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Percy
Grainger
Music need not be a pedantic adherence to
pointless rules and traditions.
Tunes should be entertaining and accessible
Example: “English Country Gardens”
Background of a weird man
Born George Percy Grainger on 8 July 1882,
near Melbourne, Australia to mother Rose
Annie Aldridge (hotelier from Adelaide) and
father John Harry Grainger (British architect)
Abandoned by alcoholic father
Home-schooled by his mother
Extremely harsh environment
Hailed as a genius at a very young
age. Went at age 11 to study music
in Frankfurt, Germany.
First public tour at age 12, began
composing at age 17
Fluent in up to eleven(!) languages
English
Russian
German
Icelandic
Norwegian
Met poet and artist
Ella Ström in 1926
while touring Sweden.
Married in 1928 at the
Hollywood Bowl
before a crowd of
20,000.
Grainger could never
marry before his
mother’s death.
Obsessive, highly
maternalistic relationship
with mother Rose
Adopted her maiden name
Mother commits suicide 30
April 1922 amid rumors of
an incestuous relationship
with Percy
By far the most influential
event in Grainger’s life
Lived in London from 1901-1914
Joined US Army in 1914
Became a naturalized US citizen in 1918
Dean of Music at NYU from 1932-1940
Moved in Springfield, Missouri in 1940
Abdominal cancer was cured in 1953, but
later metastasized to prostate cancer
Died from cancer in White Plains, New
York 20 February 1961.
What makes Grainger so unusual?
Envelope
Containing
Private
Material
This envelope
contained
photographs and
writings exploring
sexuality,
including the
photo on the
previous slide.
“True Thrills”
Pulp Fiction
Lust Magazine
Volume 1,
Issue 3,
Country Press
(USA) 1942
“True Thrills”
Pulp Fiction
Lust Magazine
Volume 1,
Issue 4,
Country Press
(USA) 1942
Sadomasochism
owned a huge collection of flagellation whips
enjoyed watching himself self-injure
Racially and ethnically prejudiced
Avoided words of Latin and Greek etymology
“Blue-Eyed English” or “Anglish”
Accepted Aryan Anglo-Saxons as the superior
race
Ritardando slow down
Mezzoforte medium loud
Crescendo get louder
Allegro fast and lively
Poco a poco accelerando speed up bit by bit
A Piano a keyed hammer-string
A harpsichord a keyed hook-string
“Meat-Shunner” (vegetarian)
Diet consisted of rice, oranges, cereals, lots of
dairy
Almost exclusively drank varieties of milk
Fashioned his own clothing
Often dug through other
peoples’ trash to find
discarded towels to make his
clothes
Wore homemade togas,
muumuus, jackets, leggings,
and grass-beaded skirts.
Highly energetic person
Liked to perform while out-of-breath, very
fatigued
Would jog and walk between cities while on tour
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5d53hnXvmA
Absolutely obsessed with
his legacy
He and his mother
collected all kinds
personal items
Invested huge portions
of his earnings into a
museum about himself
that opened in 1938.
Paradoxically grew to
detest his own work.
What distinguishes Grainger?
Pioneered much of modern music
techniques and styles:
Reduced emphasis on strings
Employed the saxophone
And the oboe, English Horn, and bassoon
Dissonance
Unplayable music for piano
Progressive rhythms
Free-time (no time-signature)
Chance or aleatoric music
Greater emphasis on horns such as baritone
and trombone, and on saxophone and
double-reed horns
Layered complexity—multiple lines of
melody that “interact” with each other
Tidbits of sudden variance within the music
that keeps the listener from falling into a lull
Complex rhythms
Oftentimes uses unusual and creative
ending cadences
Catchy tunes that are fun to play and hear
Example: “1. Lisbon (Dublin Bay)”
Adaptations provide fantastic
examples vis-à-vis other
composers. Easy for the average
listener to discern:
JS Bach’s “Sheep May Safely
Graze” adapted into “Blithe Bells”