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Andrew Lloyd Webber, the King of Musical

22 Jul 2013
   
 

Andrew Lloyd Webber is considered to be one of the most successful contemporary composers. The creator of the famous musicals “Jesus Christ Superstar”, “Evita”, “Cats”, “The Phantom of the Opera”, is the winner of three “Tony” awards, as well as an “Oscar”, a “Golden Globe” and many other awards. Here are a few interesting facts from his biography and creative activity.

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Photo by Tracey Nolan (Toronto, Canada). Source: Wikipedia.

  • As it often happens in the lives of great composers, Andrew grew up in a family of professional musicians. No wonder that he began composing music at the age of 6 and published his first suite when he was 9.
  • The composer was three times nominated for an “Oscar”, including the nominations of the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” and the song “Learn to Be Lonely” for the movie “The Phantom of the Opera” (2004). However, lady luck smiled at him only once: in 1996 the composer received an “Oscar” for the song “You Must Love Me” from the musical “Evita”.
  • On the basis of that musical a movie of the same name was filmed, starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas. One of the most popular songs from the movie is “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” written in 1976. According to the composer, if this song hadn’t been written there would be no musical.
  • In 2005, Lloyd Webber took part in the Eurovision Song Contest, having become the organizer of this national Song Contest. His song “It’s My Time” performed by Jade Yuan became number 5 at the ESC in Russia. The author himself was on stage accompanying the singer on the piano.
  • Andrew Lloyd Webber reached success not only in the sphere of pop music but also in the genre of classical music. His “Requiem” dedicated to the composer’s father received a “Grammy” in the nomination “best contemporary classical composition”. The recordings of the famous motet “Pie Jesu” performed by Anna Netrebko, Sissel Kyrkjebø and Jackie Evancho are gathering millions of YouTube views.
  • Especially for his brother Julian, a professional cellist, the composer created a “cross-over” album. The album is based on variations of the theme of the A minor Caprice by Paganini.
  • A. Lloyd Webber was a couple of times accused of plagiarism, including the accusations from the Dutch composer and music theorist Louis Andriessen.
  • In 1992, A. Lloyd Webber was knighted by the Queen of Great Britain, and a few years later he received the “baron” title.
  • The famous musician was married three times, including the marriage with Sarah Brightman for whom he created the role of Christina in the musical “The Phantom of the Opera”. Andrew has five children.
  • According to some estimates, Andrew Lloyd Webber occupies the 87th place in the list of the richest people of Great Britain. His fortune is estimated at 700 million pounds.
  • The 10 000th performance of the musical “The Phantom of the Opera” took place on Broadway on the February 11, 2012.

Among the numerous facts about A.Lloyd Webber, we should also mention his unique melodic gift – a rare phenomenon today. Probably this is the secret for the popularity of the well-known compositions “I Only Want to Say”, “Amigos Para Siempre”, “Memory”, “The Phantom of the Opera”, “Pie Jesu”. In the sheet music catalogue of MusicaNeo you will find over 500 music scores of the works by Andrew Lloyd Webber in various arrangements.

 
 
 
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