Xavier Phillips
was born in Paris in 1971. At fifteen, he entered the CNSM in Paris in Philippe Muller’s class and obtained the First Prize at the conservatory in 1989. He then studied under Mstislav Rostropovich, who became his mentor. He has won several international prizes including Special Prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Third Prize and Special Prize at the Rostropovich Competition in Paris and First Prize at the 1st Helsinki Competition.

He was soon invited to perform on the greatest international stages with prestigious orchestras, such as L’Orchestre National de France, Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Orchestre philharmonique de la Scala, under the baton of conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Kurt Masur, Christoph Eschenbach, Marek Janowski, Vladimir Fedosseyev and Eliahu Inbal.

In parallel to his activities as a soloist, Xavier Phillips also enjoys performing chamber music and devotes part of his time to educational activities. His eclectic and varied discography is highly regarded and acclaimed by critics.

Xavier Phillips plays on a cello by Matteo Gofriller from 1710.

Cedric Tiberghien
is a French pianist who has established a truly international career. He has been particularly applauded for his versatility, as demonstrated by his wide-ranging repertoire, interesting programming, an openness to explore innovative concert formats and his dynamic chamber music partnerships. ​

Concerto appearances in the 2023-24 season include his debut with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestras as well as re-invitations to the London Philharmonic Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony and Orchestre National de Lyon. His solo and chamber appearances, the later with Alina Ibragimova and the Chiaroscuro Quartet, include performances in London, Brussels and Berlin. Cédric has a long association with the Wigmore Hall in London, where he is currently performing a complete Beethoven variation cycle, juxtaposed with works by other composers, illustrating the evolution of the genre. ​

Last season Cédric performed Messiaen’s Turangalila Symphony with both the Berliner Philharmoniker (Simone Young) and Orchestre National de France (Cristian Macelaru). Other recent collaborations have included the Boston Symphony, Cleveland, London Symphony, NDR Elbphilharmonie, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestras and at the BBC Proms with Les Siècles. His conductor collaborations include Karina Canellakis, Nicholas Collon, Stéphane Denève, Edward Gardner, Enrique Mazzola, Ludovic Morlot, Matthias Pintscher, François-Xavier Roth and Simone Young. ​

Cédric’s most recent recording is volume one of a complete Beethoven variation cycle, repertoire which he is also performing at the Wigmore Hall. This is released by Harmonia Mundi for whom Cédric has also recorded the Ravel Concertos with Les Siècles/Roth, which has attracted superlative critical acclaim, including the accolade of ‘Editor’s Choice’ in Gramophone Magazine. Cédric has previously recorded works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and Debussy for Harmonia Mundi. He has been awarded five Diapason d’Or, for his solo and duo recordings on Hyperion; his most recent solo project being a three-volume exploration of Bartok’s piano works. ​

As a dedicated chamber musician, Cédric’s regular partners include violinist Alina Ibragimova, violist Antoine Tamestit and baritone Stéphane Degout, with all of whom he has made several recordings as well as performing in concert. His discography with Alina includes complete cycles of music by Schubert, Szymanowski and Mozart (Hyperion) and a Beethoven Sonata cycle (Wigmore Live). Cédric is a member of the Académie Musicale Philippe Jaroussky, where he teaches regularly.