Sigma Alpha Iota

Winter 2019 14 PAN PIPES WAGNER'S BATON Wagner. In examining this treasure, I noted it was engraved for Christmas Day, and asked what "Tribschener Idyll" might mean. I learned that this was a conductor's baton and had been engraved to memorialize a performance. I admired the trophy appropriately and Bob returned it to his safe. His confidential manner hinted at his concern for holding onto this bit of war-loot. Some twenty years later, my parents came to Nebraska and brought me a gi. Dad presented me with small display case constructed with a mirror along the back face. Mounted in the middle of the case, so that one could read the engraving in the mirror, was the Wagner Baton! When I asked how Dad had convinced Dr. Pearson to part with it, he explained that money had not played a role in this exchange, but that he had traded some correspondence from Aldous Huxley. e Huxley library had burned in the early 1960s and Huxley's personal notes to my father were unique and extremely valuable, like the baton. I was both thrilled and delighted to possess this perfect piece of history. I took the precious baton-in-a-display-case to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Music, to show it off to graduate student friends and faculty members. Many colleagues, including music librarian Anita Breckbill, were very excited about seeing this gem, but my theory professor warned, "You better not let the German government know you have this – war booty is illegal, you know!" Shocked with the realization that I was holding contraband, I took the baton home and kept my mouth shut. Eventually, it went to my safe deposit box, where it resided in secret darkness for many years. Anita Breckbill's husband, David, a Wagner scholar and regular contributor to the Wagner Journal asked if he might "meet" the baton. I retrieved it from my safe deposit box and took it with me to the Breckbill's home. Dave, helping me to fully understand the significance of this marvel, showed me the citations in Cosima's diary and explained to me that "Tribschener Idyll" (as inscribed on the baton) and Siegfried Idyll were one-and-the-same composition. Soon aerward, Anita (a librarian who likes to see things put away) suggested we might consider returning the baton to its rightful place in the world. Out of respect for my father and for Bob Pearson, I chose not to set those wheels in motion while they were still living. My father died in January 2004, Bob Pearson in 2013. When Anita learned that the 2018 IAML Congress would be meeting in Leipzig, Wagner's birthplace, it seemed that destiny was lighting the path for us to undertake this special mission: to write the history of the baton, present the paper at the Congress, and return this revered article to its proper station. I asked my sons for their approval, wondering if they considered this extraordinary item to be part of their inheritance. ey replied, "What good does it do for this historical artifact to be in a bank in Lincoln? It belongs in a place where people can see it and appreciate its significance. Take it home to Bayreuth!" So, what's an American to do with a priceless object picked up in WWII that she would like to return? We proceeded cautiously, draing an e-mail to Sven Friedrich, the director of the Richard-Wagner-Museum (RWM) Bayreuth. Preferring not to tempt fate or risk judicial intervention, I remained anonymous while Anita made the initial inquiry; we tested the waters in hopes of an amicable exchange. Ownership of the Idyll baton was unclear. It was war loot, and certainly couldn't be sold on the open market. e Wagner family archive, which would have included the baton had it been present, was sold in 1973 by Winifred and Wolfgang Wagner to the Richard Wagner Foundation, becoming public property and the core of the RWM Bayreuth. We were delighted when Dr. Friedrich graciously replied to our e-mail immediately, making no argument regarding ownership of the artifact, but showing a strong interest in acquiring the baton for the museum. As a result, 2018 was a banner year in the life of the baton. As guardians and couriers, we exhibited the baton at events of Lincoln's Symphony in Lincoln, Nebraska, and presented "Follow the Baton" at colleges and professional organizations in the Lincoln area. At the University of Nebraska, our presentation was enhanced by an ensemble from the school performing Siegfried Idyll. NET, our statewide PBS and NPR stations, broadcast a radio story on the baton's return and are creating a piece for the television show, "Nebraska Stories." School- age children learned the story of the baton at a public library event, where they practiced conducting with their own batons made of paper straws. e paper was also presented at a regional conference of the Music Library Association in Reno, Nevada, and at the annual conference of the International Association of Music Libraries (IAML) in Leipzig. Scholars, librarians, and archivists were fascinated with the story of the baton; Germans expressed their gratitude to me for my willingness to return this rare item to its homeland. I quoted my son, saying, "It surely doesn't belong in Lincoln, Nebraska!" At the conclusion of the IAML Congress, we traveled to Bayreuth, where the baton was presented to the RWM Bayreuth at a noontime reception on July 31. Before a gathering of dignitaries in the Saal at Haus Wahnfried, Bayreuth Festival music director, Christian ielemann, took the baton to lead festival musicians in a performance of the Siegfried Idyll. At the conclusion of the reception, the baton went to the museum's vault to be processed and catalogued. As honored guests, we Americans were treated to some perquisites – a personal tour of Wahnfried, access to the Wagner Museum, lunch with the Maestro ielemann and Dr. Friedrich, and a performance of Die Walküre at the Festspielhaus. We reveled in German media coverage of the baton's reception. Since returning home, we have oen reflected on the German idea of Fügung – that is, destiny or coincidence – and our good fortune in sharing the saga of the little wooden stick. We were honored to play a role in this miniature moment of music history, to guard, protect, and follow this remarkable baton to the final cadence! is precious artifact, this magic wand used in the performance of Siegfried Idyll on the steps of Richard and Cosima's home, this symbol of their love has returned to its home in Bayreuth Germany, to resume its place of honor and find its rest at Wahnfried. Submitted by Hannah Jo Smith, an initiate of Alpha Chapter and current president of the Lincoln Alumnae Chapter. Michael Weiser Bayreuth Music Director, Christian Thielemann, Hannah Jo Smith, Anita Breckbill, and Wagner-Museum Director Sven Friedrich with the baton following the transfer ceremony at the RWM Bayreuth on July 31, 2018.

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