I'm dipping into the "Virtuoso Years" section of the Alan Walker. I don't plan to read it cover to cover, though. I only need bits of it for dissertation-related stuff. I'm doing the same with Peter Bloom's Life of Berlioz.
One of the best composer biographies I've read is Tad Szulc's Chopin in Paris. It's very readable and gives you a lot of information of Paris during his lifetime, too.
Jas