MS Mus. 1755

The papers of Susan Mary Bradshaw (b.1931, d.2005) encompass records from her professional activities in music as a performer, writer and broadcaster. They comprise music scores (including 32 of Bradshaw’s own compositions), correspondence, drafts of her writings on music, lecture notes, concert programmes, scrapbooks, photographs, items relating to literary translations made by Bradshaw and a small amount of documentation concerning other professional engagements which she was involved in. Her scrapbooks bring together programmes and reviews in a self-curated resource which traces Bradshaw’s performance history as a professional pianist, from the early stages of her career. Both solo and ensemble performances are documented in the scrapbooks, featuring items with ensembles such as the Mabillon Trio, the Vesuvius Ensemble of London and the Voice and Viola Trio as well as piano duo performances with John Streets and Richard Rodney Bennett.

The archive contains autograph, dyeline, typescript, printed and photocopied materials. For citation purposes, foliation numbers should be used where they have been added to the documents (printed material has not been foliated as a matter of course and existing page numbers may be used for citation).

A number of recordings of concerts given by Bradshaw and others (including several recordings of the Vesuvius Ensemble made by W H Troutbeck) are held in the British Library Sound Archive - see reference C1192; Susan Bradshaw collection.