Books by Norman Lebrecht

Norman Lebrecht, Why Beethoven: A Phenomenon in One Hundred Pieces .  A good introduction to Ludwig van, even if some parts do rush by too quickly.  Also a good introduction for how to think about different recorded versions of the same piece.

4. Norman Lebrecht, Genius & Anxiety: How Jews Changed the World 1847-1947 .  An informative and engaging account of what the title promises (you can learn more about Heine and Alkan and Moholy-Nagy).  Nonetheless the author never really addresses the question of why that period was quite so remarkable for Jewish achievement, relative to the rest of world history.