Robert Theodore Anderson

Robert Theodore Anderson ( born October 5, 1934 in Chicago, Illinois, † 29 May, 2009 Honolulu, Hawaii) was an American organist, composer and music teacher.

Life

Robert T. Anderson received his musical training at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago (piano) and the Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington (Bachelor 's degree in organ with Lillian McCord Mecherle ). He continued his studies at Union Theological Seminary in New York ( Master's and Doctoral degrees in Sacred Music, 1957 and 1961 ) as well as ( on a Fulbright scholarship) from 1957 to 1959 with Helmut Walcha in Frankfurt am Main. In addition, he studied organ with Heinrich Fleischer and Frederick Marriott, composition with Harold Friedell and Seth Bingham and harpsichord with Maria Jager. 1960 Anderson was appointed professor of organ and church music at Southern Methodist University (SMU ) and therefore university organist at the local Perkins Chapel in Dallas, where he worked until his retirement in 1997.

As a composer, he wrote many works for organ, including a Triptych (1958), and a cantata " Garden of Gethsemane " on a text by Boris Pasternak.

Some of the most important concert hall organs in North America are of the initiative and professional consultancy Robert Anderson owe, including the two CB Fisk organ in Meyerson Symphony Center ( Opus 100, 1992) and in Caruth Auditorium Southern Methodist University ( Opus 101, 1993 ), both in Dallas. In addition, he initiated the prestigious Dallas International Organ Competition, which was carried out under Anderson's presidency in 1997 and 2000.

Robert T. Anderson played numerous concerts in the United States and Europe, and was a guest at the main international organ festival in Nuremberg, Paris, Berlin and Vienna. He was one of the most influential and successful organ pedagogues of his time in the U.S.. His former students include well-known organists such as George C. Baker, Ignace Michiels, Carole Terry and Wolfgang Rübsam.

Recordings

• The CB Fisk organ, Opus 101, at Southern Methodist University. Works of Grigny ( Pange lingua ), Tournemire ( Paraphrase - Carillon ), Zwillich ( Prelude ), Buxtehude ( Praeludium BuxWV 151), Bach ( Trio Sonata BWV 530) and Reger ( " Awake ", Op 52 No 2). Robert T. Anderson ( Grigny, Tournemire, Zwillich ) and Wolfgang Rübsam ( Buxtehude, Bach, Reger ), organ. Recorded in June 1994 ( Anderson) and July 1994 ( Rübsam ) on the CB Fisk organ in Caruth Auditorium Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Valparaiso, IN: RMC Classics, 1994 1 CD. .

Bibliography

• Beckmann, Klaus ( ed.). Repertory organ music from 1150 to 2000. Volume 1: Organ Solo. Mainz: Schott, 2001.
• Shulman, Laurie. "Opus 100: The Lay Family Concert Organ". In The Meyerson Symphony Center. Building a Dream. Denton (USA): University of North Texas, 2000, pp. 304-322.