The Robert Shaw Reader Book

Robert Shaw is considered to be the most influential choral conductor in American history. This is the first collection of his letters and notes about music ever publishedâ??at another time, it is the book Shaw would have written himself.The letters are an invigorating mix of music history and analysis, philosophy, inspiration, and practical advice. Shaw examines technique, but only as a means to an endâ??he moves beyond that, delving into the essence of what music is and what it has to say to us. The heart of the book is composed of Shawâ??s previously unpublished notes on fifteen major choral works, ranging from Bachâ??s B Minor Mass to Stravinskyâ??s Symphony of Psalms. Often inspiring and sometime hilarious, these writings reveal the full breadth of Shawâ??s knowledge, intensity, and humor.Robert Blocker is the Lucy and Henry Moses Dean of the Yale School of Music.Read More