TOMMY TYCHO

Tommy Tycho was born in Budapest in 1928. His father was a senior government official and his mother was an opera singer who had retired to raise a family. His musical life started as a child prodigy pianist. He played George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra at age 10. He had been introduced to the work by his teacher, Egon Petri. He commenced studying at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, where his teachers included Leo Weiner and Zoltán Kodály. He and his parents had adopted Lutheranism in an attempt to disguise their Jewishness, but to no avail - he was interned in a German forced labour camp in 1943 at age 15 and was lucky to survive. He resumed his studies after the war but fled his country ahead of the Communist takeover while still only in his third year of study. From 1948 to 1951 he lived in Iran, where he was the personal pianist for the Shah of Iran. There he met a woman named Eve, another Hungarian, who became his wife. They emigrated to Australia in 1951.

He was Musical Director at the Seven Network for 15 years, 1956–1971, was involved in nine Royal Command Performances, and has conducted all the ABC symphony orchestras. His work was an important element of many official openings (Sydney Opera House, Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney Football Stadium, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Brisbane 1982 Commonwealth Games, World Expo 88, Darling Harbour, major sporting grand finals, etc.). In 2008 he performed at the piano for Crown Princess Mary of Denmark at the opening of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute. In 1980, after a heart attack, he had been treated personally by Dr Victor Chang.

The Australian artists with whom he worked include Peter Allen, Ricky May, Olivia Newton-John, Julie Anthony, John Farnham, Anthony Warlow, Jill Perryman, Barry Crocker,Kamahl, James Morrison, David Campbell, Judi Connelli, Violinist Ian Cooper, Suzanne Johnstone, Jackie Love, James Blundell, Don Burrows, Andy Firth, Marina Prior, Rob Guest, Jimmy Little, Tommy Emmanuel, Normie Rowe, Rhonda Burchmore and many others. He also worked with overseas performers such as Sammy Davis, Jr., Nat King Cole, Shirley Bassey, Louis Armstrong, Jerry Lewis, Frank Sinatra and many others. Tommy Tycho suffered a serious stroke in 2008. He then lived in a nursing home where he received regular therapy; though his left side was paralysed, he would compose and play with his right hand. He died on 4 April 2013, aged 84, just one week before his 85th birthday, as a result of complications associated with pneumonia.

EPs

'The Thomas Tycho Quartet' 1958 Fidelity
'The Thomas Tycho Quartet Series Two' 1958 Fidelity

ALBUMS

'Tycho Tycho' 1967 RCA
'You Can't See Round Corners (Original Soundtrack Recording)' 1969 Festival
'Summer Of 42 And Other Great Movie Themes' 1972 CBS
'A Night With Gershwin' 1974 Festival
'A Night With Irving Berlin' 1975 Festival
' Rodgers, Hammerstein, & Hart' 1975 M7
'A Little More Love' 1980 WEA
'Duelling Pianos' 1984 K-Tel

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Tycho