Simon Crawford-Phillips & Philip Moore - Biography

Simon Crawford-Phillips and Philip Moore received support from BBT between 2004 and 2009.

Simon Crawford-Phillips and Philip Moore occupy a unique place amongst piano duos: they are established chamber musicians in their own right, yet since 1995 have devoted several thousands of hours to this most exacting of disciplines, giving them extraordinary musical empathy. They met as students of Hamish Milne at the Royal Academy of Music, and during their time with him won First prize at the 1997 International Schubert Competition in the Czech Republic, Second prize at the 1998 Tokyo International Piano Duo Competition and the 1999 Royal Over-Seas League Rio Tinto Ensemble Prize. Young Concert Artists between 2001 and 2006, the Duo also received a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship in 2004.

They have recorded for Naxos and Deux-Elles to critical acclaim and have performed and broadcast in many countries and at all the major UK festivals and venues, making their Proms debut in 2001. They have given world premières of BBT co-commission Detlev Glanert’s Two Piano Concerto (with BBCSSO/Martyn Brabbins) and, at the 2009 BBC Proms, Anna Meredith’s Two Piano Concerto (with Britten Sinfonia/Ludovic Morlot). On the same day they gave a BBC Prom performance of Bartok’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion with Colin Currie and Sam Walton. In 2012 they made their Hallé début, under Edward Gardner, playing Mozart’s Concerto K365. In 2014 they premiered Steve Reich’s Quartet for two pianos and two vibraphones, at the Southbank, Carnegie Hall NY (one of New York Magazine’s “Ten Best Classical Performances of 2014″), Kölner Philharmonie and Cité de la Musique Paris.

Simon Crawford-Phillips now also conducts. In 2017 he was appointed chief conductor of Västerås Sinfonietta in Sweden, a contract renewed through to 2023 and incorporating both a Beethoven Symphony Cycle and the recording of Mendelssohn’s symphonies.

Philip Moore is also the pianist of the Hebrides Ensemble, a member of the Colin Currie Group and has worked with many international artists. In 2017 he joined the LSO under Sir Simon Rattle for performances of Pétrouchka in London and Paris.

Last updated: October 2018

We have decided to use our award to commission a new concerto: with only a handful of two-piano concertos in the repertoire, the possibility of adding another is incredibly exciting. It has been an unexpected luxury to have the genuine support of all the cultural, musical and financial benefactors that make up the Borletti-Buitoni Trust. What a privilege for us to be able to broaden both the repertoire and scope of what we do as a piano duo, especially in a professional climate where this kind of commitment to young artists is so unique.