by Beethoven, Verdi, Berlioz and Brahms, and the traditional European orchestral repertoire were cornerstones. But works by American composers William Schuman, Charles Ives, Karel Husa, Ned Rorem and John Harbison were prominent as well. The April 30, 2016, Shaw Centennial Concert, with its New York premiere of Jonathan Leshnoff’s Zohar and the Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem, recalls the ShawAtlanta program of April 5, 1980, at Carnegie Hall, also featuring the Brahms, and Philip Rhodes’ The Lament of Michal (a New York premiere). Robert Shaw’s last Carnegie Hall concert with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra was on May 25, 1988. Two years later, Shaw embarked on a new venture, the brainchild of Judith Arron, Carnegie Hall’s executive and artistic director from 1986 to 1998. The Robert Shaw Choral Workshops, intense weeklong exploration and rehearsals of masterworks, culminated in a concert performance at Carnegie Hall. The choral workshops and concerts focused on works by Haydn, Beethoven, Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Verdi, Brahms, Hindemith and Britten. After the first Robert Shaw Workshop Concert on Nov. 18, 1990 (a performance of Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem), Bernard Holland wrote in The New York Times that the performance was “proof of what a gathering of choral directors, orchestra conductors, music administrators, and singers had learned under Robert Shaw during five days of seminars and rehearsals.” Holland continued: “The afternoon was much more: indeed, one of the more powerful communications between musician and listener that this reviewer has experienced in the past 10 years.” This 20 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra | aso.org
was a sentiment echoed by all who had the privilege of attending the Shaw Choral Workshops and Concerts. Failing health prevented Shaw from leading the 1999 choral workshop and Jan. 17 concert, which explored settings of the Stabat mater by Verdi, Szymanowski and Poulenc. On Jan. 25, 1999, Robert Shaw died at the age of 82. His final concert at Carnegie Hall had taken place the previous April 3. The
sole work on the program was one central to Shaw’s life and career, Bach’s Mass in B minor. On this occasion, Shaw collaborated with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chamber Chorus, treasured colleagues during the latter part of his career. Shaw once commented: “If there is a heaven — and a God — the Mass in B minor would surely be God’s favorite music.” And with this sublime music, two American icons — Carnegie Hall and Robert Shaw — bid farewell. Ken Meltzer is the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s program annotator. This article will also appear in the playbill for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus’ April 30, 2016, concert at Carnegie Hall.