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.