Percy Grainger

ISBN-13: 9780198166528 / Angielski / Twarda / 1999 / 424 str.

John Bird

Opis

John Bird's 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 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 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 Bird's continuing research. Grainger's reputation and popularity as a uniquely individual composer continue to grow, and this book remains the definitive biography.

Recenzje

makes available again in a handsome edition a well written and nicely illustrated account of a fascinating composer, folk song collector, and human being. Particularly well handled are the complex relations of Percy's early life ... The biography is written by a passionate advocate of Grainger's music, and the preface gives the academic musical establishment a splendid roasting for its supercilious attitude towards his subject. Nevertheless, here is a fine edition from a major publisher.