Celebrating the 200th Anniversary Year of Richard Wagner
The celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Richard Wagner reached their climax on May 22 at the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth when Christian Thielemann, one of the world’s leading interpreters of Wagner, conducted the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra’s special concert of selections from Die Walküre, Rienzi, Götterdämmerung, and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Afterwards, Wagner pilgrims from around the world were set to gather in the center of the “Wagnerstadt” to honor the great composer.
On May 23, which in Germany is Constitution Day, major political figures came together in Leipzig to show bipartisan support for freedom and democracy in celebrating the 150th anniversary of the founding of Germany’s Social Democratic Party, the SPD.
SPD Anniversary
Fresh from his trip to Silicon Valley, Economics Minister Philipp Rösler paid a visit to some Washington D.C. startups in between a lecture at Brookings and meetings at the White House and the Federal Reserve System.
Visit to 1776
Federal President Gauck and Chancellor Merkel sent letters to President Obama expressing their condolences and those of the German people on the loss of life caused by the devastating tornado that struck the Okahoma City area on Monday, May 20.
Condolences After Tornado
"Germany is in favor of listing at least the military wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in the EU," Foreign Minister Westerwelle said in Amman, Jordan, on Wednesday.
Hezbollah's Military Wing
"The vision of a transatlantic single market now gives us an opportunity to infuse the transatlantic partnership with new momentum. In a dramatically changing world, we have to turn to our common strengths in order to shape globalization in line with our libertarian values."
Transatlantic Partnership
Something extraordinary is happening in the German Soccerverse. This year, three of the four UEFA Finals teams are from Germany, a first for any country. The men and women of each team are looking to bring German soccer back to center stage, and are certainly doing a good job.
Soccer in Germany
Iconic American blue jean company, Levi Strauss & Co celebrates is 140th anniversary this year. The company was founded by German immigrant Levi Strauss in 1873 and his patented blue jeans became one of the most recognizable pieces of clothing on the planet.
Levi Strauss
Have you ever felt that uneasy, nervous feeling right before a big performance? Or have you ever remained frozen when the camera turned to you? Then you may be suffering from Lampenfieber!
Word of the Week
German Missions
