Robert Shaw (conductor)
Robert Lawson Shaw (30 April 1916 – 25 January 1999) was an American conductor most famous for his work with his namesake Chorale, with the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.[1] He was known for drawing public attention to choral music through his wide-ranging influence and mentoring of younger conductors, the high standard of his recordings, his support for racial integration in his choruses, and his support for modern music, winning many awards throughout his career.[2]
Biography
Early life
Shaw was born in Red Bluff, California.[2] His father, Rev. Shirley R. Shaw,[3] was a minister, and his mother was a concert singer.[4] He had four siblings, one of whom was singer Hollace Shaw.[5] Shaw attended Eagle Rock High School in the early 1930s where he sang in the choirs directed by Howard Swan, a man who would later have a lengthy career as an internationally renowned choral director at Occidental College from 1934 through 1971, and whose career and writings on choral music were the subject of a symposium at the national conference of the American Choral Directors Association in 1987.[6][7] Shaw graduated from Pomona College in the class of 1938. Shortly afterward, Shaw was hired by popular band leader Fred Waring to recruit and train a glee club that would sing with the band.
Career
In 1941, Shaw founded the
External audio | |
---|---|
You may hear Robert Shaw conducting RCA Victor Orchestra in 1947 Here on archive.org |
Shaw was also
Following his San Diego tenure, Shaw joined George Szell, one of his prior teachers at Mannes School of Music in New York, to work with the Cleveland Orchestra in 1956.[9] He served as the assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra for eleven seasons until 1967.[10] He also took over the fledgling Cleveland Orchestra Chorus (started in 1952) and fine-tuned it into one of the finest all-volunteer choral ensembles sponsored by an American symphony orchestra - an ensemble that continues to this day.[11][12] While in Cleveland, Shaw was also the choral director at the First Unitarian Church of Cleveland where he led a community music program.
From 1967 to 1988 Shaw was
On 30 April 1972, Shaw conducted a massed 640 voice chorus made up of auditioned university choirs from 16 different countries invited to the Third
After stepping down from his Atlanta post in 1988, Shaw continued to conduct the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as its Music Director Emeritus and Conductor Laureate, was a regular guest conductor with other orchestras including Cleveland, and taught in a series of summer festivals and week-long Carnegie Hall workshops for choral conductors and singers. He can be seen again conducting the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus in footage of the 1996 Olympic Ceremonies. He died in 1999, in New Haven, Connecticut following a stroke, aged 82.[2]
Influence
During his long career, Shaw drew attention to choral music and came to be considered the "dean" of American choral conductors, mentoring a number of younger conductors—including Jameson Marvin, Margaret Hillis, Maurice Casey, Ken Clinton, Donald Neuen, Ann Howard Jones, and current Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and Chamber Chorus director Norman Mackenzie — and inspiring thousands of singers with whom he worked around the United States. His work set new choral standards in the United States, and many of his recordings are considered benchmarks for choral singing.[20]
Although his formative years and much of his work occurred before the rise of mainstream interest in informed historic performance practice, his recordings, reflecting his insistence that clearly projected texts serve as the foundation for musical interpretation, do not sound dated in comparison to more modern efforts by frequently smaller forces. He created techniques and approaches still in use today.[21][22]
Shaw was a champion of modern music from the beginning of his career. He commissioned a requiem for
Recordings
External audio | |
---|---|
You may hear Robert Shaw conducting RCA Victor Orchestra in 1947 Here on archive.org |
Although noted in classical repertoire, Shaw hardly limited himself to that genre. The 104 recording credits on his discography[28] also include recordings of sea shanties, glee club songs, sacred music and spirituals, musical theater numbers, Irish folk tunes, and, most notably, Christmas albums that have remained bestsellers ever since their release. Shaw was also noted for his many collaborations with
Shaw recorded for a variety of labels, beginning with a single record for American
Shaw recorded many of the great choral-orchestral works more than once, and his performances of
Awards
- 14 Grammy Awards[30]
- 4 ASCAP Awardsfor service to contemporary music
- First Guggenheim Fellowship ever awarded to a conductor
- Alice M. Ditson Conductor's Award for Service to American Music
- George Peabody Medal for outstanding contributions to music in America
- Gold Baton Award of the American Symphony Orchestra League for "distinguished service to music and the arts,"
- American National Medal of Arts
- France's Officier des Arts et des Lettres
- England's Gramophone Award
- 1991 recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors[31]
References
- ^ 'Robert Shaw: American conductor'. Encyclopædia Britannica June 11, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Oestreich, James R. (26 January 1999). 'Robert Shaw, Choral and Orchestral Leader, Is Dead at 82'. The New York Times.
- ^ "Soprano will be heard at Claremont Tuesday". The San Bernardino County Sun. July 21, 1950. p. 13. Retrieved August 20, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Blanck, Katherine (August 27, 1941). "Vivian's Song Has A Purpose in Life". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 11. Retrieved August 20, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Rasmussen, David Alan (1989). Howard Swan: Teacher and conductor (PhD). Arizona State University.
- .
- ISBN 978-0-253-18457-3.
- ^ Rosenberg, Donald (2000). The Cleveland Orchestra Story. Gray & Company. pp. 286–87.
- ^ Rosenberg, Donald (2000). The Cleveland Orchestra Story. Gray & Company. p. 650.
- ^ Duffie, Bruce. (24 August 1985). Conductor, Robert Shaw interview.
- ^ Robert Shaw Is Hired To Build The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus. Cleveland Orchestra website.
- ^ a b "The Legacy of Robert Shaw". Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
- ^ Shaw, Robert (6 April-2 May 1972). The third Lincoln Center International Choral Festival. Publisher: LCS 1972 Lincoln Center. WorldCat.
- ISBN 978-1-4396-2112-7. (Charleston SC, Chicago IL, Portsmouth NH, San Francisco CA, USA).
- New York Times. USA.
- ^ Box 216 Folder 320 (requires login). (1972). Robert Shaw repository'. Yale University.
- ^ Nixon, Pat. First Lady of the United States. (21 April 1972). Diary (Box 24): "First Lady's Press Office: 4/21/72 Mrs. Nixon – 3rd Intn'l Choral Festival Reception". Press Office of the First Lady of the United States. Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.
- ^ (7 April 1972). 'On The Go'. Page 7C. Democrat and Chronicle. (Rochester, New York).
- ^ Robert Shaw. Telarc International Corporation. (Cleveland)
- ^ Page, Tim. (26 January 1999). The Harmonious Life of Robert bert Shaw. The Washington Post.
- ^ The Shaw Story. 'Robert Shaw the Film' website.
- ^ Sullivan, Jack (1999-05-16). "American Composer's Orchestra, May 16, 1999: Whitman and Music".
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution. www.metanoia.org.
- ^ "Awards". The University of Pennsylvania Glee Club.
- ^ Delta Omicron Archived 2010-01-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "American Masters: Robert Shaw – Man of Many Voices – Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia". Retrieved 2023-03-07.
- ^ 'The Robert Shaw Chorale'. Discogs.
- ^ ""Rachmaninoff's Vespers (All-Night Vigil)" -- Robert Shaw Festival Singers (1990)" (PDF). Library of Congress.
- ^ "Robert Shaw". Telarc. Archived from the original on 2007-03-27. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
- ^ Singers.com website, Robert Shaw, "Robert Shaw choral director". Archived from the original on 2006-12-11. Retrieved 2006-12-02.
External links
- Atlanta Symphony Orchestra website
- Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus website
- Collegiate Chorale website
- Robert Shaw Resource website
- The Robert Shaw Papers at Irving S. Gilmore Music Library, Yale University
- Interview with Robert Shaw, August 14, 1985
- Robert Shaw--Man of Many Voices Website for film about Robert Shaw