Xavier Phillips (born 1971 in Paris) is a French contemporary classical

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

, the brother of

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian.

Biography

Xavier Phillips started learning the

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

at the age of 6. He entered the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

in 1986 and studied with

Philippe Muller Philippe Muller (born 20 April 1946, in Mulhouse) is a French cellist. Biography Philippe Muller (born 20 April 1946, in Mulhouse) is a French cellist and pedagogue. His first contact with the cello was under the guidance of Dominique Prete, ...

. He obtained the First Prize of the Conservatory in 1989. After a third prize at the Rostropovich Competition in 1989, he continued his training with

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...

, who particularly noticed him. They worked together for a dozen years, the master inviting him regularly as a soloist of the orchestras he was led to direct. Xavier Phillips premiered the ''Cello Concerto'' by

Jean-Louis Agobet Jean-Louis Agobet (born 21 April 1968) is a French composer. Agobet was born in Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher Departments of France, department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Lo ...

in Caen on 19 March 2010.Critique de la création par Bruno Serrou sur le site anaclase
/ref> Xavier Phillips plays on a 1710 cello by

Matteo Goffriller Matteo Goffriller (1659–1742) was a Venetian luthier, particularly noted for the quality of his cellos. He was active between 1685–1735 and was the founder of the " Venetian School" of luthiers, during a time when Venice was one of the most i ...

Selected discography

*''Sonates pour violoncelle et piano'': sonata by

Alfred Schnittke Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer. Among the most performed and recorded composers of late 20th-century classical music, he is described by musicologist Ivan Moody (composer), Ivan Moody as a ...

; '' sonata Op. 40'' in D minor by

Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded ...

; sonata Op. 119 in C major by

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

with

Hüseyin Sermet Hüseyin Sermet (born in Istanbul, 1955) is a Turkish pianist and composer.Hüseyin Sermet.
hexagone.ne ...

as the pianist, at

Harmonia mundi Harmonia Mundi is a record label that specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group, which is itself owned by Universal M ...

, HMN 911628. * ''Armenia'': Interpretations of Armenian composers' works (

Aram Khachaturian Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet Armenians, Armenian composer and conductor. He is considered one of the leading Music of the Soviet Union#Classical music of the Soviet Union, Soviet composers. Khachaturian was born and rai ...

, Arno Babadjanian...etc); with

Vahan Mardirossian Vahan Mardirossian (born 26 May 1975, in Yerevan) is an Armenian pianist and conductor. Life Settled in Paris in 1993, Mardirossian entered the Conservatoire de Paris in Jacques Rouvier's piano class, and was also admitted in Jean Mouillère's c ...

and Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian, at Lontano-Warner.

References

External links

*
Biography
on Musicaglotz
Xavier Phillips
on

France Musique France Musique () is a French national public radio channel owned and operated by Radio France. It is devoted to the broadcasting of music, both live and recorded, with particular emphasis on classical music and jazz. History The channel was lau ...

Xavier Phillips
on

France Info France Info (; stylised as franceinfo:) is a French public broadcasting service is a brand of news service participated by France Télévisions, Radio France, France Médias Monde and the Institut national de l'audiovisuel. The service in ...

Xavier Phillips
on

Orchestre de chambre de Paris The Orchestre de chambre de Paris (OCP) is a French chamber orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra performs throughout Paris with concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris, where it is a resident ensemble, and also at such venues as the Théâtre des ...

Xavier Phillips
on ''La Folle Journée''
Xavier Phillips
on Orchestre de l'Alliance *
Xavier Phillips
on Mariisky Theatre
Boccherini - Cello concert Bb-dur, Xavier Phillips
on YouTube
Xavier Phillips - Tout un monde lointain de Henri Dutilleux - part 1 of 5
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Xavier Musicians from Paris Conservatoire de Paris alumni French classical cellists 1971 births living people