News

Spring 2014 sees the release of a number of CD releases featuring Philip:

solo and chamber works by Laurence Crane on a double CD featuring Apartment House, including the solo piano work commissioned by Philip in 2009, 'Piano Piece 23: Ethiopian Distance Runners' to be released on another timbre

A CD of four solo piano works by Christopher Fox will be released on HatHut

The first volumes of the complete solo piano music of Christian Wolff, featuring the early works and a number of recent works, are scheduled for release on sub rosa

Two exciting London concerts in May for your diaries:

Monday May 5th, Cafe OTO.
The first London performance of the extended version of Bryn Harrison's Vessels

Monday May 12th, Insitute of Music Research, London, Senate Hall, University of London.
Music by Christian Wolff, with Apartment House, following a talk by Wolff.

On April 26th, Philip is presenting a conference paper with performance about Christian Wolff's Pianist: Pieces at NUNC, the Northwestern University New Music Conference.

Autumn 2014 sees the first performances of Philip's next solo project, celebrating Christian Wolff's 80th birthday.
Featuring specially composed new works by Wolff himself Michael Finnissy and Howard Skempton. Finnissy is composing a large-scale work, details of which to be posted here soon, along with details of the first performances.

Recent Concerts

Philip and Apartment House made their Wigmore Hall debut on Saturday January 4th in a programme including Crane, Fox, Friedl, Garland Mazulis, Spahlinger and Wolman

Tim Rutherford-Johnson curated a fascinating programme at King's Place, London, entitled Some Recent Silences on Sunday 22nd September.
Philip played some solo works and ensemble works with Apartment House, including Doug Barrett's wonderful A Few Silence, Gregory Emfietzis' DIY 1, Ben Isaacs' allone and Michael Pisaro's fade.

Philip played with cellist Anton Lukoszevieze at the Purcell Room on Friday 8th November, as part of the SouthBank's The Rest Is Noise festival, performing Morton Feldman's extended work Patterns in a Chromatic Field

Philip joined forces with Mark Knoop for a piano duo concert at the 2013 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in a programme of classic and recent experimental works by Peter Ablinger, John Cage, Laurence Crane, Kunsu Shim and Christian Wolff.

CANADA CONNECTIONS

Philip's recent major solo project featured experimental music from Canada and the UK, including four specially commissioned works by Canadians Martin Arnold and Cassandra Miller and English composers Christopher Fox and Bryn Harrison
Also featured were works by Richard Glover, Michael Oesterle, Eldritch Priest, Marc Sabat and Linda Smith.
The new works by Arnold, Fox and Miller were premiered during the 2012 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival on Thursday 22nd November.
Other performances took place at Sheffield University on Tuesday 30th October, at which Bryn Harrison's new work 'Vessels' was premiered, and Tuesday 4th December; Thursday 7th February, 7.30pm at the University of Huddersfield (click here for details); and London, at The Forge on Tuesday 19th February, 7.30pm.

In April 2013 Philip toured the new works in Canada, visiting Victoria, Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. In Montreal as well as giving a solo concert performed with the Bozzini Quartet and was involved with workshops and talks, whilst in Toronto he also performed with Continuum. Full details of all the concerts are as follows:
Open Space, Victoria. Friday April 12th, 8.00pm. Music by Arnold, Fox, Harrison, Miller, Oesterle.
David Pay Studio, Vancouver. Saturday April 13th.
Salon qb II, Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur, Montréal. Thursday April 18th, 8.00pm. Performing with the Bozzini String Quartet in music by Laurence Crane and Maxime Mckinley
Innovations en concert, Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur, Montréal. Saturday April 20th, 8.00pm. Music by Music by Arnold, Fox, Glover, Harrison, Miller, Oesterle.
Gallery 345, Toronto. Wednesday April 24th, 8.00pm. Music by Arnold, Fox, Harrison, Miller, Oesterle and Smith.
Correlation Street: The Music Gallery, Toronto. Thursday April 25th, 8.00pm. Performing with Continuum in music by Clarke, Crane, Grahl, Harrison, Mayo and Williamson.

On 25th May 2013, Philip performed with Apartment House in a programme of music by Christian Wolff, joined by the composer performing, at the Angelica Festival, Bologna, Italy.

Recent CD releases

Vessels by Bryn Harrison is an extended, 76-minute version of the work premiered by Philip in 2012. Hear an extract here

Philip features as soloist and ensemble player in Logical Harmonies, a portrait disc of music by Richard Glover

Wandelweiser und so weiter, is an extraordinary 6-CD box set of recordings on 'another timbre', exploring music from composers and others associated with the Wandelweiser movement. Philip features on many of the performances, and the edges ensemble features also.

divisions that could be autonomous but that comprise the whole
CD of music by James Saunders featuring Philip Thomas performing PART OF IT MAY ALSO BE PART OF SOMETHING ELSE as well as the edges ensemble, directed by Philip, performing imperfections on the surface are occasionally apparent released on another timbre

Out Soon:

The first volumes of the complete solo piano music of Christian Wolff, for release on sub rosa

Other News

An article by Philip exploring performance issues within John Cage's Solo for piano (from the Concert for piano and orchestra) has just been published in Twentieth Century Music.
Entitled 'Understanding Indeterminate Music through Performance: Cage's Solo for piano', it draws upon Philip's experiences of performing the work as a solo, and with Apartment House and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.

Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards 2012
Apartment House, with whom Philip has been a regular performer since 2001, have been awarded the prestigous Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Chamber Music and Song. "Their performances are always revelatory, and the concert of John Cage's music at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in September 2011 was an epiphany, confirming the status of Apartment House as one of the most innovative and exciting chamber ensembles in Europe."

OUT NOW: Changing the System: The Music of Christian Wolff, to be published by Ashgate Publishing in July 2010.
The first major study of Wolff's music, co-edited by Philip with Stephen Chase. Philip has contributed two chapters relating to the piano music and performing Wolff's music. The book is available for order on-line. Click here for full details

In August 2011, Philip was promoted to position of Reader in Music at the University of Huddersfield.
Since January 2010 Philip is heading up both the performance programme and the Masters programme at the University of Huddersfield Music Department. He is also pioneering the Music Department as a centre for the study of the performance of experimental music and welcomes proposals at doctorate and post-doctorate levels. See CeReNeM for related information and here for Philip's research page.

The Ashgate Companion to Experimental Music, edited by James Saunders and to which Philip has contributed a chapter concerning performance, 'A Prescription for Action', is now available for sale. Click here for more details.