An Iranian ensemble organized by the Shiraz Municipality and a number of Goethe admirers from Germany attended the ceremony.
German delegation of the West-Eastern Divan Festival pays tribute to Hafez at Hafezieh, his tomb in Shiraz during a ceremony on June 17, 2009. (Mehr/Mohammad-Hossein Nikpur)
During the ceremony, Etemadi acknowledged other cultural and literary figures that were from Shiraz including Iranian world renowned poet Sadi and the Iranian philosopher Mulla Sadra who is the foremost representative of the illuminationist.
“Shiraz is interested in improving friendship with Weimar and is asking you to convey our message of peace and love to Weimar’s citizens,” he told the German audience at the ceremony.
Goethe introduced Hafez to German literature and he was so fascinated by Hafez that he composed the Western-Eastern Divan after reading Hafez, the event’s artistic director Klaus Gallas mentioned at the ceremony.
“The Weimar Orchestra planned to perform concerts during this event, however they were canceled due to Iran’s Presidential elections but I hope the performances will be held in the near future,” he added.
The 35-member German group will also visit Rey, Isfahan, Jolfa, Yazd, Naiin and Tehran.
A 15-day Iranian culture program is another part of the festival, which will take place in August in Weimar.
The Western-Eastern Divan is originally the title of an 1819 collection of poems in a quasi-Persian style by Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832) who lived in Weimar and is revered as Germany’s greatest poet, dramatist and novelist.
SB/YAW
END
MNA
Your Comment