John Tilbury’s “At Home”: an eclectic box of experimental treasures

John Tilbury has long been a towering presence in contemporary, improvised and experimental music. At 82, he stepped back from live performance. Another Timbre's founder Simon Reynell then asked whether he could visit Tilbury at his home in Deal, a town on the Kent coast, and record whatever was on the pianist's mind at the time. Eight years later, Tilbury has decided to retire completely, and the result is this four-disc collection honouring an artist described as a unique pioneer.

Morton Feldman once praised the “swagger” of Tilbury and the British avant garde. Over time, Tilbury became perhaps the leading interpreter of the American composer's work. His version of “Madame Press Died Last Week at Ninety” is said to be authoritative, a masterclass in spontaneous phrasing and sensitivity to sound.

Feldman's characteristic restraint can be felt across many pieces, including music by friends from Tilbury's days with Cornelius Cardew's revolutionary Scratch Orchestra. Notable tracks include John Lely's hypnotic “Sycamore”, five pensive nocturnes by Mark R Taylor, and Dave Smith's “Al Contrario”, a brooding contrapuntal fantasy in honour of the maverick French composer Charles-Valentin Alkan.

The box also contains archival recordings. One is “For Samuel Beckett”, an improvisation with pianist Sebastian Lexer captured at a 2005 concert and perhaps the most purely beautiful music in the set. Klaus Filip contributes an unusual recording of Swiss dust particles, combined with an inside-piano improvisation made in Deal.

Several pieces were written for Tilbury's clavichord, whose tuning has been left to the whims of sea air and the elements. Christopher Hobbs' “Five Pieces”, for instance, sounds like a baroque suite meant for the Mad Hatter's tea party. All in all, the album is an eclectic treasure chest of discoveries.