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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 126-150 of 161 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia W98613 12-in. 1/21/1929 Jutish medley Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Columbia W98614 12-in. 1/21/1929 Jutish medley Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Columbia W98743 12-in. 10/13/1931 Toccata and fugue in D minor for organ (1st half) Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98744 12-in. 10/13/1931 Toccata and fugue in D minor for organ (Completion) Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98745 12-in. 10/13/1931 Prelude and fugue in A minor for organ Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98746 12-in. 10/13/1931 Prelude and fugue in A minor for organ Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98747 12-in. 10/13/1931 Prelude and fugue in A minor for organ [Part 3] Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98748 12-in. 10/15/1931 Fantasia and fugue in G minor for organ Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98749 12-in. 10/15/1931 Fantasia and fugue in G minor for organ (Completion) Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W98750 12-in. 10/15/1931 Blithe bells Percy Grainger Piano solo instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Columbia 6398 12-in. approximately 1914 Molly on the shore London String Quartet String quartet composer  
Columbia 6587 12-in. approximately 1915 Shepherd's hey New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra composer  
Columbia 6678 12-in. approximately 1915 Irish tune from County Derry New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra composer  
Columbia 75251 12-in. approximately 1916 Handel in the Strand New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra composer  
Brunswick X13071-X13073 12-in. 5/9/1924 Molly on the shore New York String Quartet String quartet composer  
Brunswick X13164-X13165 12-in. 5/23/1924 Molly on the shore New York String Quartet String quartet composer  
Brunswick E27522 10-in. 5/9/1928 Shepherd’s hey (Saludo pastor) Cleveland Orchestra ; Nikolai Sokoloff Orchestra composer  
Brunswick XC283-XC284 12-in. 5/3/1926 Shepherd’s hey Cleveland Orchestra ; Nikolai Sokoloff Orchestra composer  
Edison 7672 10-in. 12/9/1920 Molly on the shore American Symphony Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Edison 8585 10-in. 9/9/1922 Country gardens Alta Hill Piano solo composer  
Gramophone 0EA6107 10-in. 2/15/1938 Londonderry air Fritz Kreisler ; Franz Rupp Violin solo, with piano arranger  
Decca 72665 10-in. 12/29/1944 The man I love Percy Grainger instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 72666 10-in. 12/29/1944 Opening of Grieg's A minor piano concerto Percy Grainger instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 72667 10-in. 12/29/1944 Country gardens/One more day, my John Percy Grainger instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 72806 10-in. 4/4/1945 Nola Percy Grainger instrumentalist, piano  
(Results 126-150 of 161 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Grainger, Percy," accessed April 26, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102572.

Grainger, Percy. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 26, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102572.

"Grainger, Percy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 26 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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