EUROPE TO-DAY

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 276, 20 October 1938, Page 13

EUROPE TO-DAY

DUSSELDORF AT THIS MINUTE. Let me buttonhole you a ininute in DusseldorFs busiest street—the Konigsallee. Have you ever strolled ' along the Koningsalle on a mild evening when tlie air is balmy, and the attractive sound of music and gay laughter is wafted from all the cafes and dancing halls? Do you know Dusseldof in holiday mood? The popular festivals provide an excellent idea of the charm of Lower Rhenish gaiety. One of the most famous is the ancient Dusseldorf rifle meeting held in July every year on tlie Rhine Meadows. A gay throng assembles in the gaily-coloured and richly decorated Riflemen’s Tent which is surrounded by all the life and movement of a Rhenish kermesse. The St. Martin’s Day Festival held in November has a unique atmosphere of its own. Young and old enjoy themselves in the warm gleam of tlie coloured lanterns, and thousands accompany the mounted “Martin’s Man” through the illuminated streets. A beautiful festival where serious dignity is combined with harmless gaiety. The Dusseldorf Carnival is something special. The Dusseldorf art students set their stamp on this festival of joy and exuberance. The Rose Monday procession on the Monday before Ash Wednesday, led by Prince Carnival and his Princess Venetia, escorted by the City Guards, is an artistic event of a really unique kind. Dusseldorf is famous as an artist’s town in every part of the Continent. It was and still is the home of many well-known artists. The State' Academy of Art, one of the few in Germany, makes Dusseldorf the centre of artistic work in Western Germany. To it many generations of artists owe their first inspiration and artistic technique.

Since the famous “Lower Rhenish Music Festivals,” more than a century ago Dusseldorf's fame as a musical centre has spread far and wide. The names of the composers Schumann and Brahms are inseparably connected with Dusseldorf’s musical life. Consequently, music is one of tho principal features of tho intellectual life of the town, and the present-day music festivals and brilliant opera performances under gifted management take the lead in Western Germany.—(G)