Bows and Arrows : The Autobiography

Author: Lloyd Webber, Julian

Individual composers & musicians, specific bands & groups

Published on 7 April 2026 by Biteback Publishing in the United Kingdom.

Hardback | 368 pages, 8pp colour plates
162 x 242 x 31 | 506g

Inthis explosive, no-holds-barred account of the life of a globally renownedclassical musician, Julian Lloyd Webber lifts the lid on a professionpreviously shrouded in mystery.

Fromvivid descriptions of his childhood in one of the world’s most famous musicaldynasties to unfiltered stories from his incredible career – includingcollaborations with such stars as Yehudi Menuhin, Joaquín Rodrigo, Elton John,and his brother, Andrew Lloyd Webber – Bows and Arrows reveals acut-throat world of agents, promoters, record companies, violin dealers andsubstance abuse, laying bare the classical music industry as never before.

Withrefreshing honesty and humour, Julian recounts the break-up of three of hisfour marriages, his lifelong passion for ensuring that every child has a chanceto play a musical instrument and his devastation at the injury that forced himto stop playing and sell his Stradivarius cello in 2014. This earth-shatteringloss, however, led him to discover a new calling as principal of a leadingroyal conservatoire and to double down on his efforts as a tireless champion ofmusic education, working closely both with government and charities. Culminatingin Julian’s return to the stage for the first time in twelve years, Bows andArrows is a powerful story of passion, loss and a life reborn.