fri 29/08/2025

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

Cargill, LSO, Pappano, Barbican review - high anxiety and visionary gleams

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Charpentier Christmas settings, Solomon's Knot, St John's Smith Square review - pastoral shades

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theartsdesk Q&A: Conductor Semyon Bychkov in Prague

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Haas Hommage à Bridget Riley, London Sinfonietta, Lubman, QEH review - vibrant abstraction

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Remembering Mariss Jansons (1943-2019)

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Kolesnikov, Tsoy, Currie, Walton, Wigmore Hall review - mesmerising sonorities

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Peter Grimes, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Gardner, RFH review - more instrumental than vocal intensity

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My Brilliant Friend, National Theatre review - sleek spectacle almost eats its characters

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Highgate International Chamber Music Festival opening concert review - top soloists blend to perfection

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Henry VI, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse review - a lively vortex

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Wang, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Dudamel, Barbican review - much more than glitz and glamour

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O/Modernt Soloists, Sonoro Ensemble, Wimbledon International Music Festival review - pure instrumental poetry

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Roméo et Juliette, LSO, Tilson Thomas, Barbican review - surprisingly sober take on Berlioz epic

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Shadows, Coronet Theatre review - talking heads in the void

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His Dark Materials, BBC One review - generic TV fantasy with ready-made twists

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A Prayer for Wings, King's Head Theatre review - claustrophobic mother-daughter drama soars

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