On Tuesday, July 31, 2018, Hannah Jo Smith returned a small, chopstick-shaped piece of wood to Bayreuth, Germany. This "magic wand" was gratefully received by Sven Friedrich, the director of the Richard Wagner Museum, because it was the engraved baton that Richard Wagner used on December 25, 1870 to conduct the first performance of his Tribschen Idyll, a musical gift to his beloved wife, Cosima, on her 33rd birthday.
Below are accounts of the fascinating history of this long-lost baton.
This is their 6-minute television program, originally aired Feb. 7, 2019, as part of their Nebraska Stories series.
This is their 18-minute radio program.
This is an interview of both Hannah Jo Smith and Anita Breckbill at the National Music Librarians Conference, Reno, NV. The interview is from 01:29–09:00. Note that you can scroll forward in the stream but not backwards.
This is the Lincoln, NE newspaper's version of the story.
This is an account written by Hannah Jo and published in the PanPipes Winter 2019 issue of her music fraternity, Sigma Alpha Iota. (Use the "z" key on your computer to enlarge.)
This is their description of the baton's return while this is their 3-minute television program.
This is a video news clip from br.de describing the baton at 11:34.
This is the museum's newest acquisition.
This is a Bayreuth newspaper's description.
This is a short mention in Germany's national news.