Simon Crawford-Phillips — Penarth Chamber Music Festival

Simon Crawford-Phillips Piano /Harmonium

Simon Crawford-Phillips has built a unique career as a conductor, pianist and creative programmer.

He has held positions as Chief Conductor of Västerås Sinfonietta (2016-2028) and Conducting Fellow of the NDR Elbphilharmonie and in 2023 made a critically acclaimed debut with the Stockholm Royal Opera conducting Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In 2025 Simon was made Artistic Director of the Swedish National Orchestral Academy (SNOA) at Gothenburg University. Simon’s revealing and eclectic programming is reflected in an extraordinarily varied career and a passion for championing contemporary and undiscovered repertoire.

Simon’s chamber ensembles include The Nash Ensemble (he is Co-Artistic Director alongside Adrian Brendel), The Kungsbacka Piano Trio and Stockholm Syndrome Ensemble. He is the Artistic Director of the Change Music Festival in Sweden, Co-Artistic Director of the Wye Valley Chamber Music Festival and directed his own series ‘Musikaliska Möten’ at the unique ‘Musikaliska Kvarteret‘ – Stockholm’s oldest concert hall!

Simon regularly collaborates with artists such as Daniel Hope, Torleif Thedéen, Lawrence Power, Roderick Williams, Carolyn Sampson, Pekka Kuusisto, Colin Currie, Konstantin Krimmel, Andrew Staples and Malin Broman in repertoire from Haydn and Schumann to Adès, Byström, Dean and Reich. This season Simon has also curated a chamber series for BBC Radio 3 at LSO St Luke’s.

Upcoming conducting debuts include orchestras such as the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (for a new commission with Lawrence Power), Norrlands Opera and Oulu Symphony as well as return invites to the Swedish Radio, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Swedish Royal Opera (for a new production of Gustavia), Norrköping and Gävle Symphonies amongst others.

Simon has broadened the Västerås Sinfonietta’s reach and repertoire which now includes a Mendelssohn Symphony album cycle due for completion in 2026. Recent conducting engagements have included Helsinki Philharmonic for the Finnish premiere of Sandström’s Cello Concerto with Torleif Thedéen, a double visit to Scottish Chamber Orchestra (one in a shared programme with Pekka Kuusisto), Neubrandenburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony, Uppsala Kammarorkester, Nordic Chamber, Helsingborg Symfoniorkester, Dalasinfoniettan and Sinfonia Varsovia for Warsaw’s Lutosławski Chain Festival. He has also assisted Daniel Harding, Alain Altinoglu and Stanislav Kochanovsky at the Verbier Festival.

World premieres have included conducting Börtz’s Violin ‘Concerto for One’ with Malin Broman and Norrköpings Symfoniorkester, Djuro Zivkovic’s violin concerto with Pekka Kuusisto and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, and the world premiere of a new double concerto with Tapiola Sinfonietta from Finnish composer Sauli Zinovjev written for Simon and Hugo Ticciati. Simon values every opportunity to collaborate directly with composers and has been fortunate to work alongside Britta Byström, Sofia Gubaidulina, Simon Holt, Colin Matthews, Steve Reich, Mark-Anthony Turnage and Huw Watkins.

As a pianist, The Guardian says Simon has “profound sensitivity and technical brilliance, achieving an expressive intensity that makes for compelling listening.” Simon has a long standing duo partnership with Philip Moore and performs in premiere festivals and concert halls across Europe including Verbier, Schleswig-Holstein, Edinburgh, Gstaad and at Wigmore Hall. Notable concerto debuts include the NHK Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Alan Gilbert, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Ilan Volkov and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra directing from the keyboard. He also made his debut with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra for an extensive European tour alongside Daniel Hope.

As a prolific recording artist, Simon has recorded for Alba, BIS, Channel Classics, DG, Deux-Elles, Harmonia Mundi, Hyperion, LSO Live, Naxos, Nonesuch, Onyx, Signum Classics, Alba and DB Productions. In addition to radio and television broadcasts in Europe, Australia and Japan Simon has also presented concertsfor Sweden’s classical music radio station P2.

Simon is a Professor at the Edsberg Institute, Stockholm Royal Academy of Music and at the Academy of Music and Opera at Mälardalen University. Guest teaching has included the Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, at Indiana University in Bloomington, the University of Colorado and for Accordi Musicali in Pescara.

Simon was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 2010 and is a Steinway Artist. Simon Crawford-Phillips is managed worldwide by Percius www.percius.co.uk.