BRITAIN'S best known cellist Julian Lloyd Webber will be striking bow to string at the Wycombe Swan just days before his 50th birthday party.

Julian, who is most famous for his Variations theme tune, will be using the event as an unofficial warm-up for one of the most exciting performances of his life.

The cellist will be performing at the Royal Albert Hall with Andrew Lloyd Webber for the first time. His elder brother, who rarely performs, offered the duet as a 50th birthday present for Julian.

Julian, who turned 50 in April, interrupted his rehearsals at his London studio to speak to Freetime about his concert with City of London Sinfonia at The Swan.

He said: "I think I have included some of the best pieces for the cello, some very difficult for me, which should interest fans of the proms week and those attending their first classical concert."

Julian was keen to point out that the one-off concert was aimed at 'people who enjoy good music' and not the musical elite often associated with classical.

He said: "I have always believed that if people are given access to classical music they will like it.

"In this programme there is nothing to be frightened of, it is quite open to absolutely everyone."

As well as his birthday concert at the beginning of June, a biography, Married to Music, is also being published to celebrate the great musician.

He said: "It is pretty much musically based but there is a lot of background stuff in there. The book did jog a lot of memories for me. It goes so far back it does make you think about the past and that is not something I generally like to do. I am more forward looking."

With concerts and books Julian says he has barely had time to think about turning 50.

He said: "I have got a lot going on at the moment. I also have a new recording coming up of me playing Andrew Lloyd Webber music. I have not had a problem with turning 50, the only thing that has made me think about it is the book, but I think very much about doing new things."

And his best present this year? "My brother performing with me. We have never performed together on stage and he doesn't really go out on stage and perform. It is quite special that he has decided to do this for me."

The up and coming performance at the Royal Albert Hall will be a very special day for him, says Julian, but to date his favourite performance was at Proms in The Park in Hyde Park last year.

He said: "There were 40,000 people and it was brilliant. It just proves if classical music is presented in the right way it can be enormously popular, more so than any other musical form.

"And when you think you are playing tracks that can be more than 300 years old that is quite amazing."