Philip Edward Fisher is recognized widely as a unique performer of refined style and exceptional versatility.
International tours as a prolific soloist and ensemble musician have taken Fisher across his native United Kingdom to Italy, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, Norway, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Japan, the Ukraine, and United States. 2002 marked his New York debut at Alice Tully Hall, performing Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto under the baton of Maestro Larry Rachleff.
His debut CD with the Naxos label, Handel Keyboard Suites Volume 1, was released in early 2010 to great critical acclaim and hit the US Classical Billboard Chart within the first week of its release. This was followed by the release of volume 2 in 2015 to equal acclaim. His recent release on the Chandos label, Piano Works by “The Mighty Handful”, featuring Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Balakirev’s Islamey, was featured on Classic FM as John Suchet’s “Album of the Week”, as “CD of the Week” in the London Telegraph, and was shortlisted in the Best Solo Album category of the International Classical Music Awards.
Fisher has appeared in-concert at Merkin Hall and Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, and his United Kingdom credits include performances at the Purcell Room, Wigmore Hall, Barbican Centre and Royal Festival Hall in London, Usher Hall in Edinburgh, the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, and Symphony Hall in Birmingham. He has performed concertos with, amongst others, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Copenhagen Philharmonic; Tampere Philharmonic; San Antonio Symphony; Albany Symphony; Toledo Symphony; and the Juilliard Symphony, working with conductors such as Hannu Lintu; David Alan Miller; John Axelrod; Larry Rachleff; Sebastian Lang-Lessing; James Lowe and Giordano Bellincampi.
Dedicated to the showcasing of new music, Fisher has given local and national premieres of numerous contemporary pieces and has worked in close collaboration with prominent composers such as Ronald Stevenson, Thomas Ades, Arvo Pärt, Lowell Liebermann, John Musto and John Corigliano.
Additionally known for his unique chamber music abilities, Fisher has become a highly sought-after ensemble performer, having collaborated with renowned performers such as tenor Robert White, soprano Amy Burton, violinists Joshua Bell, Elmar Oliviera, Philippe Graffin and Augustin Hadelich, and clarinetist Anthony McGill. He has appeared at Music at Menlo, the Beethoven Chamber Music Festival and the Kyoto International Music Festival.
Broadcasts have included New York’s WQXR and Boston’s WGBH, BBC’s Radio 3, Classic FM, and he has appeared on Ukrainian Television, the BBC, and MTV.
Began his musical training at the age of nine
Fisher began his musical training at the age of nine, and made his first public appearance only a year later. His concerto debut followed aged 12, performing Shostakovich’s Second Concerto at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall. In 1993 he was accepted into the studio of Christopher Elton, head of keyboard at the Royal Academy of Music, where he later earned his Bachelor’s degree. During his studies at the Royal Academy he was also guided by pedagogues Alexander Satz, Boris Berman, Stephen Kovacevich and Stephen Hough. He graduated from The Juilliard School in May of 2006, earning his Master’s degree as a student of Joseph Kalichstein and Jerome Lowenthal.
In 2001, Fisher was a recipient of the Julius Isserlis Scholarship by the Royal Philharmonic Society of London, one of the largest and most prestigious awards of its kind currently available to a British musician. He was recently elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music as part of its honours list for 2016.