Late Show, the musician told RTÉ TEN that he is returning to Ireland for a tour of six concerts beginning on January 31.
He said: “What you always get here is fantastic reaction from the audience, everyone knows the Irish love their music and it just shows.
“I’ve done 16 concerts in Ireland over the last couple of years, going to small venues, which in a way is just as exciting for me as playing the Albert Hall because you have this interaction with the audience.”
In the second half of the show the musician, who recently took part in the closing ceremony of the London Olympics, interacts with the audience and reads extracts from his book, Travels with my Cello.
He added: “I take this question and answer in the second half and get some amazing questions and equally amazing answers they get sometimes. It’s just fun and something I really look forward to doing.”
Of all the questions , one stood out in particular: “The first question I was asked, the very first question on the Irish tour: 'Which is more important to you, your cello or your wife?' Nothing if not direct. [smiling]
"I tried to answer and was thrown on the night, although everyone was laughing, so I tried to answer it properly or sensibly but I should have just laughed it off but I can’t remember, I flannelled it off for a while and luckily my wife wasn’t there!”
Julian Lloyd Webber and his wife, fellow cellist, Jiaxin Cheng
Speaking about the tour: “We begin at Cork Opera House and then we go to all types of places, don’t ask me to pronounce them all or even exactly where they are but it’s fun for me, these are places, names on maps [but] then suddenly I get to see them."
The Irish tour, Travels With My Cello: An Evening with Julian Lloyd Webber, begins at the Cork Opera House on Thursday, January 31 2013 and continues to, Civic Theatre, Tallaght, Friday 1 February, Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoighaire, Saturday 2 February, Dunamaise Arts Centre, Portlaoise, Sunday 3 February, Birr Theatre, Offaly, Tuesday 5 February and finally Siamsa Tíre, Tralee, Wednesday 6 February.
