Guide to the David S. Josephson papers on Percy Grainger, 1901-2002

John Hay Library
John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI, 02912
Tel: 401-863-3723
email:hay@brown.edu

Published in 2018

Collection Overview

Title:	David S. Josephson papers on Percy Grainger
Date range:	1901-2002
Creator:	Josephson, David S., 1942-
Extent:	1 linear foot
Abstract:	The collection contains research materials on the composer, arranger, and pianist Percy Grainger that were compiled by Brown University Professor of Music, David S. Josephson. Contents include Josephson’s research notes, concert programs, correspondence, articles, and reviews of Grainger’s work.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	John Hay Library
Collection number:	Ms.2017.019

Scope & content

The collection contains research materials on Percy Grainger that were compiled by David S. Josephson for his academic work, including Josephson’s writings and correspondence during the course of his research, and materials related to the Grainger Society. A good portion of the materials are handwritten or typed notes by either Josephson or research assistants that were compiled based on the holdings of various archives in the United States, Europe, and Australia. These materials are arranged according to the archives in which the original materials are kept, sometimes including facsimiles of those original documents. Also included are selected reproductions of Grainger’s correspondence, originals and reproductions of Grainger’s published articles, and reproductions of Grainger’s journals, short handwritten musical scores, and various ephemera. The collection contains a mix of original and reproduced programs from Grainger’s performances, as well as reviews of his performances printed in various journals. It also contains a small amount of materials related to Grainger’s mother, Rose Grainger, and his wife, Ella Grainger, including the transcription of an interview of Ella conducted by Josephson.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Grainger, Percy--1882-1961
• Grainger, Ella--1889-1979.

Subject Topics

• Composers--Biography

Document Types

• concert programs
• correspondence
• facsimiles (reproductions)
• research notes

Subject Topics

• Performing Arts

Arrangement

The materials have been preserved in the arrangement given to them by David S. Josephson.

Biographical/Historical Note

David S. Josephson was born in 1942. He received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in music from Columbia, where he also directed the Concert Band for three years and helped edit the journal Current Musicology. He taught at Brown from 1972 until his retirement in 2016. He founded and directed the Brown Early Music Group in 1972-1979, chaired the Music Department in 1979-1985, was instrumental in the creation of the Orwig Music Library, initiated an artists-in-residence program around a campus-based string quartet, supported creation of a jazz program, and brought Brown its first professional music theorist. He is author of Torn Between Cultures: A Life of Kathi Meyer-Baer (2012), Conversations with Ella Grainger (1993), John Taverner: Tudor Composer (1979), and numerous articles and review-essays on the musical emigration from Nazi and Fascist Europe, the composer/pianist Percy Grainger, and Taverner. He is also recipient of the Festschrift, On the Third Hand (2016). He taught courses on Baroque and Classic music, Mozart, Beethoven, conductors and conducting, the culture of death in nineteenth-century Europe, liturgical and religious music, the sociology of twentieth-century music, and the European musical emigration of the 1930s. (Taken from Researchers@Brown https://vivo.brown.edu/display/djosephs)

Percy Grainger was born in 1882 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and died in 1961 in White Plains, New York. He was a composer, pianist, and conductor who was heavily influenced by British folk music. He is well known as a musical experimenter. Some of his notable works include “Country Gardens,” “Molly on the Shore,” and “Shepherd’s Hey!” In the 1930s he founded the Grainger Museum at Melbourne, which was built to hold documents and artifacts from his life and career.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials:	Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation:	David S. Josephson papers on Percy Grainger, Ms.2017.019, Brown University Library
Contact information:	John Hay Library John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts Box A Brown University Providence, RI, 02912 Tel: 401-863-3723 email:hay@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Nicholas Friesner.
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using the RIAMCO EAD spreadsheet, 2018 July 19
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Inventory

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