Xavier Phillips © William Beaucardet
Xavier Phillips
Xavier Phillips began studying the cello at the age of 6. He won several international prizes, and his encounter with Mstislav Rostropovich was decisive since marked the beginning of a long collaboration.
Xavier Phillips was soon invited to perform on the world’s greatest stages with prestigious orchestras: New-York Philharmonic, Washington National Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Berliner Symphoniker, Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Seattle Symphony Orchestra etc. He has been conducted by such illustrious conductors as his mentor Mstislav Rostropovitch, as well as Riccardo Muti, Valery Gergiev, Christoph Eschenbach, James Conlon, Marek Janowski, Vladimir Fedosseyev, Ion Marin, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Vladimir Spivakov, Kurt Masur…
He also reserves a special place for chamber music, which he enjoys sharing with artists such as Schlomo Mintz, Tedi Papavrami, Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian, François-Frédéric Guy, Cédric Tiberghien and Igor Tchetuev. He has been a guest at the Wigmore Hall, Arsenal de Metz, Théâtre du Mariinsky, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Philharmonie de Paris, Victoria Hall in Geneva, and renowned festivals such as the Kings Place Cello Festival in London, Printemps des Arts in Monte Carlo, and the Easter Festival in Aix-en-Provence.
His many recordings have received critical acclaim, including Diapason d’or, Gramophone “Editors Choice” and The Strad “Recommends”. His recording of Henri Dutilleux’s Cello Concerto “Tout un monde lointain” with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra (dir. Ludovic Morlot) was nominated three times for the 2015 Grammy Awards, for which Xavier Phillips was nominated for “Best Instrumental Solo”.
Xavier Phillips has held a professorship at Hemu Vaud-Valais-Wallis in Sion since 2013.
He plays a 1710 cello by Matteo Gofriller.