Adrian Brendel cello Simon Crawford-Phillips piano

Adrian Brendel, one of the most versatile and original cellists of his generation, has travelled the world as soloist, collaborator and teacher. His early immersion in the core classical repertoire inspired an enduring fascination that has led to encounters with many fine musicians at the world’s most prestigious festivals and concert halls. His discovery of contemporary music through the works of Kurtag, Kagel and Ligeti in his teenage years opened a new and vital avenue that he continues to explore with huge enthusiasm alongside his passion for jazz and world music. In 2014 he became a member of the Nash Ensemble of London.

Projects with contemporary composers and conductors such as Kurtág, Thomas Adès and Peter Eötvös among others inspired him to cultivate new music in his concert programmes wherever possible. A three-year project with Sir Harrison Birtwistle led to premieres of his song cycle Bogenstrich and a piano trio released on the ECM label. He also premiered York Hoeller’s cello concerto Mouvements with NDR Hamburg alongside Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s Canto di Speranza.

Simon Crawford-Phillips is a multi-festival director, conductor and renowned pianist. A creative programmer with a passion for championing contemporary repertoire, he regularly collaborates as a chamber musician with artists such as Daniel Hope, Lawrence Power, Roderick Williams and Anne Sofie von Otter. Simon’s own ensembles include The Kungsbacka Piano Trio and Stockholm Syndrome Ensemble. He is Artistic Director of the Change Music Festival in Sweden, Co-Artistic Director of the Wye Valley Chamber Music Festival in the UK, as well as Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor of Västerås Sinfonietta.

Simon’s spicy and eclectic programming is reflected in an extraordinarily varied career as a conductor/director alongside his chamber and solo engagements. As a pianist, he performs in premiere festivals and concert halls across Europe including Verbier, Schleswig-Holstein, Edinburgh, Gstaad and at Wigmore Hall, where he appears regularly as pianist with the acclaimed Nash Ensemble.