Grainger Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal
The University Library’s new scholarly publication, Grainger Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal was launched in May 2011. Edited by Dr David Pear (London) and Dr Belinda Nemec (Melbourne), Grainger Studies is an annual peer-reviewed journal. True to Grainger’s life philosophy with its ‘all-rounded’ attempt to savour as much in life as possible, Grainger Studies is not merely a journal about Percy Grainger — though he figures prominently in it and it is intended that he will continue to do so in future annual issues. But to reflect the wide intellectual scope of Grainger’s interests, the journal is intended to represent as authentically as possible the style in which he devoured knowledge so gluttonously.
In June 1941 Grainger wrote to his friend Henry Balfour Gardiner: ‘Most museums, most cultural endeavors, suffer from being subjected to TOO MUCH TASTE, TOO MUCH ELIMINATION, TOO MUCH SELECTION, TOO MUCH SPECIALISATION! What we want (in museums & cultural records) is ALL-SIDEDNESS, side-lights, cross-references.’ The editors hope that Grainger Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal will also realise this ambition.
The first issue includes articles on a diversity of topics: Kay Dreyfus’s tricky task of writing Grainger’s entry in the Australian dictionary of biography (Michael Piggott); Grainger, early music, democracy and freedom (Malcolm Gillies); racial stereotypes in colonial stage music (Mark Pinner); Chinese joss houses and postmodern architecture (Derham Groves); standardisation of performing pitch in Melbourne (Simon Purtell); kitsch in Grainger’s music (Peter Tregear); dress, moral reform and masculinity in Australia (Sharon Peoples) and a review by Eleanor Tan of The new Percy Grainger companion.
The journal is published primarily in electronic format and is therefore available free of charge – see issue #1. Readers preferring a traditional printed format can purchase copies either in person or online from the Melbourne University Bookshop or at the Grainger Museum.
Issue 2 - Call for Submissions
Submissions are now sought for issue #2 (to be published in 2012.)
Deadline for submissions is Friday 30 September 2011.
Download the call for submissions.