Master cellist shows lyrical intensity

Cellist Julian Lloyd Webber took the stage Friday night and thrilled the audience with his fervent playing and beautiful tone. The featured soloist with the Edmonton Symphony, Lloyd Webber gave an intense performance of one of the crown jewels of the cello repertoire - the Dvorak concerto. In the huge first movement, Lloyd Webber showed a strong sense of line that propelled the playing forward. The opening, often played with a broadening of tempo, was instead kept moving to create an urgency that was picked up by the orchestra.

The slow second movement, with its heart-melting lyricism, showed Lloyd Webber at his best; playing with a singing, centred tone with the warmth of burnished gold. The cadenza was song-ful rather than virtuosic and displayed the cellist's musicianship in his sensitive phrasing.

The energetic march theme of the Finale seemed a bit rushed for all the quick notes that demand clarity, but the ending of the movement had some lovely tender moments and exquisite tone from Lloyd Webber's cello. Guest conductor Steuart Bedford elicited a warm, rich sound from the orchestra that supported the soloist without overwhelming him.

William Walton's Symphony No. 1 (1935) comprised the second half of the program. An interesting work from a young composer, it stays in the traditional form of a symphony while exploring the modŽern harmonic language of its day.

Maestro Bedford drew a big, full sound from the orchestra in the dramatic Allegro assai, and inspired a rhythmical intensity in the playing. The Scherzo is quirky writing, a la Prokofiev, that requires, and received, very tight ensemble playing.

The dreamy slow movement featured some lovely woodwind solos, and the sunny Finale had buoyant rhythm and bright sound from the brass.

The evening began with the Overture to Mozart's Don Giovanni, a familiar piece to opera specialist Bedford, but not a remarkable reading from the orchestra, who must have been saving it for the Walton.