Lloyd-Webber blasts media for focus on pop

The British musician, Julian Lloyd Webber, has criticised the Western media for their lack of attention to classical music.

He said they gave a diet of nothing but pop, and as a result, most young people in the West had no interest in the classical tradition.

Mr Lloyd-Webber, a concert cellist, said the avant-garde composers of the past sixty years had contributed to this situation, with their toneless, discordant music.

He contrasted this to East Asia, where he said the media took a lively interest in classical music, and so concert halls were packed.

Mr Lloyd-Webber was one of a group of artists addressing the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service