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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 76-100 of 160 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia W147871 10-in. 1/21/1929 Ramble on love Percy Grainger Piano solo composer, instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W147872 10-in. 1/21/1929 Ramble on love Percy Grainger Piano solo composer, instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W150875 10-in. 10/14/1930 Handel in the Strand Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Columbia W150876 10-in. 10/14/1930 The hunter in his career Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Columbia W98171 12-in. 5/9/1925 Irish tune from County Derry Percy Grainger ; Kasschau Solo Choir Mixed vocal chorus conductor, arranger  
Columbia W98175 12-in. 5/19/1925 Scotch strathspey and reel The Grainger Singers and Players ; Frank Kasschau Vocal and instrumental ensemble, with 2 guitars instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Columbia W98176 12-in. 5/19/1925 Scotch strathspey and reel The Grainger Singers and Players ; Frank Kasschau Vocal and instrumental ensemble, with 2 guitars instrumentalist, guitar, composer  
Columbia W98177 12-in. 6/10/1925 Sonata in B minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98178 12-in. 6/10/1925 Sonata in B minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98179 12-in. 6/10/1925 Sonata in B minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98180 12-in. 6/11/1925 Sonata in B minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98181 12-in. 6/11/1925 Sonata in B minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98182 12-in. 6/11/1925 Sonata in B minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98217 12-in. 1/29/1926 Sonata in F minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98218 12-in. 1/29/1926 Sonata in F minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98219 12-in. 1/29/1926 Sonata in F minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98220 12-in. 1/29/1926 Sonata in F minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98221 12-in. 1/30/1926 Sonata in F minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98222 12-in. 1/30/1926 Sonata in F minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98223 12-in. 1/30/1926 Sonata in F minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98224 12-in. 1/30/1926 Sonata in F minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98245 12-in. 3/31/1926 Etude in C minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98246 12-in. 3/31/1926 Claire de lune Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98247 12-in. 3/31/1926 Liebestraum Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98248 12-in. 3/31/1926 Toccata, C-sharp minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
(Results 76-100 of 160 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Grainger, Percy," accessed April 25, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102572.

Grainger, Percy. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 25, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102572.

"Grainger, Percy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 25 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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