The Agreeable New Australian: Tommy Tychos Sydney Suite as an early form of Media Self FashioningSamuel Cottell Arts Music Unitwww.samuelcottell.comscot8985@uni.sydney.edu.au

Tommy Tycho(1928-2013)Timelineb.1928 in Hungary, by age four child prodigyAge 10 plays Rhapsody In BlueDuring WWII interred in forced labour campAfter the war joins a dance band and goes to Iran, soon becomes the Shahs personal pianist1951 Migrates to Australia1958 becomes Music Director of ATN 7 and a recognised household name and figure in light music and showbiz.

The Australian Way of LifeAustralian way of life - a veneer/mask used to sell Australian values and culture to migrants in an attempt to create a unified nation via assimilation Aspects included: The City (urban sophistication), The Beach (leisure), The Suburbs (lifestyle)Tycho was a quick study of these aspects, having only been here for two years before composing Sydney Suite

The Australian Way of Life- contd.What the Australian cherishes most is a home of his own, a garden where he can potter, and a motor car and as soon as he can buy a house and a garden he moves to the suburbs. This accounts for the enormous size of the Australian cities - and also for the overwhelmingly middle-class outlook and way of life. A person who owns a house, a garden, a car and has a fair job is rarely an extremist or revolutionary.*

*(Emery Barcs, The Australian way of Life, in Oswold L. Ziegler (ed), Official Commemorative Book: Jubilee of the Commonwealth of Australia p.40- Quoted in Richard White, Inventing Australia (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1981), 163.

Australia: The Unified Nation

New Settlers League and Good Neighbours

The Good Neighbour newspaperPrinted on buff-coloured paper, it contained 8 pages of news about and advice for new immigrants to Australia, as well as photos connected with migrants. It was published from August 1950 (No. 1) to October 1969 (No. 189). The Good Neighbour also incorporated The New Australian which appeared from January 1949 (No.1) to December 1953 (No. 60).

Clipping from Tychos scrapbook collection indicating a performance for the NSW Settlers League after he establishes himself at the ABC

Old Australians and New Australians

New Australians learning about aspects of Australia and undertaking English lessons

Self Image and FashioningSelf-fashioning, a term introduced by Stephen Greenblatt (Renaissance Self-Fashioning, 1980), is used to describe the process of constructing one's identity and public persona according to a set of socially acceptable standards.

Additionally, the relationship between self-fashioning and the aesthetic mediums was a reciprocal one. Just as the art of creating oneself was highly influenced by the art and literature of the time, such as conduct books and religious iconography, such a concern for one's outwardly projected image was reflected in the portraiture of the time.

Tycho fashions an image of himself as an assimilated Australian by aligning himself with the NSW Settlers League and acting as a model of an assimilation success story. This self-fashioning gains him media attention

Musical Composition as Self Fashioning Can this serve as artistic and for an intended purpose, a specific time and place and audience. Tychos view on his own composing: functional. Was this simply a case of writing to suit the requirements he had to fill, or was it largely an artistic statement? He presents himself as useful. In the 1960s, later described as Mr. Instant Music and Minute Music Man. There is a somewhat novelty aspect to his music composing. Compare, for instance, to the figure of the lone composer (Beethoven) struggling to write their great symphony.

Tycho in the Media

Image Source: Listener In November 1 1953Image Source: ABC WeeklyNovember 1 1953

Sydney Suite -The City

Sydney Suite - Quiet Suburb

Figure 1: mm1-4Figure 2: mm 5-8Figure 3: Secondary Theme

Sydney Suite - By The Seashore

Figure 1- Ostinato patternFigure 2- Dominant pedal point used to transition to Eb (Tonic)

Sydney Suite - March of the Lifesavers

Figure 1- IntroductionFigure 2- Second themeFigure 3- Trio

Post -1953 Media

Various media selections that now present Tycho as an Australian and a family man

Advance Australia Fair Ironically, three decades later, Tycho would arrange and orchestrate the National Anthem, Advance Australia Fair which was broadcast on National Television as part of the 1988 Bicentenary Celebrations. This is a whole other issue for another time

Julie Anthony singing Advance Australia Fair with Tycho conducting at Parliament House, Canberra in 1988

Thanks for ListeningFor Further information about Tommy Tycho and my research visit: www.samuelcottell.com/tommytycho

Sydney Suite: Lifesavers' MarchAdelaide Symphony Orchestra & Guy NobleAdelaide Symphony Orchestra & Guy NobleTommy TychoHyde Park Shuffle: Australian Light Classics2004scot8985@uni.sydney.edu.au2013-01-31 00:35:46Hyde Park Shuffle: Australian Light ClassicsAdvance Australia Fair (1986)Julie Anthony/ Tommy Tycho Advance Australia Fair: The Australian National Anthem, track 2/875780.805eng - iTunPGAP0eng - iTunNORM 00000E1C 00001019 00005975 00005230 00002EF0 0000EF2F 000077B7 00007BF3 0000E668 0000EF7Deng - iTunSMPB 00000000 00000210 0000087C 000000000032F3F4 00000000 00171015 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000eng - iTunes_CDDB_144079508+145773+8+150+25910+31589+62331+76596+88748+113286+127736eng - iTunes_CDDB_TrackNumber2