A beer and a candle

Berlin 2009: Glass of beer and a candle

Painted in a Berlin restaurant  one evening in 2009. I remember I was tired after visiting too many art shows in one day, among them the Emil Nolde Museum. Nolde's colour palette probably influenced this painting.

I also remember the view out the large glass window of the restaurant - a grey street with hurrying figures. I would have chatted to a neighbour if I had had any, but it was early evening and there were few patrons. However, on the plus side, the beer was good and the candle was a real one, not a battery run fake. 

Maribor Music Festival, 2009

The Maribor Music Festival has been directed for the past two years by Richard Tognetti, Artistic Director and Lead Violin of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He brings together an array of internationally renowned musicians with the aim of fostering links within the music community as well as producing wonderful music.

If anyone is thinking of going to an international music festival next year, this is the one to pick. It is dynamic, programmed with intelligence and delivers performances you will never forget. There are concerts at 11am as well as 7:30 pm (sometimes one at 5pm as well.) As the days pass you think 'this is extraordinary, it can't get better than this' but it does. I intended to stay a week in Maribor but by day 3 I realised I was experiencing something very special and I changed my plans to stay the full 10 days.

The musicians above are (from left) the Norwegian Atle Sponberg, Leader of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra; Slovenian Janez Podlesek, Concert Master of the Symphony Orchestra of the Slovene Philharmonics, and Finnish Satu Vänskä , Assistant Leader of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. (I am not sure who is hidden there behind Janez.)