The University of Florence awarded Daniel Barenboim an honorary degree in International Relations and European Studies. The ceremony took place today in the Salone dei Cinquecento in Palazzo Vecchio.
The academic title was conferred on the Maestro because “with his incessant wandering in the five continents as a pianist and conductor of the highest value, he contributed to the creation of international relations marked by pacifism and collaboration between peoples”. As stated in the motivation, Barenboim carried out an extraordinary activity “with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which he founded and with which he sought to build a path of peace in the Middle East by means of the musical art that brings people together thanks to the universality of its language.”
After the opening greetings from the mayor of Florence Dario Nardella, Barenboim was awarded the honorary title by the president of the University of Florence Luigi Dei (pdf of the speech), who introduced the ceremony together with the director of the Department of Political and Social Sciences Luca Mannori (pdf of the speech) and the president of the School of Political Sciences “Cesare Alfieri”, Fulvio Conti (pdf of the speech). The laudatio was entrusted to Luciano Bozzo, the president of the degree programme in International Relations and European Studies (pdf of the speech).
Watch the photogallery on Flickr
The video of the ceremony
