Philippe Honoré

Classical Violinist

Biography

Philippe Honoré divides his time between chamber music, solo work, leading, and teaching. 

After having received top honours from the Paris Conservatoire and the Royal Academy of Music in London, he was made Lauréat of the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation of France in 1992 and was awarded an Honorary Associateship by the Royal Academy of Music in 2001. He was appointed Professor of Violin at the RAM in October 2012.

He was a principal player with the Philharmonia Orchestra from 2005 to 2011, and has appeared as guest leader with some of Europe’s best orchestras (such as the Philarmonia, the London Philharmonic, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris).

Philippe is a former member of the Vellinger Quartet and a founder member of the Mobius ensemble, which have performed in some of the most prestigious venues both in the UK and abroad. He also appears regularly as a soloist, performing concerti by Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, and works ranging from Handel to Ravel to Lutoslawski.

He has made numerous solo and chamber music recordings. His solo violin performances on the Decca album An Equal Music are regularly featured on both Classic FM and Radio 3. The novel of that name by the author Vikram Seth was inspired by and dedicated to him.

Philippe’s collaboration with the composer Alec Roth over a recent four-year project has earned him great critical acclaim. The performances of these full-length pieces took place at the Salisbury, Chelsea and Litchfield Festivals. The BBC Radio 3 recorded and broadcast these annual concerts, in which, in addition to the world premières of Roth’s work, Philippe also played solo Bach and Ysaÿe sonatas. The Times described his account of Roth’s solo work in 2007 as “magically played”. A studio recording of Alec Roth’s Ponticelli for solo violin, played by Philippe, was released by Signum records in November 2011. The entire set of four works was perfomed by Philippe at the Music and Beyond Festival in Ottowa, Canada in 2012.

In the course of the 2017-2018 season, Philippe will be playing at the Wigmore Hall, giving masterclasses in China and Japan, and performing in the première of Alec Roth’s first violin concerto.

He plays on the ‘Kustendyke’ Stradivarius, on generous loan by the Royal Academy of Music.