May 22, 2021
The information was prepared by Ināra Granta, a spokeswoman for the German Embassy’s press department
Ladies and gentlemen!
Dear friends of Richard Wagner and music!
Let me, as the German Ambassador to Latvia, first of all say that it is a great pleasure for me to celebrate the 208th birthday of Richard Wagner and to celebrate the musical ties that unite our people. And also tell me how special this event is for me personally, because it takes place in it
in the historic place where the young Richard Wagner once began an international career, beginning to write his name in the history of music.
Accordingly, we celebrate the anniversary together with world-famous artists – Gidon Kremer and “Kremerata Lettonica”. Maestro,
Thank you very much for your personal contribution to tonight’s concert and for your support of the Wagner House project. I am very pleased that, with the support of the German Embassy, your concert will be streamed tonight and will be open to people outside our countries.
We dedicate this evening not only to the memory of Richard Wagner, because this year we also celebrate two more important anniversaries – the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Germany and Latvia and 30 years since their renewal in 1991. The restoration of the musical traditions of Wagner House, which reflects the ancient history of our mutual relations and ties, also begins tonight. Therefore, we can all be deeply grateful to Māris Gailis for his perseverance in wanting to return this house to the musical landscape as it was when Richard Wagner lived and worked in Riga.
Turn it back into a temple of music, a platform for multilingual excellence to serve a language that transcends history and boundaries – music. This year will mark the beginning of Wagner’s return. As German Ambassador, I am proud that my country is providing significant support for this unique project, about which we will soon hear much more. Let me conclude with two more things:
– As the German Ambassador to Latvia, I directly represent the President of Germany Steinmeier. Therefore, I am very pleased to officially announce tonight that President Steinmeier, meeting with the President of Latvia in Berlin on Tuesday, agreed with President Levit to become the patron of the Wagner House project. Congratulations to Māris Gailis, because it does not happen so often that two incumbent heads of state agree to become patrons of one project.
– The second remark will be a bit more personal: When Maris Gailis showed me this house for the first time, he also told me about his plans to renovate the reading club room as it was before the First World War. At that time, a resident of Riga, Karl Friedrich Glasenap, who was born and buried here, also had intensive ties with Bayreuth. He was recognized as the greatest Wagner expert of his time, who wrote the most extensive biography of Wagner. Māris Gailis from Riga in our time could be called the greatest Wagner enthusiast today. So it seemed to me that tonight was the best time to present two volumes of Wagner’s biography written by Glasenap – the 1905 edition – which I inherited from my grandfather, as a gift for Wagner’s birthday and the first copy of the library of this historic house.
Thank you very much again, Māris, for this evening and for your tremendous energy with which you are driving this project – I am happy for the opportunity to join you on this path! And to Gidon Kremer – thank you again, Maestro, for the opportunity to enjoy your wonderful
a concert where you will play together with your ensemble!
–
