Norman Lebrecht, English author and critic
Norman Lebrecht (born 11 July 1948) is a British music journalist and author who specializes in classical music. He is best known as the owner of the classical music blog, Slipped Disc, where he frequently publishes articles. Unlike other writers on music, Lebrecht rarely reviews concerts or recordings, preferring to report on the people and organizations who engage in classical music. Described by Gilbert Kaplan as "surely the most controversial and arguably the most influential journalist covering classical music", his writings have been praised as entertaining and revealing, while others have accused them of sensationalism and criticized the frequent errors in them.
He was a columnist for The Daily Telegraph from 1994 to 2002, and assistant editor of the London Evening Standard from 2002 to 2009. On BBC Radio 3, Lebrecht presented lebrecht.live beginning in 2000, and The Lebrecht Interview from 2006 to 2016. He also writes a column for the magazine Standpoint.
In additions to writings on the classical music industry, Lebrecht has written 12 books on music. His novels include The Song of Names (2001) and The Game of Opposites: A Novel (2009); the former won a 2002 Whitbread Award and was adapted into a film of the same name directed by François Girard.