sun 31/08/2025

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

Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci, Royal Opera review - one tenor, two samey brutes

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Batiashvili, BBCSO, Oramo, Barbican review - electricity in Sibelius and Hillborg

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Mitsuko Uchida, RFH review - Schubert from rough to heavenly

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theartsdesk in Stockholm - HK Gruber and sacred monsters

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Falstaff, RLPO, Petrenko, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall review - Bryn Terfel leads a merry dance

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Remembering Dmitri Hvorostovsky (1962-2017)

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The Rake's Progress, Wilton's Music Hall review - mercurial Stravinsky made cumbersome

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Messiaen & Shostakovich, St John's Smith Square review - Osborne and Gerhardt anchor 1940s masterpieces

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Schubert Ensemble, Kings Place review - spot-on introductions, dazzling performances

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Dmitri Alexeev, St John's Smith Square review - a Titan at 70

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Leif Ove Andsnes, RFH review - interior magic from a master colourist

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The Consul, Guildhall School review - blowsy melodrama rooted by committed students

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Soltani, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Barenboim, RFH review - passionate pilgrimages

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October, LSO, Strobel, Barbican review - Eisenstein with steel score

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Crowe, The English Concert, Bicket, Milton Court review - Mozartian prima-donna perfection

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The Lady from the Sea, Donmar Warehouse review - Nikki Amuka-Bird luminous in a sympathetic ensemble

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