![[Logo Auswärtiges Amt]](/images/logo.gif){kind=logo}
Presentation of "Anton Seidl Award" by Wagner Society New York at the Consul General's residence, New York, NY
Sehr geehrter Regisseur und Intendant, Otto Schenk, sehr verehrte Frau Schenk,
sehr verehrte Frau Eva Schneider-Siemssen, sehr geehrter Herr Phillip Siemssen,
distinguished actors and artists of the "Ring Cycle",
Ms. Nathalie Wagner,
Excellencies,
Honored Guests,
My wife Chantal and I warmly welcome you to this very special reception. We are delighted to host this award presentation in honour of Maestro Otto Schenk and Günther Schneider-Siemssen. I will not preempt the laudatio of the Wagner Society for our honorees. But allow me a few words of introduction, which will be neither of Wagnerian duration or drama, but of appreciation and congratulation.
I would like to commend the Wagner Society of New York for its excellent work, in particular its President Nathalie Wagner and her predecessors. Managing a society is, in general, not an easy task. Managing a society dedicated to a composer can be a challenge. Managing a society dedicated to Richard Wagner definitely is a challenge – even outside of Bayreuth. Wagner not only created the holistic, integrated approach to opera and musical drama - the "Gesamtkunstwerk" – but he was sort of living "Gesamtkunstwerk" himself. A genius whose reforming spirits in so many ways revolutionized music the way we have known it. And a complex personality who provoked controversy – sometimes much to the despair of his most ardent supporters. The 200th anniversary of one of Wagner's greatest contemporary composers, Felix Mendelsohn Bartholdy, serves as a reminder of Wagner's enigmatic and seemingly contradictory personal attitude. And yet, one of my most memorable moments of a Wagner performance occurred in Tel Aviv, where in 2001, Daniel Barenboim conducted Wagner's prelude to "Tristan und Isolde" as an encore, receiving a standing ovation from most of the audience.
And so, appreciating Wagner's enormous and ingenious musical talents, his musical legacy is what the Wagner Societies are all about. It is in the spirit that the Wagner Society in New York supports lectures, sponsors scholarships for young artists, and awards the prestigious Anton Seidl Award.
Mr. Schneider-Siemssen could not travel to New York to personally receive the award. But he is present nonetheless: the phantastic stage designs of the current "Ring Cycle" at the Metropolitan Opera show his world-famous class. I would like to convey my sincerest congratulations on his behalf to his wife, Mrs Schneider-Siemssen, and to their son Phillip Siemssen.
Dear Maestro Otto Schenk: off and particularly on stage, whether as an actor and comedian, or as the producer and director of music drama, after your performances the audience always goes home feeling amply rewarded. I just recently had the double pleasure of experiencing both: enjoying your humourous lectures last week and, on Saturday, the performance of "Rheingold" which opens your "Ring Cycle" at the Metropolitan Opera. Having you here in New York, together with Maestro James Levine, and the cast of the Metropolitan Opera is a special treat for all opera fans.
Allow me therefore, to end on a musical note: The President of the Kade Foundation, Lya Friedrich Pfeifer, and I are delighted that a young and tremendously talented tenor, Mr. Issachah Savage, will dedicate a special performance to the honourees after the end of the remarks. Mr Savage is the recipient of the prestigious Max Kade Foundation Award 2009, and will be accompanied by pianist Elizabeth Hastings.
Please enjoy this pleasant evening.
