This extensively revised edition of John Bird’s acclaimed biography of Percy Grainger gives the first circumstantial account of the life and works of one of the strangest figures in twentieth-century music.
Behind Grainger’s highly original compositional achievements, folksong collecting and glittering career as a virtuoso concert pianist lay a tragic and chaotic personal life–long domination by his mother, unorthodox sexual predilections, an eccentric athleticism, a demonic spiritual drive and wildly inconsistent personal philosophy with Anglo-Saxon obsessions such as his famous `Blue-Eyed English'.
A list of published compositions, a current discography of performances by Grainger, and a selection of his seminal writings complete what has already proved to be a standard work.
In their Prefatory Note to the first edition, Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears wrote: `In his sympathetic and tactful biography John Bird has beautifully balanced the brilliance with the turbulence of this unbalanced genius–we are grateful to him'.
For the past three years, curators, authors, conservators, photographers, cataloguers, designers and many others have been applying their creativity and skill to bring Facing Percy Grainger to life.
In a larger though related journey, the University of Melbourne has been rethinking its strategic direction. Our aspiration remains, however, to be a public-spirited institution that is highly esteemed nationally and internationally for making distinctive contributions to society.
Our focus will continue to be research, learning and teaching, and what we are now calling 'knowledge transfer'. Indeed these three strands are so intertwined and interdependent, like strands of a triple helix, that our future success will depend on pursuing them as a single integrated vision.
Melbourne has also reaffirmed the unique virtues of its campus locale, where face-to-face teaching remains the norm, where scholars gather from across the globe, and where learning communities embrace evolving technologies. The University has always enjoyed a strong sense of place, its centre bounded by Carlton and Parkville, the city and its general cemetery.
One of the many features which has made the campus distinctive has been the Grainger Museum. The Grainger supports each of the three strands of the triple helix.
Set beside the Faculty of Music's Conservatorium and opposite the Centre for Studies in Australian Music, the museum supports learning and research including composition, performance and musicology. It also has strong relevance to programs across many of our other disciplines including art curatorship, design, education, history and museology.
By their very nature, universities are about much more than discovering and imparting knowledge. They naturally lend themselves to a two-way transfer of knowledge through their external engagement with government, industry and the community. As such, the Grainger Museum and Facing Percy Grainger are perfect examples of how to pursue public and community purposes. The exhibition represents a genuine partnership between professional and academic colleagues; it involves two renowned institutions; and it adds value through this wonderful publication and through additions to the Library's national web-based gateway, MusicAustralia.
At the opening of the Sydney Olympic Games, a Grainger composition accompanied Cathy Freeman as she lit the Olympic cauldron. My hope is that this exhibition and its complements will be just as inspirational.
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Grainger's Piano |
Presenting a timeline of Grainger's family and early life, The Percy Grainger Story then takes the visitor on a thematic journey through the life and obsessions of one of Australia's most preeminent and eccentric musical figures. This exhibition presents his fascination with Nordic culture, ethnographic collections of folk music recordings, and commitment to self improvement through strict diet and exercise regimes, as well as highly personal insights into his deep and tragic bond with his mother, Rose and sado-mascochistic fascinations that coloured his romantic life.
Percy Grainger Folk Song Collection
Collecting with the Phonograph (Journal of Folk Song Society)
The Impress of Personality in Traditional Singing, by Percy Grainger (Journal of Folk Song Society Vol.3 (1908)
Six Dukes Went A-Fishin'
Six Dukes Went A-Fishin'
Three Dukes Went A-Fishin'
The Mermaid
The North Country Maid
Rufford Park Poachers
I Wish My Baby It Was Born
The White Hare
Geordie
Lord Bateman
Lord Bateman
Lord Melbourne (Lord Marlborough)
The 'Merican Frigate; Or, Paul Jones
Bold William Taylor
Bold William Taylor
The Gipsy's Wedding Day
Shepherd's Daughter
The Merry King (It's a Merry King of England)
Storm Along
Stormy
Lowlands (A Dollar and a Half a Day)
Dollar And An 'Alf A Day
Santa Anna
Santa Anna
Tom's Gone To Ilo
Tom's Gone To 'Ilo
Shallow Brown
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