Young Grainger and His Circle: Third Sunday Tour

Join us for a special tour at the Percy Grainger Home and Studio!

Percy Grainger’s youthful studies at the Hoch Conservatorium in Frankfurt am Main brought him into contact with a group of fellow composers that were to influence him throughout his life. The ‘Frankfurt Gang’, as this group of would-be world changers became known, comprised Grainger, Cyril Scott, Roger Quilter, Henry Balfour Gardiner, and Norman O’Neill, and their mission was to establish a new and radical English music style, in stark contrast to the prevailing German musical outlook that seemed to them to be ubiquitous. In 1907, Grainger met Frederick Delius, with whom he achieved an immediate rapport, since the two musicians had similar ideas about composition and harmony, and also shared a dislike for the classical German masters. Both were inspired by folk music; Grainger gave Delius his setting of the folk song Brigg Fair, which Delius developed into his famous orchestral rhapsody, dedicated to Grainger. This presentation will explore these collegial relationships with special reference to never-before-seen letters and documents.

The event is part of the ongoing series, Third Sundays. It is free and open to the public. Due to space limitations, registration is encouraged.