Let my first public word in my home town be a word of thanks.
I thank my homeland for all that it has given me along the path of my life. I have tried to explain the nature of this endowment in those few pages entitled "Der Feldweg"1 which first appeared in 1949 in a book honoring the hundredth anniversary of the death of Conradin Kreutzer.2 I thank Mayor Schühle for his warm-hearted welcome. And I am especially grateful for the privilege of giving the memorial address at today's ceremony.
Honored Guests, Friends and Neighbors! We are gathered together in commemoration of the composer Conradin Kreutzer, a native of our region. If we are to honor a man whose calling it is to be creative, we must, above all, duly honor his work. In the case of a musician this is done through the performance of his compositions.
Conradin Kreutzer's compositions ring forth today in
* This speech was presented at the celebration of the 175th birthday of the composer Conradin Kreutzer on October 50, 1955, in Messkirch.
1. Country Path (Tr.)
2. Conradin Kreutzer (1780-1849), German composer and conductor. He was highly productive in concert, chamber and church music, operas and musical plays, choruses and songs. Of his works some of his choruses for men and one of his operas are still well known in Germany. (Tr.)
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