Norman Lebrecht

Norman Lebrecht ( born July 11, 1948 in London) is an English writer and commentator in the music and cultural scene. Since 2002 he has worked as deputy editor of London's Evening Standard, and since 2000 he hosts the show ' lebrecht.live ' on BBC Radio 3

Work

Although he is accused of trying to provoke with his statements to Lebrecht's predictions about the decline of the classical music industry have confirmed for the most part. Some of his books even made it to the international bestseller list and have been translated into 16 different languages.

His book ' The Myth of the Maestro ' (1991 ) follows the story of Conducting - from its origins as an independent profession in the 1870s, to his later preoccupation with power, wealth, and fame. 'When the Music Stops ' ( U.S. title:' Who Killed Classical Music ", 1997) is the first documented history of classical music industry; the book examines the background activities and says the collapse of the record industry forward. 'Substituted Plays - Rise and Fall of Classical industry ' ( U.S. title: ' The Life and Death of Classical Music, 2007) is an insider report on the development of the recording industry with a critical selection and analysis of the top 100 plates and the 20 worst. Lebrecht lives in London.

Lebrecht has extensively studied with the composer Gustav Mahler, about which he wrote in his book ' Gustav Mahler in the mirror of his time ' (1990). In his book "The Complete Companion to 20th Century Music ' (published in 2000), the author deals with the theme of contemporary music. In addition Lebrecht is the founder and editor of the ' Phaedo ' biographies of famous composers of the twentieth century.

His novel ' The Song of Names ', the story of two boys growing up in wartime London, was published in 2001 and won the ' Whitebread First Novel Award.

Among his other works: ' The Book of Musical Anecdotes ' (1985 ), 'Music in London ' (1992 ), and ' Covent Garden: The Untold Story' ( 2000).