It wasn’t until the third time Julian Lloyd Webber and Jiaxin Cheng met that the idea of a romantic relationship seemed a possibility. The first time, in 2000, Julian, the celebrated cellist, was on tour in New Zealand, and Jiaxin was one of a number of music students invited to hear him rehearse. Born in China, Jiaxin had graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and was doing a master’s degree at Auckland University. “Our teacher took us backstage to say hello,” she says.
Julian got her email address, and contacted her two years later when he was on tour in the country again to ask if she was still in New Zealand, adding that he might need her technical help with a concert that was going to be broadcast. By then, Jiaxin had graduated and was playing in the Auckland Philharmonia and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. “At rehearsal, the sound wasn’t good and I asked Jiaxin if she could come and listen,” says Julian. “Being a cellist herself, she was very helpful, and I was able to get a good recording.”
