Few know Johannes Brahms’s A German Requiem as well as Robert Shaw, who performed the work over a hundred times, including on two acclaimed recordings. With this scholarly edition, Cory D. Wikan preserves the characteristically meticulous work of Shaw, who was exceptionally dedicated to ensuring the composer’s message was revealed in every performance he led.

This edition includes both Shaw’s English translation as well as the original German text. Also included are Shaw’s own performance and diction markings informed by the countless hours he spent studying and performing the work.

Wikan’s edition is a thorough, clean, and scholarly score that is equally suited for performances in English or German and, most importantly, is based on extensive research of and experience with Shaw’s methods.

Robert Shaw (1916–1999) was discovered by Fred Waring, a musical and television personality, at Pomona College in California. After initially refusing, Shaw eventually accepted Waring’s proposal to move to New York City and lead a glee club on the radio in 1938. Thereafter, Shaw founded and conducted several critically acclaimed choral groups—the Collegiate Chorale, Robert Shaw Chorale, Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, Atlanta Symphony Choruses, and Robert Shaw Festival Singers. While Shaw received no formal music degree, he was mentored by a number of legendary musical figures, including Pablo Casals, Serge Koussevitzky, George Szell, and Arturo Toscanini, as well as Julius Herford. The extensive list of awards he earned, including fourteen Grammy Awards, the National Medal of the Arts (1992), the Kennedy Center Honors (1991), and induction into the American Classical Hall of Fame (1998), speak to the tremendous contribution Shaw made to American choral/orchestral music in the twentieth century and the esteem in which his exceptional gifts were held. Shaw’s legacies—highly effective choral rehearsal techniques, meticulous score study, and a deep devotion to revealing a composer’s message through careful rehearsal and performance (to name a few)—endure because they are masterful approaches created by an exceptionally talented, intelligent, and faithful servant of his craft.

This edition is published with the support of the Robert Shaw estate.