Anthony Phillips performs a magical set of compositions for piano, conveying a moving sense of emotion, mood and stories.

A CREATIVE AND MUSICALLY ENGAGING SEQUENCE OF ALBUMS AND PROJECTS

Anthony Phillips has sculptured a creative and musically engaging sequence of albums and projects since departing from Genesis, of whom he was a founding member and guitarist. At The Barrier has reviewed and held in high regard a number of the releases from his impressive catalogue of work. 

Gemini – Pieces For Piano, is a double CD set comprising 44 compositions mostly for solo piano. The recordings were made between October 2022 and October 2025. The album’s title originates from a piece Anthony Phillips wrote for the pianist Martha Argerich, who premiered the piece in duet form with Gabriele Baldocci in 2018. This album contains Anthony Phillips’s solo version of that piece.

The impactful album cover image, is Black Piano, a work by the artist Lincoln Seligman, and it is quite exquisitely beautiful. The juxtaposition of the impressionistic grey context and the majestic shape of the black piano makes for the most striking of images, and somehow completely sets the scene for the music within.

Interestingly the album has deservedly done well in the UK Classical Music charts. Within you will find a range of captivating compositions and performances, that are centered on a nuanced playing approach that can perfectly capture the mood and emotion of a piece.  As an introduction to the album, we will reference some highlights across each CD, that will hopefully give a flavour of what the listener may experience.

THE FIRST CD

Jumping forward to Twister, which is the fifth track on the first CD, and contrasts deep reverberating chords with enigmatic echoing notes. It gives the piece a striking elegiac feel, while also creating a meditative mood. The track is a good example of how well the pieces have been recorded, enabling a sense of the physicality of Anthony Phillips’ playing.

A BREATHTAKING ROMANTICISM

Kaleidoscope delivers a breathtaking romanticism, as the melody seems to fall through the speakers like an elegant waterfall. The intensity of the melodic phrases ebb and flow, is accompanied by an engaging sureness of timing and pace. Spring Fair follows on beautifully from this, with a shimmering counterpoint accompanying the myriad variations on the main theme.  Anthony Phillips’ playing here seems to conjure up a range of emotions from the gentlest smile to a pensive melancholy. The spaces left in the piece, where the piano reverberations are left to float in the air and fall, is musically courageous and totally works. Interestingly, Anthony Phillips in his sleeve notes describes Spring Fair, as being for four hands, which would tend to indicate a duet with himself, and it is indeed a wonderfully intricate piece.

Piece for C.S. the sleeve notes reveal, is dedicated to the memory of a very close friend of Anthony Phillips, Colin Sturge. It is one of the most emotionally charged pieces on the first CD. The way in which the piano communicates a sense of love and celebration, and also loss, is incredibly moving. The delicate lightness of touch to Anthony Phillips’ playing is very much in evidence here. 

MAJESTIC TONE

Empyrean, near the end of the first CD, has a majestic tone, with an unfolding, storytelling like series of motifs. The pensive notes add a touch of mystery. It leads the listener wondering what intriguing vignette the piano is describing. These are just some examples of the quite magical playing and compositional vision in evidence on the first CD.

THE SECOND CD

Title track Gemini opens CD two. It is a composition of changing moods, where wistful reflection can evolve into joyful anticipation and back again. The melodic centre of the piece is incredibly hypnotic with beautifully resonant chords that rise and then gently deplete away. The timing and control in Anthony Phillips’ playing here, is once again quite breathtaking, while also effortlessly unleashing a tide of emotion.

SITTING AT THE PINNACLE

The thematic piece, Chansons Sans Mots (Songs Without Words), which encompasses six parts, pretty much sits at the pinnacle of the second CD. One has the sense, when listening right through, of the story of a relationship being told. The beauty of this piece overall is the freedom it offers the listener to create their own version of the story being told through the music.

Part one is cinematic in scope, with the piano sweeping through the speakers with an anthemic intensity. Part two, with its echoing sequence of notes, adds a passionate and romantic edge. Part three is a gentler meditative interlude, resonant of settling into a relationship, which also has a subtle playfulness in the way notes are struck. Part four has more edge, as a sense of struggles encountered and worked through, is conveyed. There is here a compelling sharpness to some of the harmonies that feels very impactful. Part five has an upbeat rhythmic underpinning to Anthony Phillips’ playing that speaks to a feeling of resolution, with the concluding part six returning to the cinematic energy and a deep sense of connection.

Throughout, this listener was reminded of the classic and beautifully made Bette Davis film Now Voyager. This music may very well remind you of a fond memory of a film, a book, or even a personal experience. 

A RENAISSANCE MUSICIAN

Having now reviewed a number of Anthony Phillips’ albums for At The Barrier, my impressions are of a wonderfully talented and inventive musician and composer, who is able to embrace an expansive range of musical landscapes. In fact, a renaissance musician. This is music well worth seeking out and discovering.

Anthony Phillips: Website

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