Early Life
Percy was mostly educated at home and was provided a range of tutors and teachers. he only had three months of formal schooling, where he was bullied by fellow classmates. Early on he developed an interest in Nordic culture, and as well as showing talent in music he also seemed to excel in art.
He began studying Piano at the age of ten and his first composition was said to be in 1893.
His first appearances were in 1984 and critics applauded his playing, describing him as “the flaxen-haired phenomenon who plays like a master”. It was at this time that his mother decided that he should study in Frankfurt so they moved there so Percy could continue his studies while his mother worked as an English teacher.
Frankfurt and London
Grainger in Frankfurt age 18
It was during this time that him and some older English students decided that they must “rescue” British and Scandinavian music from the influences of central European music.
In 1900 his mother accompanied him on a tour of Europe but became so ill that she could no longer work and Percy had to take on the job on tutoring piano to support them.
In 1901 Percy and his mother decided to move to London to continue his career as a concert pianist. It was at this time that there were rumors going around about his “abnormal” sexual tastes. He had taken a liking to flagellation and many theorised that this was due to his mothers harsh discipline techniques as a child.
Assistance from the local Australian community in London assured that Percy was taken in by wealthy patron as a pianist. It was eventually with this support that he was able to undertake a tour of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa which was organised by Australian Singer Ada Crossely. He also performed for the first time with an orchestra as the Piano Soloist in Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto .
Grainger in 1903
In 1905 Grainger began collecting folk songs from all over England and he transcribed over 300 never before heard folk songs. 19
In 1908 he once again accompanied Ada Crossley on an Australasian tour and used this opportunity to record Maori and polynesian folk music to his collection of folk music.
He had decided to become a top ranking pianist before becoming a composer of note, but it was during this time that he composed such pieces as “ “Mock Morris“, “Handel in the Strand”, “Shepherd’s Hey” and “Molly on the Shore“.
In 1911 Grainger finally felt confident in publishing his compositions and took the name Percy Aldridge Grainger for his compositions and performances.
by 1914 his compositions were being played by orchestras and leading musicians, but everything would change come the outbreak of war. He decided to move to America, ostensibly to give his ill mother a change of scenery, though some speculate this was because as the first Australian composer of note he did not want to jeapordise his career by getting conscripted and dying to early.
The war and after
“If I were 40 years younger, and not so crushed by defeat in every branch of music I have essayed, I am sure I would have welcomed such a chance”
In 1917 America entered the war and Grainger enlisted as a bandsman as a saxophonist.
After leaving the army in 1919 he returned to solo concerts and it was during this time he found the time to rescore some of his earlier works and also composed his “Childrens march: Over the Hills and Far Away” and an orchestral version of The Power of Rome and the Christian Heart.
In 1921 her moved to a house in White Plains New York where he would live for the rest of his life. In 1922 his mothers health deteriorated sharply and due to the close bond between Percy and his mother there were rumours of incest. Not long after being challenged by a friend about this issue, Percy’s mother committed suicide.
After the loss of his mother he continued performing and composing, and collected more folk music from the Netherlands, Norway, Germany and England. Around this time he started arranging music by famous composers such as Bach and Brahms.
In 1926 he met his future wife, Ella Ström, a Swedish born artist. They would marry in 1928 at the end of a concert in which he premiered his composition “To a Nordic Princess” in honour of his bride.
In 1932 Grainger had the idea to create a “Grainger Museum” in Australia and he began recovering letters, and artifacts and some of the most revealing artifacts of his life such as his whips and bloodies shirts.
He and Ella went to Australia in 1933 to supervising the building of this museum. He becan a series of concerts to finance this museum. The Museum opened in 1938 in Melbourne, but it wasn’t available to the general public until after his death but could be used by scholars.
he spent the rest f the 1930’s arranging his compositions for wind bands. When war was declared he was worried for his and Ella’s safety and therefore moved to Springfield, Missouri.
Later career and Death
Grainger was offered the Chair of Music at Adelaide university in 1946 but declined claiming that “If I were 40 years younger, and not so crushed by defeat in every branch of music I have essayed, I am sure I would have welcomed such a chance”.
By 1950 he had basically stopped composing music and he made his last visit to Australia in 1955, where he spent nine months organising the Grainger Museum. Before he left though, he deposited a parcel in a bank that was not to be opened until ten years after his death.
By 1957 his health was failing and he made a new will asking that his skeleton be preserved and added to the Grainger Museum.
He died in White Plains hospital on February 20, 1961 at the age of 78. His body was flown to Adelaide and his body was buried in the Aldridge family vault alongside his mother Rose’ ashes.
His wife Ella survived him by 18 years.
Aldridge Family Vault
Grainger Museum of Melbourne