Robert Phillips (born July 26, 1953, New York City) is an American classical guitarist.
Early life
Born Robert Michael Phillips, he is the son of Dr. Robert Warren Phillips and Dr. Irma Phillips who lived, although only briefly, in Valley Stream, New York. A few months after his birth his parents returned to his mother's native Puerto Rico, living in San Juan. Three years later they returned to the U.S., living for two years in Brooklyn, New York and then moving to Deer Park, New York. He attended Sts. Cyril and Methodius Catholic school and then Seton Hall High School.
Music career
Education
Phillips began his musical training at age 8 on the accordion. He began to teach himself the guitar at age 12. He did not work with a teacher until 1967, when he began to learn finger-style folk guitar. After taking lessons for a year, he studied classical guitar at the suggestion of his teacher.
In 1971, he entered Hofstra University as a Music Education major, studying under Stanley Solow. After graduating in 1975, Phillips began studies in New York under José Rey de la Torre. In 1976, Rey left New York for San Francisco, and Phillips worked on his own for the next two years. In 1977, after attending a three-week seminar and master class under the direction of Guido Santórsola and Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Phillips began to study on a more or less regular basis with Barbosa-Lima. In 1979, Phillips decided that a more regular regimen of study was desirable, and he studied briefly with Dennis Koster. Soon after, he returned to school at Brooklyn College in order to earn a master's degree. He studied first with David Starobin and then with Michael Cedric Smith. Phillips graduated with an master's degree 1982. Although he did play in master classes, most notably by Eduardo Fernandez, Phillips did not return to formal education until 1999, when he entered the University of Miami. Under the instruction of Rene Gonzalez, he earned a Doctor of Musical Arts. While at the University of Miami, he also had the opportunity to perform in a master class given by Sergio Assad.
Performing and recording
He made his New York recital debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on October 31, 1987. In 1991 he released his first album, Guitarre Nouveau, which included works by Philip Glass, Frank Martin, Eberhard Weber, and Thelonious Monk, as well as his own compositions. In 1996 he released a 2-CD set, Great Themes and Variations for Classic Guitar as a companion to his anthology of the same name. His next recording wasn't until 2014 when he released the complete solo guitar works of Miguel Llobet in a recording titled, Lo Mestre, the Music of Miguel Llobet
He performs as a solo recitalist, ensemble player, and guest soloist. He has premiered works by Alfred Giusto, Frank Brazinski, Eric Ross, as well as the "Pipedream Sonata" by Meyer Kupferman, which Phillips commissioned and the Goyescana Concerto for guitar and orchestra by Michael Colina which he also commissioned and premiered in 2008.
In 2016 Phillips embarked on a commissioning project, enlisting six Central Florida based composers to each create a new work for solo guitar in a dance rhythm. The composers that participated in the project were Troy Gifford, Jorge Morel, Benoit Glazer, Charles Griffin, all from Orlando, Howard J. Buss from Lakeland, Florida, and Rex Willis from Sarasota.
Writing
In 1983 Phillips worked briefly as an editorial assistant on the staff of Guitar Review. In 1989 he began writing a monthly classical guitar column in the rock-oriented guitar magazine, Guitar for the Practicing Musician, and its more general sister publication, the quarterly, Guitar Extra.
In 1992 Cherry Lane Music discontinued the publication of Guitar Extra, and dropped his classical guitar column in Guitar for the Practicing Musician. Phillips went on to write several short "lessons" for Guitar Player magazine. He also contributed articles to Soundboard, the quarterly publication of the Guitar Foundation of America, and to American String Teacher, the journal of the American String Teachers Association. In 1996, he published Great Themes and Variations for Classic Guitar (Mel Bay), and released his second recording, a companion to the book.