Tommy Reilly was fascinated by the potential of the harmonica, and became one of the handful of musicians to secure a place in the concert mainstream for an instrument from outside the orchestral norm.
Born in Guelph, Ontario in 1919, Tommy started learning the violin at the age of eight as well as the harmonica. His father, a military band master, had founded the prize-winning Elmdale Harmonica Band.
In 1935, the family moved to England, where Reilly made his professional debut as a harmonica player a year later. While keeping us his violin studies, he toured the variety theatres of the continent. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he was student at Leipzig Conservatoire. He was arrested by the Gestapo and he spent the whole of the war in prison camps in Germany, Poland and France. The discipline of classical string-playing and the time made available by enforced leisure gave Reilly the opportunity to explore the full expressive range of the harmonica.
In 1945, Reilly returned to Britain, where regular radio broadcasts in the late 1940s made him a household name, and work followed right across the musical spectrum. The first of 30 major concert works written for him was the concerto by Michael Spivakovsky, broadcast as part of the Festival of Britain in 1951. Others followed from composers such as Vilem Tausky, George Martin, Robert Farnon and James Moody. Gordon Jacob wrote Five Pieces in the form of a Suite for harmonica and piano, which was published by Stainer & Bell Ltd for Reilly. (Ref 2632 £9.00) http://www.stainer.co.uk/acatalog/harmonica.html
The cover illustration refers to the third of the five peices in the suite - Russian Dance. It depicts the Cathedral of the Protection of Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat, popularly known as St Basil's Cathedral. Erected on Moscow's Red Square between 1555 and 1561 on the orders of Ivan the Terrible, there is nothing comparable in the whole of Russia or in the Byzantine tradition. The remaininmg pieces are: Caprice, Cradle Song, Threnody and Country Dance.
Reilly’s contribution to film music came in 1959 with the movie version of The Navy Lark. He also supplied the jaunty interludes to the long-running radio series. His many television credits included Dixon of Dock Green, The Last of the Summer Wine and The Singing Detective.
He made many recordings, including Vaughan Williams’ Romance for harmonica, strings and piano,
Thomas (Tommy) Rundle Reilly died in September 2000.
