Introducing Daniel Nistico
Daniel has captivated audiences in Australia, Chile, Serbia, New Zealand, China, the USA, and the Czech Republic and has won prizes at national and international competitions, including the Lions Club Global Youth Music Competition and The World Competition.
Daniel has performed at prestigious venues across Australia including ABC’s Iwaki Auditorium, Arts Centre Melbourne, High Court of Australia and Brisbane City Hall. He was broadcast on ABC Classic FM’s ‘Rising Stars’ segment (hosted by Graham Abbott) and has also been featured on 3MBS Fine Music Radio and SBS Radio.
Daniel recently completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree (abd) at the Eastman School of Music, one of the USA’s leading music institutions. There he studied with Nicholas Goluses and Grammy-award winning artist Paul O’Dette, one of the world’s leading early music specialists. Daniel was the first guitarist in the school’s 94 year history to be nominated for an Artist Certificate award, which acknowledges performance standards of the highest quality. Daniel completed his Master of Music at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, and received his Bachelor of Music with Honours from the Victorian College of the Arts. During this time, Daniel studied with Aria-award winning guitarist Tonié Field and internationally renowned pianist Dr. Donna Coleman.
Daniel began playing guitar at age 12, first taught by his father. His passion quickly grew and he attended the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) Young Academy, where he performed regularly and received masterclasses. While at ANAM, Daniel studied with Susan Ellis (student of Sadie Bishop, who was a pupil of Andrés Segovia). Training at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School (VCASS) soon followed, where Daniel studied with Benjamin Dix, a member of the highly acclaimed Melbourne Guitar Quartet. At VCASS, Daniel won the Most Outstanding Soloist Award (recording below).
Daniel’s mission is to broaden the horizons of the classical guitar through performing and teaching. He has written several books on guitar playing that cover aspects including harmony, scales, tremolo and historical performance practice. Fundamental Harmony was his first book, and in it Daniel combines quotes and paintings to vividly evoke a mood for each key. Daniel’s debut album, "Un Viaje Mistico ... A Mystical Journey", was featured in Soundboard Magazine and Classical Guitar n’ Stuff. The album contains a mix of rare gems and popular guitar classics, and was described as “a truly fantastic recording”. Daniel recently released the world-premiere recording of Leonard Schulz’s 12 Etudes, which was highly praised by David Leisner (described by American Record Guide as “among the finest guitarists of all time”). Daniel continues to perform, record and promote previously unknown classical guitar music through his blog, The Resourceful Guitarist.
Milonga del Angel by Astor Piazzolla, performed by Dan Nistico, together with Giovanni Rivero at their recent Noche Espanola concert
Testimonials
"Daniel Nistico is a truly gifted artist and soloist."
--- Christopher McGuire, Fort Worth Classic Guitar Society
“Daniel is one of the most gifted guitarists of his generation”
--- Nicholas Goluses, Eastman School of Music
“Daniel’s interpretation [of Sevilla] brings a quality that I’ve not heard in many recordings. It’s rather laid-back, unhurried, unfussy and the lines, voices and phrasing within the music are so very clear... I may even be so bold as to say this is currently my favourite recorded version of Sevilla.”
--- Nicole Neal: Classical Guitar n Stuff CD Review
“Nistico gave an outstanding performance of Nikita Koshkin’s Poe-indebted Usher Waltz, his harmonics at the start clean and light, the cutting harmonies in the work’s main refrain delivered without undue emphasis, and the percussive elements – including a striking on-the-fret passage - contributing to a demonstration of technical virtuosity harnessed to a real interpretation.”
--- Clive O’Connell, Reviewer for ‘The Age’
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