Percy Grainger's Dash
By Simon Cutts
Clonmel, Tipperary, Ireland: Coracle, 2020.

20 pages; 18.5 x 13.5 cm. Casebound, with embossed cover image and coloured endpapers of the score and Grainger's footsteps to his entry. Three tipped-in images.

Coracle: "A history of the rehearsed dash made by the pianist and composer Percy Grainger, to arrive at the entry of the pianoforte in the second movement, the Adagio, of Grieg's Piano Concerto.”

Introduction: “At a morning rehearsal in Sydney Town Hall in 1934, Percy Grainger gave a particularly athletic performance of the Grieg Concerto. During the orchestral tutti of the first movement, just before the cadenza he jumped down from the platform, ran to the back of the hall, where he touched the rear door, ran back again and in one bound was at the keyboard ready for the cadenza. … For Grainger, virtuosity was not restricted to the hands, but also extended to the feet, more as an athlete, and this principal became intrinsically linked to his unique interpretation of rhythm and articulation.”

Wikipedia, 11.30.21: “Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 1882 – 20 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who lived in the United States from 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long and innovative career he played a prominent role in the revival of interest in British folk music in the early years of the 20th century. Although much of his work was experimental and unusual, …”
$25