June 26th, 2006
Farewell to the Philosopher King
On the demise of a friend and leader, here is my letter to Prudence Steiner, the widow of the recently departed Daniel Steiner:
Mrs. Prudence Steiner
c/o New England Conservatory
290 Huntington Av.
Boston, Mass. 02115
June 13, 2006
Dear Prudence,
On the final day of our first Boston Guitar Fest, after a glorious week of fellowship in and celebration of the love of music, we were stunned by the indescribably painful news of Daniel ‘s passing. It is with the greatest humility and respect that we add our voices to the great chorus celebrating the life and mourning the departure of our beloved “philosopher-king!”
Indeed, Daniel’s goodness was so obvious, his wisdom so profound, his self effacement so genuine that none of us can ever forget him. Quite apart from the administrative miracles he initiated, his humanity itself remains a shining beacon for all of us at the Conservatory who were guided by him in infinitely many, gentle ways we sometimes did not even recognize at the time!
I for one must have been something of a nuisance to him, with my frequent letters espousing all my various causes. Yet he was never ruffled by my lack of wisdom; he forgave me my impetuousness and was even able to distill from my outbursts some occasional kernels of truth. Invariably he took the time to respond, to moderate my impatience and to steer me along a wiser course.
Daniel’s loving oversight of his truly vast flock was of biblical scope. Somehow he seemed to be aware of all of us, somehow to manage to intervene in decisive ways at just the right moment to steer us along the “path of righteousness.” We are all for the rest of our lives spiritually richer for having known him.
In these difficult days our hearts go out to you and to your wonderful family, whose heartfelt remembrances put tears in our eyes. We feel honored to have been included in the vast and varied group at Daniel’s service at the Levine Chapel and to have been reminded again of the great overarching message of love and service that was his life, writ big as the firmament itself.
Sending you all our love and our deepest thanks to you and to your wonderful family once again for having shared so generously with all of us the divine blessing in human form that was Daniel Steiner.
Sincerely,
Eliot Fisk
Zaira Meneses
Raquel Fisk