Geneva International Motor Show

2018-03-19T17:00:39+01:00

This annual car exhibition is one of the major international auto shows. It started way back in 1905. This year the show was held as usual next to the Geneva airport from March 8-18, attracting about 700’000 visitors yearly.

Almost 900 cars from Germany, Italy, France, Spain, UK, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Japan, Korea and the US were on display. The trend to alternatives to the combustion engine were a big topic. Many of the big brand names are in the process of switching to electric or hybrid cars. One example is the I-Pace from Jaguar, a very powerful challenger to Tesla.

There were quite a number of concept cars on display, trying to give a glimpse into the future of automobiles. The tendency again is clearly to vehicles that are totally automatic without the need of a driver.

China is well positioned and has growing experience with electric cars. It is not impossible the China will dominate the car market of the future!

Geneva International Motor Show2018-03-19T17:00:39+01:00

Stabat Mater

2018-03-12T11:37:34+01:00

Lent is the season (of about 6 weeks) leading up to Easter. In this season often sacred music concerts get performed in churches or concert halls up and down the country. As it is still chilly and often wet too it is wonderful to attend such an event.

I just attended the Stabat Mater concert by Rossini at the reformed church in Burgdorf. The Stabat Mater is actually a 13th century latin catholic hymn to Mary. Mary, the mother of Jesus, suffered immensely as she witnessed how her son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross crucified. Many different composer such as Vivaldi, Domenico, Scarlatti, Haydn, Rossini, Dvorak, Verdi and others composed music to this latin text.

It is quite interesting that the Stabat Mater is clearly from a catholic tradition, with a strong emphasis on the mother of Jesus. Reformed theology would rather focus on the son, Jesus Christ and his redeeming work on the cross. However today the Stabat Mater is acknowledged as a cultural heritage that is also fully accepted and enjoyed by a reformed or a secular audience.

Stabat Mater2018-03-12T11:37:34+01:00
Go to Top