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Rede des Stellvertretenden
Schulleiters Wolfgang Fladerer am 24.6.04 anlässlich
des Festkonzertes zum 25jährigen Bestehen der Schulpartnerschaft zwischen der Royal
High School Edinburgh und dem TLG in Edin-burgh
Dear Scottish hosts, dear parents, dear students, dear collegues,
ladies and gentlemen,
for those wondering how it is possible for two remote,
some may say backward, European regions to keep up a highly acclaimed
music exchange over twenty-five years, we all but list three
major arguments:
ONE: The Scottish and the Bavarians: two - not so
surprisingly - similar tribes
Both tribes look back on a long,
honourable struggle against the oppressor in London
or, Berlin, respectively, and have managed to develop a distinctive national identity in
the process, which makes the one seem strangely familiar to the other and vice versa.
For instance, are there any other clans that roll their
"Rs" so beautifully like ours? - that´s why I feel so comfortable
with my accent here: Oxford English would be out of the question in these
surroundings anyway!
A few more examples to make my point: you delight and
excel in tossing the caber, we love throwing our beer - mugs, you have
invented culinary highlights like Haggis, we enjoy pale sausages early
in the morning, your skirts - sorry kilts - are copied round the world
and so are our leather trousers: they can´t copy our austere manliness,
though, can they?
TWO: A sense of tradition
In Scotland, as well as in Bavaria, it is indespensible
to call upon one´s tradition when |
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making a point. A few comments on the
past may suffice here.
In 1979 the Royal High School´s choir and orchestra
were in their twin-town for the first time and in July the same year the
TLG visited Edinburgh. The musicians, namely Inge Eckhart, Karl Wimmer
(who died far too early in 1994), Wolfgang Schmitt and John Murray, decided
to cooperate and make music together.
From 1980 onwards they played together
and mutual annual visits were arranged. The host parents provided accommodation and
the highlight was always a big concert at the end.
In 1991 the first concert in the
Herkulessaal der Residenz in Munich was staged and
this event became an immediate success.
Ten years later, in 2001, a farewell
concert was given for Wolfgang Schmitt at the same venue with Mendelssohn´s "Elias".
Last year was at the same time proof for my second argument
"Tradition" as well as one for my third, and final point, which
is concerned with the future:
THREE: Scottish and
Bavarian Bravehearts: facing the challenges of the future
Minorities like ours, their culture and traditions can
only survive if they show an ability to adapt, to combine the old and
the new. There are lots of examples for this and the last two years provide
yet another:
In 2003, we said farewell to John Murray
and enjoyed a piece of tradition as well as one of progress: Mozart´s "Missa solemnis"
was staged very successfully and for the first
time in the history of our concerts the audience was presented with a contemporary choir
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