Honoring of Maestro Helmuth Rilling at the Consul General's residence, New York, NY

Feb 13, 2009


Sehr geehrter Herr Professor und Maestro Helmuth Rilling, sehr verehrte Frau Rilling,
sehr geehrter Herr Professor und Maestro Kurt Masur, sehr verehrte Frau Masur,
Dr. John Evans,
Dr. James Bean,
Honoured Guests,

Chantal and I warmly welcome you to this very special occasion. We are delighted that you join us to honour the 75th birthday of Professor Rilling in NY, as NY is of special value for Professor Rillings life. This is where he studied with Leonard Bernstein who added the final touch to Professor Rillings career as conductor. Jamie Bernstein, the famed composer’s eldest daugther has asked me to share her best wishes with you. In her letter to you, Professor Rilling, she recalls that “you and her father were respected colleagues and shared wonderful memories from that time.”

One of these memories – I am sure – was when you met Leonard Bernstein for the first time in the mid-sixties. Maestro Barenboim had invited the young Mr. Rilling to attend the sold-out concert, telling him he will take care of it. But as Mr. Rilling did not have a ticket, he was, of course, denied entry to the concert that evening. So at the last minute he entered through the backstage entrance exactly at the time the concert began and quickly sat down - on the stage right next to the violonists. Maestro Barenboim nodded and started the concert with this somewhat unusual setting. I have never before heard about a sit-in on stage during one of Barenboims concert - but this stands for Mr. Rilling admiration for great music, his appreciation of Maestro Barenboim and his own ingenuity.

Since then Professor Rilling committed himself to conducting, in particular choral music and cantatas. He became one of the most accomplished conductors and is today one of the worlds most famous interpreter of J.S. Bach’s works. In 2000, commemorating the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death, he finished his recordings of the complete works of Bach, totaling 172 compact discs – the only one ever to do so, a proud legacy of a life-long devotion to celebrating Bach’s genius.

Bach is, of course, not the only composer Professor Rilling has paid tribute to and performed worldwide. He has a wide and diverse repertoire. Of all the composers he plays, Brahms is one of his favorites and so is Haydn – and we are all looking forward to Saturday at Carnegie Hall, where he will conduct Hadyn’s Creation. Professor Rilling is well-known for conducting with great feeling and authenticity, but he can also make Ba-rock music rock. It is said that once he encouraged a choir by exclaiming: “ sing, sing, or else I will sing” – which promptly inspired the choir to its best performance ever.

It would take too much time to mention all the achievements of Professor Rilling, the many awards he received and the fine and distinguished institutions  - the famous Bach Academies -  he founded. But I would like to at least mention the Internationale Bachakademie in Stuttgart and the Oregon Bach Festival.

The Oregon Bach Festival was founded in 1970 and its educational programs have become one or perhaps the most famous, expansive and critically acclaimed platform for Bach’s music in America. I would like to warmly welcome so many contributors and fans of the Oregon Bach Festival including Dr. Evans and Dr. Bean, who will say a few more words about this festival.

Let me conclude by thanking Professor Rilling for actively forging connections between people through the joy of great music and his brilliant performances. He is a bridgebuilder, an international ambassador who believes in the power of music to cross political and ethnical boundaries. And that is what he does: he was the first German to conduct the Israeli Philarmonic Orchestra in Israel, he initiated and conducted the famous “Requim of Reconciliation” in Stuttgart in 1995 with 14 international composers and in 2000 organized the famous “Passion 2000” – performances, to just mention a few.

Thank you for your much appreciated and enjoyable performances – Happy Birthday, and may you share music with the world for many, many years to come.



Helmuth Rilling

At night the Empire State Building is illuminated in the colors black, red and gold.