A boy’s best friend is his mother

‘In my own thoughts I promised her and myself that I would never leave her while she lived’, wrote Percy Grainger of his mother. ‘This thought became my only religion, and although I was too weak a character to carry out the thought as I should, it never disappeared.’

Pianist, composer and folk-music aficionado Percy Grainger (1882–1961) is known for his unconventional, obsessive relationships, but perhaps the most curious of these was with his mother, Rose. She devoted herself to the professional and social advancement of her only child, and her influence pervaded every aspect of his life, including his sexual relationships. Percy complied almost wholly with his mother’s directions, committing himself to fulfilling her plans to the extent that he become a renowned concert pianist. Rose’s death by suicide, triggered by false rumours of an incestuous relationship, and the long-lasting effects of syphilis – contracted from Percy’s philandering father – left Percy heartbroken, but ever-devoted. Writing to a friend of his intention to establish The Grainger Museum at the University of Melbourne, Percy confessed: ‘I am all in life that remains of my beloved mother, and I wish to live so as to make her as sweetly remembered as possible.’