Xavier Phillips began playing the cello at the age of 6. He went on to win several international prizes, and his meeting with Mstislav Rostropovitch was to prove decisive, marking the beginning of a long collaboration.

Xavier Phillips was soon invited to perform on the world's greatest stages with prestigious orchestras: New York Philharmonic, Washington National Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Berliner Symphoniker, Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Seattle Symphony Orchestra and many others. He has been conducted by such illustrious conductors as his mentor Mstislav Rostropovitch, Riccardo Muti, Valery Gergiev, Christoph Eschenbach, James Conlon, Marek Janowski, Vladimir Fedosseyev, Ion Marin, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Vladimir Spivakov and Kurt Masur.

Xavier also reserves a special place for chamber music, which he enjoys performing with artists such as Schlomo Mintz, François-Frédéric Guy, Tedi Papavrami, Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian, David Grimal, Cédric Tiberghien, Emmanuel Strosser and Igor Tchetuev.

He has appeared at the Wigmore Hall, the Arsenal de Metz, the Mariinsky Theatre, the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Victoria Hall in Geneva, and at renowned festivals such as the Kings Place Cello Festival in London, the Printemps des Arts in Monte Carlo, the Berlioz Festival in La Côte Saint-André, and the Easter Festival in Aix-en-Provence.

In the 2022/23 season, Xavier Phillips will tour with the Biel Solothurn Orchestra in Germany and Switzerland in Haydn's 2nd Concerto. He will perform Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 2 at the Arsenal de Metz, as well as at the Philharmonie de Paris, the Arsenal de Metz, the Théâtre des Champs Elysées and the Beauvais Cello Festival.

In 2015, he released a recording of Beethoven's complete music for cello and piano with pianist François-Frédéric Guy (Aparté/Evidence). The album received rave reviews from the most prestigious international magazines, including Gramophone "Editors Choice" and The Strad "Recommends". Gramophone magazine also included this recording in their selection of the "50 finest Beethoven recordings". The most recent recording is devoted to the 6 duets for two cellos by Jacques Offenbach (La Dolce Volta), recorded with his partner Anne Gastinel; an album that has also won awards from the press.

Autumn 2023 will see the release of an album devoted entirely to the world of Gabriel Fauré, with pianist Cédric Tiberghien (La Dolce Volta).

His recordings with orchestra include Shostakovich's 1st Concerto with Les Dissonances, and Henri Dutilleux's Cello Concerto "Tout un monde lointain" with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra (conductor Ludovic Morlot). The recording was nominated three times at the 2015 Grammy Awards, at which Xavier Phillips was nominated for 'Best Instrumental Solo'.

Since 2013, Xavier Phillips has been Professor at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Sion, Lausanne site.

He plays a 1710 cello by Matteo Gofriller.