A former student of hypokhâgne, after internships in cinema and opera, he studied at the Sorbonne.
By an exceptional combination of circumstances, he became the beneficiary of the collaborationist writer Lucien Rebatet. At the age of 22, while writing a master's thesis at the Sorbonne, he discovered his Histoire de la musique[2] and grew passionate about its author. On this occasion, he met Pierre Darrigrand, Rebatet's executor, who before dying of cancer asked him to become, in turn, the beneficiary of the writer.[3]
For four and a half years, Nicolas d'Estienne d'Orves hosted a column one Saturday noon per month on the Étonnez-moi Benoît program by Benoît Duteurtre on France Musique. In December 2008, he was terminated by his director Marc-Olivier Dupin [fr] for blasphemy and pornography after broadcasting a bawdy version of the Christmas carol Il est né, le divin Enfant.
He is the author of several short stories, essays and novels, notably Othon ou l'Aurore immobile, crowned with the Prix Roger Nimier in 2002.
Nicolas d’Estienne d’Orves is a chronicler at the Figaroscope, musical critic at Le Figaro and musical chronicler for the magazine Classica. He regularly collaborates at Les Echos. Since 2011, he has been a member of the jury of the prix Saint-Germain.[4]
2015: Dictionnaire amoureux de Paris, Plon, Prix Jean-Jacques Berger 2015 de l'Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques - Prix de l'Académie Rabelais 2016.
2015: La Monnaie de Paris, 1150 ans d'histoire, Albin Michel
