David Cairns (writer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

David Cairns (born David Adam Cairns, 8 June 1926, Loughton, Essex) is a British journalist, non-fiction writer and musician. He is a leading authority on the life of Berlioz.^[1]

Biography

He is the son of the distinguished neurosurgeon, Sir Hugh Cairns. His work in journalism has spanned a number of high profile newspapers and magazines. He was chief music critic of the Sunday Times from 1983 to 1992, having earlier been music critic and arts editor of The Spectator. Other publications for which he has been a music critic include the Evening Standard, Financial Times and New Statesman.^[1] Before becoming a music journalist, he worked in the House of Commons Library.

He is known for his two-volume biography of Berlioz: Berlioz: The Making of an Artist 1803–1832 and Berlioz: Servitude and Greatness 1832-1869. The books won a number of major awards, including:

The Royal Philharmonic Society's Music award
The Yorkshire Post "Book of the Year" award
The British Academy's Derek Allen prize
The Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction
Biography of the year in the Whitbread Book Awards

Cairns also translated Berlioz's autobiography, published by Gollancz in the United Kingdom in 1969.

In 1991, the French government named him Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his work in promoting Hector Berlioz as a key French composer. In 2013, he was elevated to the position of Commandeur.

In Mozart and his Operas (2006) Cairns stated part of his music's appeal was its simultaneous embodiment of both "the perfection our souls long for and the sensation of our longing".

He founded and conducted the Thorington Players,^[1] a London based orchestra that played regularly in St Mary's Church, Putney and St. John's, Smith Square.

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Grove, Cairns, David (Adam)

Sources

Grove Music Online, Cairns, David (Adam), article by Stanley Sadie.

Authority control	WorldCat VIAF: 59135877 LCCN: n50032858 ISNI: 0000 0001 1651 6341 GND: 1043404929 SUDOC: 031015751 BNF: cb12231535p NLA: 49885958

Persondata
Name	Cairns, David
Alternative names
Short description	British journalist
Date of birth	8 June 1926
Place of birth	Loughton, Essex
Date of death
Place of death

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.