Andrew Lloyd Webber – Biography of Andrew Lloyd Webber

by
Andrew Lloyd Webber He was born on March 22, 1948, in London. His father was the headmaster of the London College of Music, his mother was a piano teacher and his younger brother Julian is a renowned cellist, so it could be said that he was born with music running through his veins. A true child prodigy, Andrew He played the piano and violin at age 3, then studied French horn, and began writing his own music at the age of 6.

Following his childhood dream of becoming England’s chief inspector of ancient monuments, in 1965 Lloyd Webber He entered Westminster School as a Queen’s Scholar and began a history course at Magdalen College, Oxford. However, his true calling took him in another direction, and he dropped out in the winter of 1965 to study at the Royal College of Music and explore his interest in musical theater.

That same year, when he was 17 years old, he received a letter from a 21-year-old law student named Tim Rice. The text of the letter read: “Dear Andrés, I have been told that you are looking for a writer for your songs, and since I have been writing pop songs for a while and most of all I enjoy writing the lyrics, I wonder if you consider me worth meeting. Tim RiceLloyd Webber found something in that letter that interested him, and thus began the long collaboration between Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

In 1965, Lloyd Webber and Rice began work on their first musical, “The Likes of Us“, which was never released at the time. They were soon commissioned to write a religious concert, and for the next two months, they worked on a 20-minute” pop-cantata “that would one day become”Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat“, a re-enactment of the biblical story of Joseph. The play opened on March 1, 1968, and was an immediate success. With each performance, Joseph it got bigger and better, becoming a two-hour play.

Continuing with the biblical theme, the couple’s next project was “Jesus Christ Superstar“(1971), which featured pop music in the form of classical opera.”Jesus Christ“began the tradition of Lloyd Webber and Rice to record an album with the music first and then produce the work for him.

He then teamed up with British playwright Alan Ayckbourn on “Jeeves“(1974), a work that had little success, and so in 1976, Rice and Lloyd Webber came together again to create “Avoid“like a concept album. The song”Do not cry for me Argentina“It was a huge success, fueling the popularity of the musical, which hit the London stage in 1978 and Broadway the following year.

The 1980s saw the end of the collaboration with Rice, but it also marked a time of great success for Lloyd Webber. The first one was “Cats“Based on the poetry of TS Eliot.

“Cats“It premiered in London in 1981 and became the longest-running musical in London’s history, running for 21 years. On Broadway,”Cats“ran for 18 years.

TO “Cats” he followed “Starlight express“, and although it did not surprise critics, it has remained very popular with audiences and is still performed in various venues. Lloyd webber, and the largest to date, was “The Phantom of the Opera“based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l’Opéra by Gaston Leroux.”Ghost“It debuted in London in 1986 and became the longest running musical in Broadway history. It peaked at its 10,000th Broadway performance on February 11, 2012.

The 1990s saw the launch of several productions of Lloyd Webber, including “Sunset Boulevard“(1994), a film version of”Cats“(1998) and”Whistle Down the Wind“(1998).

None of these works were hits, and “Whistle Down the Wind“It was downright disastrous, canceling its Broadway run before it started, after a lousy opening in Washington, DC. The song, however.”It does not matter thatRecorded by Boyzone, “became an international hit.

As early as the 21st century Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote and produced several works, including “The Beautiful Game“(2000),”Bombay Dreams “(2002),”The Lady in white“(2004),”The Sound of Music“(2006) and”Love never dies“(2010), a sequel to”The Phantom of the OperaAll of these works received mixed reviews, and none could duplicate the success the composer had previously found. In 2011, Lloyd Webber released a musical theatrical version of “The Wizard of Oz“which also had a mixed critical reception.

Andrew Lloyd Webber he was married three times and has five children. His hard work and success have made him one of the 100 richest individuals in Britain. It currently has six theaters in London, including the Theater Royal, Drury Lane and the London Palladium, and the Really Useful Group production company, one of the largest in London. He also founded the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation to “promote the arts, culture and heritage for the public benefit“.

His awards include seven Tonys, three Grammys (including Best Contemporary Classical Composition of Requiem), seven Oliviers, a Golden Globe, an Oscar, two International Emmys, the Praemium Imperiale, the Rodgers Richard Award for Excellence in Musical Theater, and the Kennedy. Center Honors Award. He was knighted in 1992 and obtained an honorary pair for life in 1997.