Roger Nichols read Music at Worcester College, Oxford, with Edmund Rubbra and Frederick Sternfeld. He taught both Music and Classics in various schools and universities, before becoming a freelance writer, broadcaster and pianist in 1981. He was decorated as Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur in 2006 for his 40 years of service to French music. He has written and contributed to over twenty books on music and has edited the bulk of Ravel's piano music for Peters Edition.