“Probably the most star-studded event of Atlanta’s classical music season takes place next Sunday at ‘Stars Shine on Shaw,’ an event celebrating the legacy of Robert Shaw, former music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra,” writes James Paulk in Thursday’s (10/31) Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscription required). “It will raise money for a documentary project that will combine archival footage with interviews and narration to present a picture of Shaw’s life and career here and elsewhere…. [The November 10 event] is structured … as a recital, with guest artists including sopranos Christine Brewer and Sylvia McNair, mezzo-soprano Marietta Simpson, cellist Lynn Harrell, and ASO music director Robert Spano.… Spano … is a highly accomplished pianist, but Atlanta rarely sees that side of him.… It is hard to overstate Shaw’s importance to the classical music scene in Atlanta. During his tenure, 1967-1988, the ASO became a major international orchestra. Shaw established the ASO Chorus in 1970, building it into one of the most respected choruses in the world….You can hear the disciplined ‘Shaw sound’ today not only in the ASO Chorus, but in other Atlanta area choruses, owing to the influence of singers who learned from him and then were able to use his techniques.”
Posted November 1, 2013
