Percy and Ella Grainger preparing for Adelaide performances of Percy Grainger’s compositions, August 1934

EG and PG 1934 Adelaide percussion web.jpg

Dublin Core

Title

Percy and Ella Grainger preparing for Adelaide performances of Percy Grainger’s compositions, August 1934

Description

Audience interest in the compositions of Australia’s celebrated composer-pianist Percy Grainger was immense, and his tours in Australia in 1934 and 1935 are typical. His 1934 tour included performances of In a Nutshell Suite, To a Nordic Princess, and Blithe Bells. The innovative use of percussion fascinated local audiences.

This photograph was reproduced in the Adelaide Advertiser, 9 August 1934, with the caption: “Mr and Mrs Percy Grainger, who will take part in the concert of the South Australian Orchestra on Saturday, with an aluminium marimba and special set of bells. Mrs Grainger will play both instruments during the concert, while her husband conducts the orchestra.”

The concert was a great success, described by local papers as “a thrilling evening, almost like a first night at the theatre”. The Adelaide News noted that “Many unusual effects were introduced by xylophone, marimba, and staff bells, played by Ella Grainger...not often heard, if ever before, by Adelaide audiences.”

Source

Grainger Museum Collection

Date

1934
\