![John Tilbury at piano, 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/John_Tilbury_at_piano%2C_2011.jpg)
John Tilbury (born 1 February 1936) is a British pianist. He is considered one of the foremost interpreters of
Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer. A major figure in 20th-century classical music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School ...
's music, and since 1980 has been a member of the
free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician(s) involved. The term can refer to both a technique (employed by any musician in any genre) and as a recognizable genre in its ...
group
AMM.
Early life and education
Tilbury studied piano at the
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...
with
Arthur Alexander
Arthur Alexander (May 10, 1940 – June 9, 1993) was an American country soul songwriter and singer. Jason Ankeny, music critic for AllMusic, said Alexander was a "country-soul pioneer" and that, though largely unknown, "his music is the stuff ...
and
James Gibb and also with
Zbigniew Drzewiecki
Zbigniew Drzewiecki (; 8 April 189011 April 1971) was a Polish pianist who was for most of his life a teacher of pianists. He was especially associated with the interpretation of Frédéric Chopin's works. His pupils include several famous pian ...
in Warsaw. 1968 he was the winner of the Gaudeamus competition in the Netherlands.
Musical career
During the 1960s, Tilbury was closely associated with the composer
Cornelius Cardew
Cornelius Cardew (7 May 193613 December 1981) was an English experimental music composer, and founder (with Howard Skempton and Michael Parsons) of the Scratch Orchestra, an experimental performing ensemble. He later rejected experimental music, ...
, whose music he has interpreted and recorded and a member of the
Scratch Orchestra
The Scratch Orchestra was an experimental musical ensemble founded in the spring of 1969 by Cornelius Cardew, Michael Parsons and Howard Skempton.
In the draft constitution published in the ''Musical Times'' of June 1969, Cardew defines a scrat ...
. His biography of Cardew, "Cornelius Cardew – A life unfinished" was published in 2008.
Tilbury has also recorded the works of
Howard Skempton and
John White, among many others, and has also performed adaptations of the radio plays of
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...
.
With guitarist AMM bandmate
Keith Rowe
Keith may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters
* Keith (surname)
* Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949)
* Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...
's electroacoustic ensemble
M.I.M.E.O., Tilbury recorded ''The Hands of
Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...
'', inspired by the painter's ''
The Taking of Christ
''The Taking of Christ'' ( it, Presa di Cristo nell'orto or Cattura di Cristo) is a painting, of the arrest of Jesus, by the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Originally commissioned by the Roman nobleman Ciria ...
'' (1602). In this live performance, twelve of the members of M.I.M.E.O. were positioned around the piano in a deliberate echo of Christ's
Last Supper
Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...
. The thirteenth M.I.M.E.O. member (
Cor Fuhler
Cornelis William Hendrik Fuhler (3 July 1964 – 19 July 2020) was a Dutch/Australian improvisor, composer, and instrument builder associated with free jazz, experimental music and acoustic ecology. He played piano by manipulating sound with elec ...
) is credited with "inside piano" as he interacted and interfered with Tilbury's playing by manipulating and damping the instrument's strings, essentially doing
piano preparation in real time. Critic Brian Olewnick describes the album as "A staggering achievement, one is tempted to call The Hands of Caravaggio the first great piano concerto of the 21st century".
Another notable recent recording of Tilbury's was ''Duos for Doris'' (like ''The Hands of Caravaggio'' also on
Erstwhile Records
Erstwhile Records is an independent record label devoted to free improvisation, particularly the electroacoustic variety, contemporary, experimental composed music, and combinations of both. Erstwhile was founded by Jon Abbey in 1999, whose perso ...
), a collaboration with Keith Rowe. It is widely considered a landmark recording in the genre of
electroacoustic improvisation
Live electronic music (also known as live electronics) is a form of music that can include traditional electronic sound-generating devices, modified electric musical instruments, hacked sound generating technologies, and computers. Initially the pr ...
(or "EAI").
In 2013, he collaborated with artist Armando Lulaj in FIEND performance at the National Theatre of Tirana (Albania).
Discography
* ''Two Chapters and an Epilogue'' with
Evan Parker
Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation.
Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ja ...
(Matchless, 2000)
* ''Pianoworks'' (Sony, 2001)
* ''The Hands of Caravaggio'' (Erstwhile, 2002)
* ''Duos for Doris'' with
Keith Rowe
Keith may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters
* Keith (surname)
* Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949)
* Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...
(Erstwhile, 2003)
* ''Discrete Moments'' with
Eddie Prevost
Eddie or Eddy may refer to:
Science and technology
*Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle
* Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...
(Matchless, 2004)
* ''Piano Music 1993–2007'' (Mathieu Copeland, 2008)
* ''Field'' (hatOLOGY, 2009)
* ''E.E. Tension and Circumstance'' with Keith Rowe (Potlatch, 2011)
* ''Plays Howard Skempton'' (Onement, 2013)
* ''The Just Reproach'' with
Oren Ambarchi
Oren Ambarchi (born 1969) is an Australian musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays mainly electric guitar and percussion.
Biography
Oren Ambarchi was born in Sydney to an Iraqi Jewish family. Ambarchi has been performing live since ...
(Black Truffle, 2013)
* ''Exta'' with
John Butcher (Fataka, 2013)
* ''Two Pianos and Other Pieces 1953–1969'' with
Philip Thomas (Another Timbre, 2014)
* ''Seaside'' with
John Lely
John Lely (born Norwich, England, in 1976) is British experimental composer, improvising musician and curator based in London, UK.
His music has been commissioned and performed by musicians including Apartment House, Quatour Bozzini, violinist ...
,
Christian Wolff (Another Timbre, 2016)
* ''Playing with a Dead Person'' with
Derek Bailey (Bolt, 2016)
* ''Grand Tour'' with
Zygmunt Krauze
Zygmunt Krauze (born September 19, 1938) is a Polish composer of contemporary classical music, educator, and pianist.
Biography
Zygmunt Krauze is an important artist of his generation: a respected composer, valued pianist, educator, organiser of ...
(Bolt, 2016)
* ''Landmark'' with
Eddie Prevost
Eddie or Eddy may refer to:
Science and technology
*Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle
* Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...
(+3 dB, 2018)
* ''Sissel'' with
Keith Rowe
Keith may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters
* Keith (surname)
* Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949)
* Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...
(Sofa, 2018)
* ''The Tiger's Mind'' (Cubus, 2019)
With
Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer. A major figure in 20th-century classical music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School ...
* ''For Bunita Marcus'' (LondonHALL, 1993)
* ''All Piano'' (LondonHALL, 1999)
* ''For John Cage'' (Diatribe, 2020)
With others
*
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...
, ''Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano'' (London, 1975)
* John Cage, ''Winter Music'' (Another Timbre, 2017)
*
Cornelius Cardew
Cornelius Cardew (7 May 193613 December 1981) was an English experimental music composer, and founder (with Howard Skempton and Michael Parsons) of the Scratch Orchestra, an experimental performing ensemble. He later rejected experimental music, ...
, ''Piano Music 1959–70'' (Matchless, 1996)
*
Angharad Davies
Angharad Davies is a Welsh violinist and composer, known for her work in the field of free improvisation, her use of prepared violin (using techniques similar to the prepared piano), her extensive discography and collaborative work with other musi ...
, ''Goldsmiths'' (Another Timbre, 2016)
*
Terry Jennings
Terry Jennings (19 July 1940 – 11 December 1981) was an American minimalist composer and performer.
Early life in California
Terry Jennings was born in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, California, in 1940. Coming from a background in jazz, he pla ...
, ''Lost Daylight'' (Another Timbre, 2010)
*
Eddie Prevost
Eddie or Eddy may refer to:
Science and technology
*Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle
* Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...
, ''PST Live in Rome'' (Auditorium Edizioni, 2012)
*
Howard Riley & John Tilbury & Keith Tippett, ''Another Part of the Story'' (Emanem, 2003)
*
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...
, ''Lieder'' (Eterna, 1999)
*
Marcus Schmickler
Marcus Schmickler (born November 15, 1968, in Cologne) is a German composer, musician, and producer. He is also known under the pseudonym Pluramon.
Background
In 1968 he was born as the son of an industrial salesman and a baker's daughter in C ...
, ''Variety'' (A-Musik, 2005)
* Marcus Schmickler, ''Timekeepers'' (A-Musik, 2015)
*
Dave Smith, ''First Piano Concert'' (Matchless, 1988)
*
Wadada Leo Smith
Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (born December 18, 1941) is an American trumpeter and composer, working primarily in the fields of avant-garde jazz and free improvisation. He was one of three finalists for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for ''Ten Free ...
, ''Bishopsgate Concert'' (Treader, 2014)
References
External links
John Tilbury Statementby John Tilbury
John Tilbury on Morton FeldmanLecture by John Tilbury
May 2010 All About Jazz Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tilbury, John
1936 births
Living people
English contemporary pianists
21st-century pianists