Percy Grainger

1
Percy GraingerThe Life and Times

• 7th Grade General Music, Mr. Putka

2
Percy Aldridge Grainger

• George Percy Grainger, who later changed his name
  to Percy Aldridge Grainger, is considered a
  groundbreaking composer.
• He wrote countless of legendary works for both
  orchestra and band alike.

3
Percys Childhood

• Percy was born July 8, 1882 in the country of
  Australia and was the only child of John Grainger
  and Rose Aldridge. His father left him at an
  early age. His mother Rose was left to educate
  the young Percy herself. With Roses guidance
  Percy a normal education and persisted that her
  child practice the piano two hours a day.

4
Percys Childhood Cont..

• Percy started studying piano privately at the age
  of ten. He studied with the German pianist Louis
  Pabst.
• Under Pabst, Percy first studied and played the
  music of Bach.
• According to most, Percy was a child prodigy. He
  not only succeeded at the piano but also showed
  great potential in painting, drawing, and
  speaking foreign languages.

5
Quick Quiz

• At what age did Percy begin to study under Louis
  Pabst?

• Ten.

6
New Beginnings

• By the encouragement of his new teacher, Adelaide
  Burkitt, the twelve year old Percy and his mother
  Rose left Australia for Frankfurt, Germany.
• While in Frankfurt, Percy studied at the renowned
  Dr. Hochs Conservatory .

7
Dr. Hochs Conservatory

• Percy began composing while attending the school.
• In 1889 , to his friends amazement, Percy used
  mix meters in his piece entitled Love Verses
  from The Song of Solomon. For example his piece
  used the following time signatures sequentially,
  2 1/2/4, ¾, 2 1/2/4, 3/8, 2/4, and etc.

8
Interesting Fact

• Percy was ahead of his time, Igor Stravinsky
  first used mix meters in a composition that was
  written in 1913.

9
London, England

• In 1901, Percy and his mother Rose moved to
  London, England.
• Percy became a successful concert pianist and
  gained the attention of Ferruccio Busoni.
• Busoni, a well accomplished musician, offered to
  teach Grainger for free.
• The two studied together throughout their
  careers.

10
London Cont.

• Percy wrote many classic pieces while living in
  London. Such as, Colonial Song, Irish Tune
  from County Derry, and Molly on the Shore.

11
World War 1

• Percy Grainger cancels all prior commitments and
  moves to America in 1914 due to the war.
• Percy makes his American debut in 1915. He plays
  piano in the piece Shepards Hey.
• Percy joins the army in 1917. He enlists as an
  army bandsman, while in the band he learns a
  variety of instruments.

12
Life Changes

• After a honorable discharge from the army, his
  mother commits suicide.
• After the suicide, Percy became a vegetarian or
  as known in those days meatshunner.
• He marries Ella Strom, a sweetish poet and
  artist, in 1928.

13
Other Accomplishments

• Aside from composing many classic pieces, Percy
  becomes the dean of the New York Universitys
  Music Department.
• He later performed at the White House for the
  Roosevelt family in the late 30s.

14
Percys Last Years

• Percy spent some of his last years working on a
  electronic device that would perform Free
  Music.
• His last years were spent fighting a bout with
  cancer. Percy died February 20, 1961.

15
Final Thoughts

• Percy broke the rules of composing.
• This is what Sparre Olsen said of Percy, He
  masters the whole scale of human feeling-the
  soft, the tender, the lyrical, the dramatic, the
  wild.
• I would like to thank percygrainger.com for all
  the information used in the slide show.