Did you know conductor Indriķis Zīle's great-grandson Juris Zīle was a shipbuilder?
An expanded second edition of a book about conductor Indriķis Zīle has been published this year to mark his 185th birth anniversary. The book also reveals that his great-grandson Juris Zīle worked as a shipbuilder.
When a person passes away, their voice, laughter and gaze fade with time. Stories left untold, small details and dates meaningful to a family blur within a single generation. But when memories are written down, a family book is born — and every such book is unique, since it reveals events, engaging stories and experiences that tell the fate of an entire family line.
A book about the conductor
Such a book exists for the family of conductor Indriķis Zīle — "Indriķis Zīle and the Silver Lyre of the Song Festival." This year its second, expanded edition has been published, timed to mark the 185th anniversary of Indriķis Zīle's birth.
An unexpected fact in the family history
The book brings together various facts about the conductor's family, including the notable detail that his great-grandson, Juris Zīle, once worked as a shipbuilder — a profession seemingly far removed from music and the Song Festival tradition associated with Indriķis Zīle himself.
The book illustrates how valuable it is to preserve and record family memories, since such accounts allow future generations to learn about their ancestors' life stories and family history that might otherwise be forgotten.
