Julian Lloyd Webber has been forced to give up playing due to a herniated disc in his neck, which has reduced the power in his right arm. The British cellist said he was ‘devastated’ at having to withdraw from performing. ‘There were so many exciting plans that cannot now come to fruition,’ he said. ‘I have had an immensely fulfilling career and feel privileged to have worked with so many great musicians and orchestras, but now I have to move on.’

Lloyd Webber gave his debut concert at Wigmore Hall in 1971. He was signed to Universal for more than 20 years and also recorded for Sony, EMI and Naxos. He has just completed two new recordings, which will be released later this year. During his career, Lloyd Webber premiered more than 50 works for cello; many leading composers wrote for him, including Philip Glass, Malcolm Arnold and James MacMillan. 

In recent years, Lloyd Webber has become an important spokesman for improving music education in the UK. He founded the Music Education Consortium that enabled £332 million of government money to be ring-fenced for music education, and also established In Harmony, the outreach programme modelled on El Sistéma. Lloyd Webber has vowed to continue working in this area: ‘I have no intention of enduring a forced retirement,’ he said. ‘I would like to use the knowledge I have gained through my life as a musician and an educator to give back as much as I can to the music profession which has given me so much over the years.’

Julian Lloyd Webber gives his final performance as cellist on May 2 at the Forum Theatre, Malvern, with the English Chamber Orchestra in a programme dominated by English music.