Percy Grainger

Percy Grainger by Bird, John. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780198166528.

John Birds acclaimed biography of the Australian-born composer and pianist Percy Grainger gives the first full account of the life and works of one of the strangest figures in twentieth-century music. Behind Graingers 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 a 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. This fully revised edition includes much new biographical material from John Birds continuing research. Graingers reputation and popularity as a uniquely individual composer continue to grow, and this book remains the definitive biography.