Classical Music Forum banner

Performer Birthdays

168K views 1K replies 18 participants last post by  Rogerx 
#1 ·
There already are two threads that include performer birthdays, but they haven't had any posts in awhile. Plus one is just for opera singers while the other includes composer birthdays which we already have a thread for.

So I'm creating this thread which may be even more inclusive than the old two. The word "performer" can be used loosely here. Basically, this thread could be for anyone of note who is either not a composer or is known mainly for something other than composing. This would probably mostly be conductors, singers, and instrumentalists, but it could also include dancers, choreographers, directors, etc.
 
#100 · (Edited)
Robert Lawson Shaw (April 30, 1916 - January 25, 1999)

Robert Shaw had more influence on choral music in the United States than any conductor or music director before or since. He founded the Robert Shaw Chorale in New York City in 1948 and toured around the world with his choristers under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State as cultural ambassadors. He served under George Szell as the conductor of the choral section of the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra for eleven years and became an expert in the orchestral repertoire. He then became director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and from 1967 until his retirement in 1988 transformed it from an amateur ensemble into a major player in the American classical music scene. Shaw commissioned pieces for his Chorale from Hindemith, Britten, Milhaud, and Copland among others, was an associate of Toscanini and Szell, and mentored numerous other conductors, including the late director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Margaret Hillis.

Personal Connection: Any fan of choral music in the U.S. from the 1940s through the present knows the work of Robert Shaw, and knows it well. The first recorded version of Bach's Mass in B Minor, BWV 232, that I knew, from 1960 on Living Stereo, was a Robert Shaw performance, and it impresses me to this day. Shaw was a highly perceptive observer of the classical musical scene and was modest considering his stature. He was interviewed by then-WNIB host Bruce Duffie in 1985, and Duffie has made the transcript available. I find it a great read: http://www.bruceduffie.com/shaw.html

Photo of Shaw with President and Mrs. Carter. The Carters are from Georgia and Shaw was music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at that time.
Outerwear Smile Coat Tie Gesture
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top