Percy Grainger, Frederick Delius and the 1914–1934 American ‘Delius Campaign’

‘The Art-Twins of Our Timestretch’: Percy Grainger, Frederick Delius and the 1914–1934 American ‘Delius Campaign’ Catherine Sarah Kirby Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Music (Musicology) April 2015 Melbourne Conservatorium of Music The University of Melbourne Produced on archival quality paper Abstract This thesis explores Percy Grainger’s promotion of the music of Frederick Delius in the United States of America between his arrival in New York in 1914 and Delius’s death in 1934. Grainger’s ‘Delius campaign’—the title he gave to his work on behalf of Delius— involved lectures, articles, interviews and performances as both a pianist and conductor. Through this, Grainger was responsible for a number of noteworthy American Delius premieres. He also helped to disseminate Delius’s music by his work as a teacher, and through contact with publishers, conductors and the press. In this thesis I will examine this campaign and the critical reception of its resulting performances, and question the extent to which Grainger’s tireless promotion affected the reception of Delius’s music in the USA. To give context to this campaign, Chapter One outlines the relationship, both personal and compositional, between Delius and Grainger. This is done through analysis of their correspondence, as well as much of Grainger’s broader and autobiographical writings. This chapter also considers the relationship between Grainger, Delius and others musicians within their circle, and explores the extent of their influence upon each other. Chapter Two examines in detail the many elements that made up the ‘Delius campaign’. Using this endeavour as a basis, this chapter also considers Grainger’s wider efforts to promote his own construction of ‘Anglo-Saxon’ music. From 1918 onwards, a great deal of his Delius work was done in the context of this ‘Anglo-Saxon’ campaign, and this raises many issues in relation to Grainger’s more dogmatic attitudes towards race and national identity. Chapter Three is a study of the critical reception of Grainger’s performances of Delius’s music in America through analysis of the press pertaining to his concert efforts as both as a pianist and a conductor. The conclusions made here are then evaluated in Chapter Four in the context of wider Delius reception, through comparisons to Delius’s early British reception, and to issues raised in the larger body of Delius scholarship. ii Declaration This is to certify that: (i) the thesis comprises only my original work toward the Masters except where indicated in the Acknowledgements, (ii) due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used, (iii) the thesis is 38,555 words in length, inclusive of footnotes, but exclusive of bibliography and appendix. Signature: ____________________________________ Name in Full: ____________________________________ Date: ____________________________________ iii Acknowledgements I wish to convey my absolute gratitude to the many people who helped in the completion of this thesis. Firstly, I am greatly indebted to my supervisor, Professor Kerry Murphy. This thesis could not have been completed without her guidance, support and expertise. To Lena Vigilante and the other wonderful staff of the Louise Hanson-Dyer Music Library at the University of Melbourne. It was a privilege to make use of such an extraordinary library. To the staff of the New York Public Library, White Plains Public Library and Lincoln Centre Performing Arts Library, and to the trustees of the AE Floyd Memorial Scholarship, the funds of which helped cover the costs of travel to the United States to make use of these extensive collections. This trip had a tremendous effect on the direction and content of this thesis and I am particularly grateful for having had this opportunity. I would also like to thank Elizabeth Van Tuyl of the Bridgeport History Center, who helped to source reviews on my behalf. Similarly, to Helen Faulkner, the secretary of the Delius Trust in London for her assistance in accessing the Trust Archive, and to the staff of Music and Rare Books at the British Library. I am deeply indebted to the Grainger Museum at the University of Melbourne for their ongoing support and help in navigating such an expansive collection. I would especially like to thank Dr. Jennifer Hill, Monica Syrette, Astrid Krautschneider and Jessica Black. Of the Percy Grainger Society in the UK, I would like to thank Barry Ould, whose assistance, knowledge and guidance has been invaluable. I also wish to thank Stewart Manville of the International Percy Grainger Society in New York for his help and hospitality, and for granting permission to reproduce previously unpublished Grainger documents. Throughout the course of this project I have received valuable feedback and advice from Dr. Jennifer Hill and Dr. Suzanne Robinson. I also wish to thank my proof-readers, Jacob Heywood, Theo Blankley, and my mother, Anne Merrick. To Dallas Kunig, Louisa Wilson and Elizabeth Hender for reading drafts, making suggestions and generally listening to my ramblings. I am also grateful to the wonderful and supportive post-graduate Musicology community at the University of Melbourne. Thank you. iv Table of Contents Abstract ..................................................................................................... ii Declaration ............................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements .................................................................................. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................ V List of Figures .......................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1: GRAINGER AND DELIUS ................................................ 9 CHAPTER 2: THE CAMPAIGN .............................................................. 26 CHAPTER 3: RECEPTION ...................................................................... 42 CHAPTER 4: EVALUATION................................................................... 65 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ 78 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................... 82 APPENDIX .................................................................................................. 93 v List of Figures Title Page Image: Percy Grainger and Frederick Delius at 12 Domplatz, Frankfurt-am-Main by Schumaker, 5 April 1923. Image courtesy of the Grainger Museum, University of Melbourne. 1. Percy Grainger, Letter (Holograph) to Karen Holten, 16–21 April 1907. W21-59, Bay 5: Box 34. Reproduced With Permission, Grainger Museum, University Of Melbourne ............................................................................................................. 11 2. Frederick Delius, Appalachia Piano Reduction arr. Otto Singer II (Berlin: Harmonie, 1907) Bars 100–109 .............................................................................................. 12 3. Examples of American ‘Themes’ in the Delius Piano Concerto: H. E. Krehbiel, ‘A German Englishman Writes American Music’, Tribune, 21 November 1915 ..... 51 4. Graph of Delius performances in the USA per year, 1909–1969 ......................... 66 5. Graph of Delius performances in the USA per year, 1909–1969, charted against Sibelius performances for the same period ........................................................... 67 vi Introduction We are sitting in the sunshine on the terrace of our villa overlooking the beautiful bay of Rapallo and talking of you; and we were wondering whether ever any other composer had met with a colleague and friend like you, so devoted and interested in his friend’s work and understanding thro’ his own genius.1 Frederick Delius (1862–1934) wrote this to Percy Grainger (1882–1961) in early 1924, in acknowledgement of the significance of their friendship and Grainger’s work on his behalf. Strangely, this relationship, both musical and personal, is rarely acknowledged in the scholarly literature. Even less recognised is Grainger’s twenty-year long American ‘Delius campaign’. Initially coordinated by Grainger on his arrival in New York in 1914, this was a campaign of extensive promotion of Delius’s music, culminating in a number of important Delius premieres. The campaign stemmed from, among other things, Grainger’s deep love of and belief in Delius’s music as well as their personal friendship. Through analysis of their correspondence and Grainger’s autobiographical writings, this thesis argues that the relationship between Delius and Grainger was of great musical and personal importance to both composers. Furthermore, by examining the plans for the campaign laid out by Grainger, and exploring the critical reception of the resulting performances, this thesis also questions the extent to which Grainger’s tireless promotion of Delius affected the reception of his music in the USA. While Grainger continued to perform Delius works through his whole career, for the purposes of this thesis, I am defining the end of the campaign as coinciding with Delius’s death in 1934, the point from which Grainger’s concerted and active attempts to promote Delius began to slow. For a composer whose music is today widely considered typically ‘English’, Frederick Delius

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