Xavier Phillips

Xavier Phillips began studying the cello at the early age of 6. He won several international prizes, and his encounter with Mstislav Rostropovich proved especially fruitful since it marked the beginning of a long collaboration during which Xavier Phillips received the guidance and encouragement of the master cellist.

Xavier Phillips is often invited to perform on the most famous international stages with some 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, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Houston Symphony, BBC Scottish Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique du Québec, BBC Wales Orchestra, Orchestre of the Radio of Sarrebruck etc. He is conducted by illustrious conductors such as his mentor Mstislav Rostropovich but also Riccardo Muti, Valery Gergiev, Christoph Eschenbach, James Conlon, Marek Janowski, Vladimir Fedosseyev, Ion Marin, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Vladimir Spivakov, Kurt Masur, Paavo Järvi, Jonathan Nott, Ludovic Morlot, Jean-Marie Zeitouni…

He also gives a privileged place to the chamber music, that he likes to share with artists such as Schlomo Mintz, François-Frédéric Guy, Tedi Papavrami, Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian, David Grimal, Emmanuel Strosser, Igor Tchetuev. He performs amongst others at the Wigmore Hall, the Mariinsky Theater, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Victoria Hall in Genève, the Arsenal de Metz, and some famous festivals such as the Cello Festival of Kings Place in London, le Printemps des Arts de Monte Carlo, le Festival Berlioz de la Côte Saint-André, and le Festival de Pâques d’Aix-en-Provence.

In the 2022/23 season, Xavier Phillips will tour with the Biel Solothurn Orchestra in Germany and Switzerland in the Haydn concerto. He will perform at the Arsenal de Metz with the Metz National Orchestra in Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 2 as well as at the Philharmonie de Paris, at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées and at the Beauvais Cello Festival.

In 2015, Xavier Phillips has released a recording devoted to Beethoven’s Complete works for cello and piano with the pianist François-Frédéric Guy (Aparté/Evidence). The recording has received outstanding critics amongst which Gramophone “Editors Choice” and The Strad “Recommends”. This album has also been considered by the Gramophone magazine as one of the “50 most beautiful Beethoven recordings”. The very last one is devoted to 6 duets for two cellos by Jacques Offenbach (La Dolce Volta) recorded with his long-time partner Anne Gastinel ; an album also rewarded by the press. In the fall of 2023, an album will be released entirely devoted to the world of Gabriel Fauré, with pianist Cédric Tiberghien (La Dolce Volta).

His latest recordings with orchestra have been dedicated to Shostakovich’s 1^st Concerto with Les Dissonances, and Dutilleux’s Cello Concerto “Tout un monde lointain” with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Ludovic Morlot. This recording has been nominated three times at the Grammy Awards 2015. Xavier Phillips has himself been nominated for a Grammy as “Best Instrumental Solo”. In 2019 Xavier Phillips also recorded “6 duets for the cello” by Offenbach with Anne Gastinel for the label La Dolce Volta.

Alongside his work as soloist, Xavier Phillips has been teaching since 2013 at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Sion in Lausanne.

Xavier Phillips plays a cello by Matteo Gofriller (1710).