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.”
