Written by Roger Trobridge with major contributions and research from Mark Weber.
I first came across this story a few years ago when examining some reel to reel tapes in Tommy Reilly’s study. In amongst recordings by Arthur Benjamin and George Martin was Romenza, a piece of music by Anthony Burgess. Was he the infamous British Cambridge spy – no that was Guy Burgess. This had been composed by the author of The Clockwork Orange.
In December 2024 Mark Weber wrote to tell me about a book he had just read, A Clockwork Counterpoint, by Paul Phillips. He said one chapter in the book focused on Anthony Burgess writing music for three of the most renowned harmonica players: John Sebastian, Tommy Reilly, and Larry Adler.
Anthony Burgess wrote: “God has put me on earth to, among other things, write for the harmonica.”
Mark has the sheet music for the pieces pieces he composed for the three soloists but none had been recorded.
Paul Phillip’s book includes a reference to a 1977 BBC broadcast of Oscar Peterson Invites, where Anthony Burgess talks about Romanza, the piece he wrote for Tommy Reilly, which they then played live together on the show. This is the video of the TV program, edited for harmonica players. It turned out to be the source of the audio recording I had found in Tommy’s study.
Here are some of links Mark collected when researching this the background to this unreported and fascinating story about Anthony Burgess and his connection to the three supreme harmonica players: John Sebastian, Tommy Reilly, and Larry Adler.
Anthony Burgess was a famous English writer and composer, best known for his dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange .
Mark’s interest in this story began some time ago when he came across this article on the International Anthony Burgess Foundation website: Larry Adler and Anthony Burgess’s Harmonica
As it turned out, Burgess composed several works – six in total – for the harmonica and he remains the only composer to have dedicated pieces to all three of these major harmonica virtuosi.
Works Composed by Anthony Burgess for the Harmonica
For John Sebastian: Burgess, who considered Sebastian “an all-around Renaissance man, a lover of art and literature,” and good friend, wrote two works for him in the 1970s:
1972: Panique (also known as Faunal Noon) for harmonica and guitar
1972: Sonatina in C for harmonica and guitar
For Tommy Reilly:
1977: Romanza for harmonica and piano – performed on the BBC Oscar Peterson Show in 1977 – see above.
For Larry Adler:
1980: Piece for harmonica and piano (unfortunately this work is partially unreadable – the original was never found)
1986: Sonatina for harmonica and guitar
Additionally, Burgess began composing a Concerto for Harmonica and Strings, but unfortunately, he never completed the work.
More about Anthony Burgess and Paul Phillips
Paul Phillips has written several books about Anthony Burgess. In his book: A Clockwork Counterpoint: The Music and Literature of Anthony Burgess, he dedicates an entire chapter to exploring why Burgess composed works for the harmonica.
It is definitely worth reading this fascinating book. When he began writing “A Clockwork Counterpoint”, Paul says he started with the harmonica chapter, 28 “The Sad Suck-and-Blow“. Chapters 67 and 68 of “The Devil Prefers Mozart” are about Larry Adler and John Sebastian, respectively.