Prince of Asturias Awards 1981–2014. Speeches

7 P rince of A sturias A wards 1981-2014. S peeches Speech XXXI Yesterday we learned that those who have tormented Spanish society with their terrorist violence have accepted their defeat. This is definitely good news. It is, above all, a great victory for the rule of law. A victory for the will and determination of democratic institutions, for the effective, selfless sacrifice and efforts of our law enforcement forces; in short, for our society as a whole. At this time in which freedom and reason vanquish barbarity, I wish to cast my gaze back —I would like us all to cast our gazes back— with tremendous feeling and respect towards the victims, towards their pain and to pay an emotion-laden tribute to their memory and their dignity. Ladies and Gentlemen, This evening we have gathered here in gratitude to honour our Laureates. Their presence here among us inOviedo has allowed us to underline evenmore theirmerits and the valuable lessons of their lives, dedicated to work, committed to art, to science, to sport, to solidarity. We do so with admiration and great satisfaction as our Foundation helps to keep alive, in these difficult times, the values and goals for which it was instituted more than thirty years ago. This ceremony is a compendium of all of these values: of our will to honour exemplary behaviour, to offer society a looking glass in which to see itself and positive models to emulate, and also to share with everyone, in essence, a message of hope. We are grateful for the support and generosity of so many people who have made our work possible: the members of the different Juries, the Trustees and Patrons of the Foundation, the national and international media and the distinguished guests and visitors who both honour us and regale us today with their presence. The Princess and I are particularly grateful to those in this beloved Asturias who always welcome us with such affection and receive the Laureates with admiration and heartfelt joy. We also remember today with sadness Juan Luis Iglesias Prada, the former General Secretary of the Foundation, who passed away last March. We will greatly miss his enthusiasm and the excitement and love with which he worked for the benefit of our institution, to which he positively contributed through his bonhomie and his intelligence. Ladies and Gentlemen, We turn now to the Laureates to reflect, albeit briefly, on their invaluable work and to extol their merits. The Neapolitan maestro Riccardo Muti, Laureate for the Arts, is one of the greatest orchestra conductors. He has conducted the most important ensembles with exquisite sensitivity on the most prestigious stages in the world. He is, moreover, a humanist with a deep commitment to research, devoted especially to recovering major historical works that he rescues from oblivion to make them a part of current repertoires. Maestro Muti ceaselessly vindicates the need to support and boost the teaching of music, as essential for education to be truly comprehensive. His immense talent also rests on a transcendent conception of music, on the idea that conducting sets off a process that commences with the composer to then reach the baton of the conductor, who is able to extract the feelings of each singer and musician so as to finally convey them to the audience. On this difficult, ongoing path of learning, Muti humbly acknowledges that he will never get to his destination, because, as he says, beyond the notes “abides the infinite”. His experience and renown do not stop him from gratefully evoking those who were his teachers, while he devotes himself to his daily work of delving ever deeper into music’s power and secrets. This is what transcends from the beauty and communicative capacity of his performance as an artist and what generates so much admiration and praise worldwide. “No great nation can ward off the crisis with pessimism. No great nation can emerge from it without the participation of all concerned.” Watch video