sun 03/08/2025

David Nice

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Bio
The classical music and opera editor of theartsdesk, David writes, lectures and broadcasts on music. A former music critic for The Guardian and The Sunday Correspondent, he has made regular appearances on BBC Radio 3, not least in the long-running series Building a Library. He has written short studies on Elgar, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky and the history of opera, and is currently working on the second volume of his Prokofiev biography for Yale University Press. He runs two Zoom lecture series, Opera in Depth on Mondays and a symphonies course on Thursdays.

Articles By David Nice

theartsdesk in Bradford - Leeds International Piano Competition 2024 finalists shine in St George's Hall

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Beethoven Sonata Cycle 1, Boris Giltburg, Wigmore Hall review - running the gamut

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LSO, Pappano, Barbican review - singular adventures for a new era

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Prom 68, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Garsington Opera review - eerie beauty sometimes faintly glittering

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Proms 63-65, Choral Day review - from Harris to Handel/Mozart via Alabama, with love

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Prom 62, Mahler's Sixth Symphony, Bavarian RSO, Rattle review - sound over momentum

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Kaos, Netflix review - playing fast and profuse with the Greek myths

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Prom 58, Orchestre de Paris, Mäkelä review - risky reinvention pays off in part

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Prom 55, Ólafsson, Berlin Philharmonic, Petrenko review - stealth and sweep from the greatest

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Prom 52, Carmen, Glyndebourne Festival review - fine-tuning a masterpiece

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Prom 50, Fujita, Czech Philharmonic, Hrůša review - revelations where least expected

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Prom 30, National Youth Orchestra, NYO Inspire, Bloch, Jackson review - sheer youthful joy, passion and precision

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Prom 23, Grosvenor, LPO, Gardner review - strange meetings

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theartsdesk at the Haapsalu Early Music Festival 2024 - other-worldly instruments, perfect programmes and haunting venues

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Prom 19, Rummukainen, Dandy, BBCSO, Oramo review - inward reflections and choral transcendence

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Tristan und Isolde, Glyndebourne review - infinite love at white heat

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