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Percy Grainger

Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 1882 – 20 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who lived in the United States from 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. 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 years of the 20th century. Although much of his work was experimental and unusual, the piece with which he is most generally associated is his piano arrangement of the folk-dance tune "Country Gardens".

Grainger left Australia at the age of 13 to attend the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt. Between 1901 and 1914 he was based in London, where he established himself first as a society pianist and later as a concert performer, composer and collector of original folk melodies. As his reputation grew he met many of the significant figures in European music, forming important friendships with Frederick Delius and Edvard Grieg. He became a champion of Nordic music and culture, his enthusiasm for which he often expressed in private letters, sometimes in crudely racial or anti-Semitic terms.

In 1914, Grainger moved to the United States, where he lived for the rest of his life, though he travelled widely in Europe and Australia. He served briefly as a bandsman in the United States Army during the First World War through 1917–18, and took American citizenship in 1918. After his mother's suicide in 1922, he became increasingly involved in educational work. He also experimented with music machines, which he hoped would supersede human interpretation. In the 1930s he set up the Grainger Museum in Melbourne, his birthplace, as a monument to his life and works, and as a future research archive. As he grew older, he continued to give concerts and to revise and rearrange his own compositions, while writing little new music. After the Second World War, ill health reduced his levels of activity. He considered his career a failure. He gave his last concert in 1960, less than a year before his death.

Birth and Death Data: Born July 8, 1882 (Melbourne), Died February 20, 1961 (White Plains)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1914 - 1945

Roles Represented in DAHR: piano, composer, arranger, conductor, guitar, harmonium

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 51-75 of 160 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia 49640 12-in. 6/17/1919 To the springtime Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Columbia 49748 12-in. 2/10/1920 Molly on the shore Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Columbia 49749 12-in. 2/10/1920 Brahms valse in A-flat Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 49750 12-in. 2/10/1920 Hungarian rhapsody no. 12 Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 49751 12-in. 2/10/1920 Hungarian rhapsody no. 12 Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 49929 12-in. 2/5/1921 Wedding day at Troldhaugen Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 49932 12-in. 2/18/1921 Military march Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 49933 12-in. 2/18/1921 Norwegian bridal procession Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 49999 12-in. 11/26/1921 Liebesträum Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 98000 12-in. 11/29/1921 Polonaise in E major Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 98001 12-in. 11/29/1921 Polonaise in E major Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 98033 12-in. 8/3/1922 Rakoczy march Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 98034 12-in. 8/7/1922 Jardins sous la pluie Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 98035 12-in. 8/8/1922 Four Irish dances, no. 4 Percy Grainger Piano solo arranger, instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 98036 12-in. 8/8/1922 Colonial song Percy Grainger Piano solo composer, instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W144204 10-in. 5/24/1927 Shepherd's hey Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Columbia W144205 10-in. 5/24/1927 Country gardens Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Columbia W144206 10-in. 5/24/1927 Cradle song Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano, arranger  
Columbia W144246 10-in. 6/1/1927 Molly on the shore Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Columbia W144250 10-in. 6/1/1927 Black woman's blues Clara Smith Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with alto saxophone and piano instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W145228 10-in. 11/22/1927 Lord Peter's stable boy Percy Grainger ; Ralph Leopold Piano and harmonium duet, with brass and string ensemble instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Columbia W145237 10-in. 11/25/1927 Shepherd's hey Columbia Symphony Orchestra ; Percy Grainger Orchestra conductor, composer  
Columbia W145385 10-in. 12/22/1927 Colonial song Anita Atwater ; Percy Grainger ; Luis Alberto Sánchez Female-male vocal duet, with harp and orchestra conductor, composer  
Columbia W145386 10-in. 12/22/1927 Colonial song Anita Atwater ; Percy Grainger ; Luis Alberto Sánchez Female-male vocal duet, with harp and orchestra conductor, composer  
Columbia W146893 10-in. 8/24/1928 Washwoman's blues Bessie Smith Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with alto saxophone and piano instrumentalist, piano  
(Results 51-75 of 160 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Grainger, Percy," accessed April 19, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102572.

Grainger, Percy. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 19, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102572.

"Grainger, Percy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 19 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102572

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