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Tommy Tycho

Thomas (Tommy) Tycho AM MBE (11 April 1928 – 4 April 2013) was a Hungarian-born pianist, arranger, composer, and music director. A child prodigy in his native Hungary; his studies were interrupted by the Nazi Occupation of Hungary. Hearing V-Discs from the American Military Mission stationed in Budapest, Tommy learned to arrange and perform swing and dance music and soon found work with dance and jazz bands in Budapest, most notably the Filu Orchestra. With another band he traveled to the Middle East to perform as a dance band member at the Park Hotel. He soon became the Shah of Iran's personal pianist. Migrating to Australia in 1951 Tommy soon found work on the local ABC Radio. He started off in 1952 playing on 'A Handful of Keys' and as part of a piano duo team with local pianist Glenn Marks. After composing and performing his piece 'Sydney Suite' on the radio program 'For New Australians' Tommy was able to present himself as an Australian and was able to bolster his publicity leading to further opportunities. Around this time Tycho also replaced Marks as the pianist with the Jay Wilbur Strings in their light music broadcasts. Tycho also arranged and composed music for this popular ensemble. Tycho was soon able to form his own light music ensemble around 1954,the Thomas Tycho Ensemble/Thomas Tycho Players, a palm court type group featuring flute, clarinet, 4 violins, cello, bass, and Tycho on piano after sight-reading a whole concert for Johnny Ray at Sydney Stadium in 1954. On commercail radio Hhe later appeared with his west coast jazz style group, The Thomas Tycho Quartet, on Radio 2UW's comedy and variety program 'Laugh Till You Cry' in the mid-1950s and released two 45' records featuring instrumental performances from the show. During this time he also appeared on radio broadcasts as the Shefte Melody Man, performing pieces presented in the Shefte Piano Method. During this time Tommy continued to work on ABC radio with the Geza Bachman Trio, the George Pikler Continental Players, and several other light music ensembles on the ABC and other commercial radio shows and recordings. In December 1956 ATN 7 television commenced broadcasting and Tommy soon joined the band for the program 'Sydney Tonight' at ATN7 in 1956 and by 1958 became the music director of the entire station where he scored dozens of themes for local television shows, variety-style programs (such as Revue '61, '62 and Startime '63, Curtain Call, Music Time, The Commonwealth Bank Hour of Music, and many others). Tycho was Australia's first full time employed music director. During this time an LP record of Australian television themes was released on the Radiola label. This was the first commercial recording of Australian themes including 'ANZAC', 'Penthouse' and others. Along with Julian Lee Tommy arranged the music for the first Australian musical comedy to be broadcast on television, 'Pardon Miss Westcott', which aired in December 1959 and a subsequent LP was released on the Radiola label in 1960. As tastes, and television budgets, began to change Tycho's television orchestra was reduced to a quartet following the cancellation of the Johnny O'Keefe program 'Sing, Sing, Sing' in 1965. The quartet provided backing for the songs that were written for the 'Mavis Bramston Show' during the period 1964 - 1968. In 1965 Tommy released 'Tommy Tycho Plays My Fair Lady' on the Festival label. Seeking opportunity to continue recording with larger orchestras by 1960s Tommy was also an important figure for the local RCA record label appearing on over thirty titles as an arranger and conductor for many artists. He also released his first solo album 'Tycho Tycho' on the label in circa 1966. During this time Tommy also composed and arranged music for the Daly Wilson Big Band. His piece, 'Kaleidoscope' features on the LP 'Live at the Cellblock Theatre'. In 1973 Tycho released 'The Summer of '42 and other great film themes' on the CBS label. This was a high-quality LP that featured multi-tracking of many different keyboards, with Tycho appearing as a one man orchestra of keyboards. During this time he also arranged music for albums with trumpeter John Robertson on the RCA Label (for whom he composed a 'Rhapsody for Trumpet' according to 1968 'Pix' magazine article, which never got performed. It is like the piece later became the trumpet concerto performed by (Richard) Dick Montz in the 1980s as part of his Masters of Music recital at Sydney Conservatorium), who also utilised the multi-tracking technique to record multiple trumpets. Robertson's LP was awarded best popular LP of 1964. After 15 years of work in television, Tommy left to pursue a freelance career. Newspaper reports from early 1972 reported his departure from ATN-7 television. Around this time the newly opened Sydney Opera House provided a platform for 2CH radio, who had just switched to an easy listening 'good music' format in 1972, to perform and record their concerts of good music under the leadership of Tommy. The first of these concerts included Kamahl Live at the Sydney Opera House, and the LP release 'Good Music Live at the Opera House'. Later, Tommy embarked on a series of 'Night with' theme concerts featuring the music of Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and Rodgers, Hammerstein & Hart. These concerts were recorded live at the Sydney Opera House and released on the Festival and M7 record labels. showcasing his diverse talents in arranging, composing, conducting and of course, his pianistic skills. During this time Tycho also released a live album with June Bronhill in 1976, also on the M7 label. By May 1978 Tycho was working with manager Lyn Rich, who put together the Music International Orchestra, later named the Sydney International Orchestra. They performed concerts in Sydney and provided accompaniment for Peggy Lee in her 1970s Australian tour. Tycho also appeared with David Gray at the Sydney Opera House, directing the Music International Orchestra in 1978 and 1979. After Lynn Rich's untimely death in a car accident in February 1981,Tommy was managed by Ken Laing of Media Music. Together Laing and Tommy worked on many large scale productions including several Royal Command Performances. In 1980 SBS television started and Tommy was made music director of one of their inaugural programs, 'Cabaret' featuring a diverse range of multicultural music performers with the Sydney International Orchestra. In 1982 Tommy composed the music for the 1982 Commonwealth Games, and this was released on LP via ABC records. Other projects included the Opening of the Sydney Entertainment Centre in 1983. In 1984 Tycho recorded 'Duelling Pianos' with his daughter Vicky released on the K-Tel label. The father-daughter team performed and toured together until the 1990s. As well as many concerts and recordings Tommy composed music for a number of local films including 'You Can't See Round Corners', 'Barney', and 'Young Einstein'. Tommy continued to work as a musician until 2008 when he had a debilitating stroke that caused his left side to paralysed. However, during this time his original compositions such as the Violin Concerto, and the unfinished piano concerto were performed. As well as his commercial work Tommy also composed a number of orchestral and classical works including dozens of solo piano pieces, a trumpet concerto, violin concerto, overtures, and several other large scale works. Tommy's music bridged both classical and popular styles and he would often turn a popular tune into a dazzling piano or orchestral solo such as the 'The Cole Porter Concerto' 'Irving Berlin Fantasia', 'Lover Variations' and many more. His music was also influenced by jazz and other styles and this can be heard on his many recordings and performances. His definitive arrangement of 'Advance Australia Fair', recorded in 1984 on the ABC label and later with Julie Anthony, is still used at many major sporting and cultural events today. Until his death Tommy continued to support, encourage and nurture young talent, helping many Australian musicians to achieve success in their fields. In 1977 Tycho was awarded an MBE for his services to Music; in 1987 an AM, and in 2007 was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music from the University of Sydney. He has left behind an enduring legacy of music including over some 1500 music scores and arrangements which are still used today.