Julian Lloyd Webber

In this explosive, no-holds-barred account of the life of a globally renowned classical musician, Julian Lloyd Webber lifts the lid on a profession previously shrouded in mystery. From vivid descriptions of his childhood in one of the world’s most famous musical dynasties to unfiltered stories from his incredible career – including collaborations with such stars as Yehudi Menuhin, Joaquín Rodrigo, Elton John, and his brother, Andrew Lloyd Webber – Bows and Arrows reveals a cut-throat world of agents, promoters, record companies, violin dealers and substance abuse, laying bare the classical music industry as never before. With refreshing honesty and humour, Julian recounts the break-up of three of his four marriages, his lifelong passion for ensuring that every child has a chance to play a musical instrument and his devastation at the injury that forced him to stop playing and sell his Stradivarius cello in 2014. This earth-shattering loss, however, led him to discover a new calling as principal of a leading royal conservatoire and to double down on his efforts as a tireless champion of music education, working closely both with government and charities. Culminating in Julian’s return to the stage for the first time in twelve years, Bows and Arrows is a powerful story of passion, loss and a life reborn.

Every generation has its brilliant virtuosi players who, by common consent, stand that little bit apart from their contemporaries. And just occasionally another, greater, phenomenon appears: an artist so very special that he creates an entirely new horizon for his art, an entirely new approach to his instrument. Such an artist was Pablo Casals. There is no musician today who has not, in some way, been touched by Casals. His innovations sparked a revolution and changed for ever the accepted limitations of playing the cello; his teachings stand as a beacon, proud and resolute, for all others to follow. In the wider world, his courageous stand against the fascists who had overrun his beloved Catalonia earned him the respect and attention of the world's most renowned leaders, from the President of the United States to the Secretary General of the United Nations. Here, then, is a portrait of Pablo Casals in his own words and the words of others. It's all here: his love of humanity, his wisdom, his idealism, his courage, his obstinacy, the inspiration he sparked and above all - shining through the pages like a rare and precious jewel - the overwhelming, triumphant and toweringgenius.

Joaquín Rodrigo is best known as the composer of one of the most popular works of music in the classical repertoire—the Concierto de Aranjuez for guitar and orchestra. Jazz great Miles Davis said of the work, “After listening to it for a couple of weeks,... I couldn’t get it out of my mind”, and used it as inspiration for his album Sketches of Spain. But Javier Suárez-Pajares and Walter Aaron Clark demonstrate in this musical biography that Rodrigo’s work and influence extend far beyond that singular work. Blinded in infancy, Rodrigo didn’t allow visual limitations to prevent him from pursuing his passion for music; travelling to study in Paris; connecting with a wide range of musicians, authors, and artists; and navigating the political and cultural complexities of Franco’s Spain. Though firmly grounded in the traditional music of Spain, his creative reach extended to a wide variety of styles, genres and media. He was as versatile as he was prolific and, one hundred years after his first serious composition, remains a figure of global renown.