Out of the Shadows: The Remarkable Story of Warwick Braithwaite (1896–1971), New Zealand’s Finest Conductor

Abstract

Warwick Braithwaite was a seminal figure in British musical life for half a century, yet he is largely forgotten today. His archive, held in the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand (the country of his birth), gives only a hint of his extensive career with the fledgling British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), on the concert platform, in the recording studio, and in the opera house. The number of music manuscripts in the archive reminds us that, despite being one of the busiest conductors in Britain, he dedicated much of his spare time to composition.