Percy Grainger

Percy Grainger by Bain News Service

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Princes Bridge Melbourne 01a

Melbourne international exhibition 1880

Percy Grainger in 1901

Percy Grainger by Adolf de Meyer

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GraingerandGrieg1907

Percy Aldridge Grainger (8 July 1882 – 20 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger, and pianist. In the course of a long and innovative career, he played a prominent role in the revival of interest in British folk music in the early 20th century. Although much of his work was experimental and unusual, his best-known pieces are still frequently performed.

Early Life

Percy Grainger was born in Brighton, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. His father, John Grainger, was an architect from London, and his mother, Rose Aldridge, was the daughter of hotel proprietors from Adelaide. Grainger showed prodigious talent in music at an early age. He was initially taught piano by his mother, and he gave his first public concert at the age of ten. In 1895, the Grainger family moved to Europe to further Percy's musical education in Frankfurt, Germany, where he attended the Hoch Conservatory.

Career

Grainger's career was marked by his innovative approach to composition and performance. He was deeply interested in folk music and made numerous field recordings and transcriptions of folk songs from England, Denmark, and Norway. His interest in folk music significantly influenced his compositions, which often incorporated folk themes and idioms.

Grainger's best-known work is probably Lincolnshire Posy (1937), a suite for wind band that is based on folk songs he collected in Lincolnshire. He also arranged many of these folk tunes for piano and other instruments. Other notable compositions include Country Gardens, Molly on the Shore, and Shepherd's Hey.

Grainger was also an innovator in the field of music performance and education. He was one of the first to use the phonograph for recording folk music and experimented with unusual instruments and tunings. He advocated for the use of electronic instruments and developed the "Free Music Machine", which prefigured later electronic musical synthesizers.

Personal Life

Grainger's personal life was marked by his close relationship with his mother, who managed his career until her death in 1922. After her death, Grainger's mental health deteriorated, and he struggled with depression and anxiety for the rest of his life. He married Swedish poet and artist Ella Viola Ström in 1928, who supported him through his mental health struggles.

Legacy

Percy Grainger died in White Plains, New York, in 1961. He left behind a rich legacy of music that continues to be performed and recorded. His innovative approaches to composition, performance, and music education have had a lasting impact on the music world. The Grainger Museum in Melbourne, Australia, dedicated to his life and work, holds a vast collection of his manuscripts, letters, instruments, and personal belongings.