Simon Crawford Phillips and Philip Moore (piano duet)

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 1st prize at the 1997 International Schubert Competition in the Czech Republic, 2nd prize at the 1998 Tokyo International Piano Duo Competition and the 1999 Royal Over-Seas League Rio Tinto Ensemble Prize, as well as many other prizes for piano solo. The Duo were selected for representation by Young Concert Artists Trust in London from 2001 to 2006, and their contribution to the profession was recognised through a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship in 2004.

They have performed and broadcast in many countries and at all the major UK festivals and venues, including the Barbican (with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields), the South Bank, Royal Albert Hall, LSO St. Luke’s, Wigmore Hall, Royal Opera House, St. John’s (Smith Square), Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall and Usher Hall, and Glasgow’s City Halls. Outside of the Duo, they have played all over the world.

They made their Proms debut in 2001, and have recorded for Naxos and Deux-Elles to critical acclaim. They have given world premieres of 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 début with the Hallé, under the baton of Edward Gardner, playing Mozart’s Concerto K365. In 2014 they premiered Steve Reich’s Quartet for two pianos and two vibraphones, again with Colin and Sam, at the Southbank, Carnegie Hall NY (listed as one of “The Ten Best Classical Performances of 2014? by New York Magazine), Kölner Philharmonie and Cité de la musique Paris. Recent performances include the 2015 Edinburgh International Festival, for which they received glowing five-star reviews.

“The duo’s ensemble is astonishingly good and the sheer panache of these performers makes this a most satisfying release with a unique feature.”

Gramophone Magazine

“Moore and Crawford-Phillips play Debussy’s Prélude a l’après-midi d’un faune with immense grace and sensitivity. In Bizet’s Jeux d’enfants they are innocent and full of enchantment, and play with such charm as to persuade that this is the most delightful piece ever written for the medium. In Ravel’s Ma mere l’Oye, childlike simplicity and technical sophistication go hand in hand.”

BBC Music Magazine

“In Ravel’s fascinating transcription of Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune they articulate the evanescent orchestral substance of the original with analytical precision, while retaining a magical limpidity and flow.”

The Sunday Times

“The conversational sophistication in Mozart’s E flat two-piano concerto is rarely as fully revealed as it was here by Simon Crawford-Phillips and Phillip Moore. Each was consummately fluent in passagework that is far trickier than it sounds, and each hit the happy mean between flexibility and continuity in phrasing, while together they relished the grace and wit of Mozart’s exchanges.”

The Daily Telegraph

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