Peter Phillips has made an impressive if unusual reputation for himself in dedicating his life's work to the research and performance of Renaissance polyphony. Having won a scholarship to Oxford in 1972, Peter Phillips studied Renaissance music with David Wulstan and Denis Arnold, and gained experience in conducting small vocal ensembles, already experimenting with the rarer parts of the repertoire. He founded the Tallis Scholars in 1973, with whom he has now appeared in 1400 concerts and made over 50 discs, encouraging interest in polyphony all over the world. As a result of his work, through concerts, recordings, magazine awards, publishing editions of the music and writing articles, Renaissance music has come to be accepted for the first time as part of the mainstream classical repertoire.
Apart from the Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips continues to work with other specialist ensembles. In 2004 he appeared again with the Collegium Vocale of Ghent, broadcasting live on French radio from the Saintes festival, and with the BBC Singers, broadcasting live on BBC Radio Three. He is scheduled to make repeat appearances with both in 2006 and beyond. In January 2004 he made his debut with the Vox Vocal Ensemble of New York; and in November 2003 with Musix of Budapest. He gives numerous master-classes and choral workshops every year around the world.
In addition to conducting, Peter Phillips is well-known as a writer. For many years he has contributed a regular music column (as well as one on cricket) to The Spectator. In 1995 he became the owner and Publisher of The Musical Times, the oldest continuously published music journal in the world. His first book, English Sacred Music 1549-1649, was published by Gimell in 1991, while his second, What We Really Do, an unblinking account of what touring is like, alongside insights about the make-up and performance of polyphony, was published recently.
Peter Phillips has made numerous television and radio broadcasts. Besides those featuring the Tallis Scholars (which include live broadcasts from the 2001 and 2003 Proms, the Aldeburgh Festival, the Bath Festival and the Cheltenham Festival), he has appeared several times on the BBC's Music Weekly and on the BBC World Service, on Kaleidoscope (Radio 4), on Today (Radio 4) and on German, French, Canadian and North American radio. In 2002 The Tallis Scholars made a special television documentary for the BBC about the life and times of William Byrd.
In 2005, Peter Phillips was made a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture, a decoration intended to honour individuals who have contributed to the understanding of French culture in the world. In 2006, his song-cycle for contralto ‘Four Rondeaux by Charles d’Orleans’ was premiered in the Guggenheim, New York, to critical acclaim. |
