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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 101-125 of 160 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia W98249 12-in. 4/1/1926 Prelude in A-flat major Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98250 12-in. 4/1/1926 Romance in F-sharp major Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98251 12-in. 4/1/1926 Sheep and goat walkin' to the pasture Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98252 12-in. 4/1/1926 Rothamsknut halling, op. 72, no. 7 Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98353 12-in. 6/1/1927 Sonata in G minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98354 12-in. 6/1/1927 Sonata in G minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98355 12-in. 6/1/1927 Sonata in G minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98356 12-in. 6/1/1927 Sonata in G minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98357 12-in. 6/1/1927 Liebestraum Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98358 12-in. 6/1/1927 To spring Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Columbia W98359 12-in. 6/1/1927 Wedding day at Troldhaugen Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98410 12-in. 11/22/1927 The power of love Anita Atwater Female vocal solo, with harmonium and piano instrumentalist, harmonium, composer  
Columbia W98412 12-in. 11/25/1927 Gum-suckers march Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Columbia W98507 12-in. 5/28/1928 Etudes symphoniques Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98508 12-in. 5/28/1928 Etudes symphoniques Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98540 12-in. 5/28/1928 Etudes symphoniques Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98541 12-in. 5/28/1928 Etudes symphoniques Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98542 12-in. 5/28/1928 Etudes symphoniques Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98543 12-in. 5/28/1928 Romance in F-sharp major Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98593 12-in. 10/9/1928 Sonata no. 2 in B-flat minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98594 12-in. 10/9/1928 Sonata no. 2 in B-flat minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98595 12-in. 10/9/1928 Sonata in B-flat minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98596 12-in. 10/9/1928 Sonata in B-flat minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98597 12-in. 10/9/1928 Sonata in B-flat minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98598 12-in. 10/9/1928 Etude in B minor Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
(Results 101-125 of 160 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Grainger, Percy," accessed April 24, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102572.

Grainger, Percy. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 24, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102572.

"Grainger, Percy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 24 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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