John Tilbury

John Tilbury (born 1 February 1936) is a British pianist. He is considered one of the foremost interpreters of Morton Feldman's music, and since 1980 has been a member of the free improvisation group AMM.

Early life and education

Tilbury studied piano at the Royal College of Music with Arthur Alexander and James Gibb and also with Zbigniew Drzewiecki 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, whose music he has interpreted and recorded and a member of the Scratch Orchestra. 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.

With guitarist AMM bandmate Keith Rowe's electroacoustic ensemble M.I.M.E.O., Tilbury recorded The Hands of Caravaggio, inspired by the painter's The Taking of Christ {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. The thirteenth M.I.M.E.O. member (Cor Fuhler) 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), a collaboration with Keith Rowe. It is widely considered a landmark recording in the genre of electroacoustic improvisation (or "EAI").

In 2013 he collaborated with artist Armando Lulaj in FIEND performance at the National Theatre of Tirana (Albania).

Selected discography

• 1975 – "John Cage: Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano" – Decca
• 1988 – "Dave Smith's First Piano Concert" – Matchless
• 1996 – "Howard Skempton: Well, Well, Cornelius" – Sony Classical
• 1996 – "Cornelius Cardew: Piano Music 1959~70" – Matchless
• 1998 – "The Issue at Hand" (with Yoshikazu Iwamoto, Eddie Prévost) 2CD – Matchless
• 1999 – "Two Chapters and an Epilogue" (with Evan Parker – Matchless
• 2000 – "Morton Feldman: All Piano" 4CD – LondonHALL
• 2002 – MIMEO "The Hands of Caravaggio" – Erstwhile
• 2002 – "Christian Wolff: Early Piano Music (1951–1961)" – Matchless
• 2003 – Keith Rowe, John Tilbury "Duos for Doris" – Erstwhile
• 2004 – John Tilbury, Eddie Prévost "Discrete Moments" – Matchless
• 2005 – "Plays Samuel Beckett" – Matchless
• 2005 – "Barcelona Piano Solo" – Rossbin
• 2005 – Marcus Schmickler, John Tilbury "Variety" – A-Musik
• 2009 – Werner Dafeldecker / Christof Kurzmann / John Tilbury / Stevie Wishart "Werner Dafeldecker / Christof Kurzmann / John Tilbury / Stevie Wishart" – Mikroton Recordings
• 2009 – "Music for Piano and Strings by Morton Feldman volume 1" (with the Smith Quartet) DVD – Matchles
• 2010 – "Cornelius Cardew: Works 1960–70" with Michael Francis Duch and Rhodri Davies
• 2011 – Keith Rowe, John Tilbury "E.E. Tension and Circumstance" – Potlatch

External links

• John Tilbury Statement
• On Playing Feldman by John Tilbury
• John Tilbury on Morton Feldman Lecture by John Tilbury
• May 2010 All About Jazz Interview