Joseph Phibbs (born 25 April 1974) is an English composer of orchestral, choral and chamber music. He has also composed for theatre, both in the UK and Japan. Since 1998 he has written regularly to commissions for Festivals (including for Cheltenham, Aldeburgh, Presteigne, and Three Choirs), for private sponsors, and for the BBC, which has broadcast premieres of his orchestral and chamber works from the Proms and elsewhere. His works have been given premieres in Europe, the United States and the Far East, and he has received awards, including a British Composer Award (for Rivers to the Sea),Composer Profiles: Joseph Phibbs, British Composer Awards website. 'Success for Joseph Phibbs for British Composer Awards', The Purcell School News website. and a Library of Congress Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation Award.Koussevitzky Music Foundation Awards 2014. Elinor Cooper, 'Partita for a friend', BBC Music Magazine website, 5 May 2016. Musicians performing his work include Evelyn Glennie, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Leonard Slatkin, Sakari Oramo, Vasily Petrenko, Gianandrea Noseda, and the Belcea Quartet.
Musical training Joseph Phibbs was born in London, the son of actors Giles Phibbs and Mary Gillingham. A pianist and cellist, he started composing at the age of ten,Beethovenfest Bonn Interview (Sources). and from 1988 to 1992 attended the Purcell School for Young Musicians with the assistance of a scholarship from Suffolk County Council. During this time he received tuition in composition from Param Vir. In 1992 he continued his studies at King's College London, where he was taught by Harrison Birtwistle, and where he obtained a BMus degree with a First, taking the Purcell Prize: in 1996 he received an MMus in Composition, having received a British Academy grant.Joseph Phibbs Official website
In that year he was a winner of the BBC Young Composers' Forum, which marked the beginning of a long association with the BBC. A commission in 2001 for his first large-scale orchestral work, In Camera, was premiered at the Barbican by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin; Lumina, for the Last Night of the Proms 2003, was televised from the Royal Albert Hall; and more recently Partita was a joint BBC/Serge Koussevitzky Foundation Award commission. From 1997 to 2001 he studied at Cornell University towards a doctorate of Musical Arts with Steven Stucky, a teacher and later friend who became a major influence on his music.A. Palmer, Encounters with British Composers (Boydell Press, Woodbridge 2015), pp. xxi, 381–391. Many of his orchestral and chamber works are now published by Ricordi (part of the Universal Music Publishing Group), with a number of unaccompanied choral works published by Boosey & Hawkes.
In 2024 the Nimbus label released recordings of Phibbs's String Quartets No 2, 3 and 4, performed by the Piatti Quartet.Joseph Phipps Quartets, NI 6542 (2024) The Piatti Quartet previously recorded the String Quartet No 1 (2014), which was written for them.Albion Refracted, Piatti Quartet. Champs Hill CHRCD145 (2018)
Works See #References for premières.
Orchestral Soirée (1996). (for BBC) Dream of a Summer Night (2000). (for Cheltenham Music Festival)Premiere: BBC Symphony Orchestra cond. Gianandrea Noseda, Cheltenham Town Hall, (broadcast) 8 July 2000. Listing: 'Performance on 3: Cheltenham Festival 2000', Radio Times issue 3985, p. 106. In Camera (2001). (for BBC)Premiere: Macau, October 2001. London premiere: BBC Symphony Orchestra cond. Leonard Slatkin), Barbican Hall, 28 October 2001. Listing and Reviews: Keith Potter, 'BBC Symphony Orchestra/Leonard Slatkin, Barbican Hall, London', The Independent, 31 October 2001; Colin Anderson, 'BBCSO/Leonard Slatkin', Classical Source. Lumina (2003). (for BBC)Premiere: BBC Symphony Orchestra cond. Leonard Slatkin, Royal Albert Hall, London 13 September 2003. Listing: BBC – Proms – Events. Reviews: Keith Potter, 'Prom 72', The Independent, 17 September 2003. Andrew Clements, 'Birtwistle premiere; Last Night', The Guardian, 15 September 2003. Nick Breckenfield, 'Prom 73 – The Last Night', Classical Source; Nick Kimberley, London Evening Standard, 15 September 2003. (Faber Music) The Dawn Breakers (2005).Premiere: Orchestra of the Swan cond. David Curtis, Civic Hall, Stratford-upon-Avon, 21 March 2005. Review: Rian Evans, 'Orchestra of the Swan/Curtis', The Guardian, 23 March 2005. Shruti (2008), (to Param Vir). (L.S.O. Sound Adventures).Premiere: Michael Whight, clarinet, London Symphony Orchestra cond. Vasily Petrenko, Barbican Hall, London, 13 February 2008. Listing and Review: Colin Anderson, 'LSO/Vasily Petrenko Ayako Uehara (Shruti & Paganini Rhapsody)', Classical Source. (Contemporary Voices BMIC) Night Interludes (2011). (for Presteigne festival).Premiere: Presteigne Festival Orchestra cond. George Vass, St Andrew's Church, Presteigne, 25 August 2011. Listing: George Vass – Premieres. Review: Rian Evans, 'Presteigne Festival – Review. St Andrew's Church, Presteigne', The Guardian, 29 August 2011. Rivers to the Sea (2012). (for The Anvil, Basingstoke, with the Philharmonia Orchestra).Premiere: The Anvil, Basingstoke, 22 June 2012. London Premiere: Philharmonia Orchestra cond. Esa-Pekka Salonen, Royal Festival Hall, 28 June 2012. Interview: 'Joseph Phibbs: Rivers to the Sea (New Commission)', Philharmonia Orchestra video, 2012, Vimeo. Listing/Review: Douglas Cooksey, 'Philharmonia Orchestra/Esa-Pekka Salonen at Royal Festival Hall – Phibbs’s Rivers to the Sea & Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony', Classical Source. (Ricordi) Partita for Orchestra (2016), dedicated to the memory of Steven Stucky. (for Library of Congress Koussevitzky awards with BBC).Premiere: BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo, Barbican Hall, London, 21 May 2016. Interview: Elinor Cooper, 'Partita for a friend', BBC Music Magazine website, 5 May 2016. Review: Colin Anderson, 'BBC Symphony Orchestra – Sakari Oramo, Saturday, 21 May 2016 Classical source. (Ricordi)
Concertante Concertino for clarinet and strings (2009), solo clarinet and string orchestra with harp. (for Orchestra of the Swan).Premiere: Sarah Williamson, clarinet, with Orchestra of the Swan cond. David Curtis, Cadogan Hall, London, 28 October 2009. US Premiere: Ithaca, N.Y., 8 March 2014. Interview: Gavin Dixon, 'A breath of fresh air: An interview with Sarah Williamson and Joseph Phibbs', Seen and Heard International. (Ricordi) Bar Veloce (2011), solo percussion and orchestra. (for Cheltenham Music Festival).Premiere: Dame Evelyn Glennie, percussion, Cheltenham Festival Academy Orchestra cond. Neil Thomson, Cheltenham Town Hall, 1 July 2011. Article: Evelyn Glennie, 'Evelyn Glennie sounds off: The Cocktail Party', Tom Tom Magazine, 28 July 2011. Listing: Sound and Music – The Sampler. Review: Jill Bacon, 'Musical triumph', Gloucestershire Echo, 4 July 2011. Towards Purcell (2012), concertante for oboe, horn, harp and orchestra. (for Purcell School's 50th Anniversary).Premiere: Nicholas Daniel, oboe with The Purcell School cond. Quentin Poole, Royal Festival Hall, 19 March 2012. Listing and Review: Colin Anderson, 'The Purcell School 50th-Anniversary Celebration', Classical Source. (Ricordi) Datcha Savoyarde – Evian Variations (2013), solo cello with orchestra. (for Evian Festival: Homage to Mstislav Rostropovich in the Britten Centenary).Premiere: Maxim Beitan, cello, with Evian Festival Orchestra, cond. Laurence Dale, 'Les Escales Musicales' (13th season), Grange au Lac, Evian-les-Bains, France, 17 May 2013. Listing: [www.casino-evian.com/pdf/Escales-Musicales-2013.pdf 'Les Escales Musicales' 2013 Brochure.] (Ricordi) Notturno (2013), solo harp with orchestra. (for David Watkins).Premiere: David Watkins, harp with Trinity Laban String Ensemble cond. Nic Pendlebury, Great Hall, Blackheath Halls, 26 November 2013. Listing: Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Performances & Events Sep–Dec 2013. (Ricordi) Clarinet Concerto (2017), for clarinet and orchestra. (commissioned by the Philharmonia Orchestra jointly with Mark van de Wiel and Malmö Live Konserthus).Premiere: The Anvil, Basingstoke, 4 November 2017. London Premiere: Royal Festival Hall, 5 November 2017. Mark van de Wiel, clarinet, with the Philharmonia Orchestra cond. Edward Gardner. Composer's commentary at Philharmonia Orchestra site. Interview at Bachtrack (Ricordi)
Instrumental ensemble Night Dances (1995), for cello, clarinet and piano. Cayuga (1999), mixed chamber ensemble. (for Faber Music Millennium Series).Premiere: London Sinfonietta cond. Pierre-André Valade, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 15 April 2000. Listing, with composer's commentary: Faber Music. (Faber Music) Trio Semplice (2000), trio for violin, cello and piano. (for Schubert Ensemble for Chamber Music). (Chamber Music 2000) Ritual Songs and Blessings (2002), for oboe, clarinet, horn, violin, viola, cello, piano. (for The Spitalfields Festival, London)Premiere: Chroma Ensemble, Christ Church, Spitalfields, London, 25 June 2002. Listing: Chroma. Review: Keith Potter, 'A statue within a block of marble', The Independent, 3 July 2002. Recording: in On Shifting Ground, NMC Digital Discoveries Vol 2 (NMCDL3002). (Ricordi) La Noche Arrolladora (The Spiralling Night) (2002), harpsichord with wind ensemble. (for BBC)Premiere: Ian Brown, harpsichord, English Chamber Orchestra Ensemble cond. Benjamin Wallfisch, in Lecture Theatre, Victoria & Albert Museum, 5 August 2002. Listing: BBC – Proms 2002 Chamber Music. Review: David Wordsworth, 'PCM3: New Phibbs', Classical Source. The Village of Birds (2006), wind and string septet.Premiere: Britten Sinfonia, Cambridge, 2006. Split Screen (2006), wind band. (Phillip Scott). (Contemporary Voices BMIC) Agea (GEorge vAss) (2007), for string quartet. (Ricordi) The Spiralling Night (2007), wind ensemble.Premiere: Sarah Williamson, clarinet and National Youth Wind Ensemble of Great Britain cond. Phillip Scott, World Association of Symphonic Wind Bands and Ensembles Conference, Killarney 2007. Recording: Mark Records. (Contemporary Voices BMIC) Flex (2007), quartet for flute, violin, cello and piano. (for Royal Philharmonic Society and BBC, for City of London Festival).Premiere: City of London Festival, 2007. Composer's commentary: Notes to "Joseph Phibbs – The Canticle of the Rose", NMC Debut Discs D191. (Ricordi) Cossax (2008), symphonic wind ensemble. (for Aldeburgh Festival).Mixed professional and amateur ensemble, Aldeburgh Beach, Suffolk, June 2005. Listing/Review: Anna Picard, 'Aldeburgh Festival, Snape and other venues, Suffolk. More sonorities from beside the sea', The Independent, 25 June 2005. (Ricordi) Quartettino (2012), string quartet. (for The Tricycle Theatre).Premiere: Honeymead Quartet, Tricycle Theatre, Kilburn High Road, London, 16 September 2012. Composer's preview: Tricycle Theatre. (Ricordi) Festival Fanfare (2014), brass quintet. (for Uzerche Festival).Premiere by Les Cuivres du Sud, L'Abbatiale Saint-Pierre, 15 August 2014, Uzerche Festival. String Quartet no. 1 (2014). (for The Piatti Quartet, with the Britten-Pears Foundation and the Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust).Premiere: Piatti Quartet, St Mary's Church, Rye, 27 September 2014. London Premiere: Piatti Quartet, Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London, 26 April 2015. Listing: Piatti Quartet. (Ricordi) String Quartet no. 2 (2015). (for Presteigne Festival and Little Missenden Festival).Premiere: Navarra Quartet, St Andrew's Church, Presteigne, Presteigne Festival 29 August 2015. Listing: Presteigne Festival 2015 Brochure, Event 11. Review: Peter Reynolds, 'Plenty of life in the old String Quartet at Presteigne', Hereford Times, 2 September 2015. (Ricordi) String Quartet no. 3 (2018). (for The Belcea Quartet, co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall).Premiere: Belcea Quartet, Zankel Hall, New York City 18 October 2018. Listing: The Carnegie Hall Corporation. London Premiere: Wigmore Hall, London 15 November 2018.
Instrumental duo and solo