About

Like many acclaimed composers, Chilvers began composing and performing at a very young age: playing professionally by aged 12, and teaching by aged 14. But this is not just another story of a child prodigy reaching maturity and flexing their virtuosic muscles. What Chilvers intends to do is very clear - carve a new path for music. 31 Pieces, released on March 24th 2021 (Mozart Records MR120120), is a monumental display of this intention.

It was thirteen years ago when Chilvers embarked on his journey to master the art of poly-tempo, and his rigorous study has remarkable results. When Chilvers began to comfortably play up to four different time signatures simultaneously, whilst phrasing voices in different ways, he was able to disguise the pulse in his music; moving away from conventional rhythmical form. He composed 12 Études as an exploration in poly-tempo, taking a rich understanding and reverence for western classical harmony; and reshaping it to fit inside a new mesmeric, polyrhythmic world.

With a completely unique rhythmic apparatus at his disposal, he looked towards harmony. He created his own unique chart to categorize scales and modes, containing ninety-six modal groups. These explorations in harmony are an example of Chilvers’ innate ability to see patterns where others may not. A skill which lies at the core of his work. 

He began improvising around composed structures built from poly-tempo, phased patterns as well as modal constraints and other intuitive applications of rhythm and harmony. The result of which is 31 Pieces. It fundamentally challenges how we perceive music, by redefining some of the art form’s basic fundamentals: notation, rhythm, and harmony. Each piece flows into the next and has no beginning or end. The listener visits these harmonic worlds for only a short period of time; witnessing the eternal nature of each piece as they drift in and out of each other. The music is ever evolving and living, rather than stuck within the confines of notation and time. Not only is this work built on an entirely new concept of poly-tempo and modal harmony, it breaks away from western music notation altogether.

Chilvers draws inspiration from a myriad of influences. From Bach, Wagner and Beethoven through to Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Radiohead, and Meshuggah. However, it was the Bwiti music of Gabon in West Africa, with its incessant, intense use of poly-tempo via harp, voice and drums, that inspired Chilvers to seek to stretch the capacity of what is humanly possible to play on the piano.

’’I was struck by the clarity with which he understood his ideas, his passion for his work, and his effortless playing.’’ Says Ben Dowden, a filmic artist who worked with Chilvers to produce A Picture of 31 Pieces (2021). ‘‘It doesn’t happen very often, but I decided then and there that I was going to make sure I got the job of filming his recording sessions, whatever that took. I felt as if I’ve captured a moment of musical history.”

​Chilvers’ aspirations are set extremely high. With such devotion to study, impeccable skill, and a unique ability to stretch the limitations of music, he is undoubtedly a trailblazer. When we look at how Beethoven carved his way into Romanticism, or how Debussy opened the eyes of the world to a new sonority, we all wonder what is left to achieve in music. In listening to Edward Chilvers, one can glimpse over the horizon, to what the future of music looks like.

— J. Graham