Phillip Wilcher was born in Sydney,Australia,and began studying piano at the age of 8. When he was 14,he wrote a piece of music which was published.As a result of that publication,he was accepted as a student of Dr. Franz Holford whose own uncle was the eminent conductor Felix Weingartner and a student of Franz Liszt.Holford himself was a student of the legendary French pianist Alfred Cortot,and his family was distinguished with connections back to the courts of the Prussian Kaisers.In 1982,Mr.Wilcher was awarded the Associate Diploma in Piano performance from the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music, and in 1994,he was awarded the Associate Diploma in Piano (Performance)from Trinity College of Music(London). Mr.Wilcher then undertook further study with the Greek pianist,Elpis Liossatos, who is a graduate of the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary.Together they have translated and revised Marianne Abraham's book on Liszt's Technical Studies .Their translation has been published by Editio Musica Budapest in Hungary.In 1992 Mr.Wilcher was elected a Full Writer Member of the Australiasian Performing Rights Association.Recently,Mr. Wilcher collaborated with four colleagues to write and record a children's album called "The Wiggles", which was awarded a gold CD for having achieved gold status in record sales...an Australian Record Industry Award. More and more of his creative energies are channeled into composing.He also performs regularly and teaches.Most recently,he was invited as a guest composer to speak about his music at the University of New England, Armidale.When time permits he sketches and writes poetry.
Review source: Linda Claussen
Las Vegas Newsletter May 1992
