Trivia

Founded and conducted the Robert Shaw Chorale (1949-1967).

Founded and conducted the Atlanta Symphony Chorus (1970-1988).

Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (1967-1988).

Conductor Emeritus of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (1988-his death).

He is almost universally considered the greatest choral conductor of the 20th century.

He was the first conductor to make a complete stereo recording of Handel's "Messiah" using a chorus and orchestra approximating the size of Handel's orchestra and chorus. He recorded it twice, first with the Robert Shaw Chorale and Orchestra in 1966, then with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Chorus in 1984.

He was conductor Arturo Toscanini's choral director from 1948 to 1954 (the year of Toscanini's retirement).

Won a total of twenty-three Grammy Awards in his lifetime for his choral recordings.

Associate Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra (1956-1967).

Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 560-562. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Made many recordings of Christmas music, beginning in 1946 during the 78-RPM era, and ending just two years before his death. He made four Christmas albums during his tenure with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus alone, beginning in 1975.

His last recording, Dvorak's "Stabat Mater", was released posthumously in November, 1999, ten months after his death.

He recorded Bach's "Mass in B Minor" four times in all. There were three studio recordings - a mono version in 1947 on 78-RPM, a Grammy-winning complete version in both mono and stereo with the Robert Shaw Chorale and Orchestra in 1960, and his stereo remake with the Atlanta Symphony Chamber Chorus and Orchestra in 1990. There is also a recording of a live performance that Shaw conducted in Russia in 1962, but it has not been issued on CD yet.

He is an orchestra conductor and choral director.

He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1992 by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington D.C.

He was the first conductor to make a complete recording of Bach's "St. John Passion" in English.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 1559 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.

Gave dramatic readings of Biblical passages as transitions between the music during his Christmas concerts.