 In 1914 , Grainger moved to the United States , where he lived for the rest of his life , though he travelled widely in Europe and in Australia . He served briefly as a bandsman in the United States Army during 1917 – 18 , and took American citizenship in 1918 . After his mother 's suicide in 1922 he became increasingly involved in educational work . He also experimented with music machines that he hoped would supersede human interpretation . In the 1930s he set up the Grainger Museum in Melbourne , his birthplace , as a monument to his life and works and as a future research archive . As he grew older he continued to give concerts and to revise and rearrange his own compositions , while writing little new music . After the Second World War , ill health reduced his levels of activity , and he considered his career a failure . He gave his last concert in 1960 , less than a year before his death . 
