{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Crescendo Conversations","title":"Ambassador Brendan Berne | Knowing When to Stop","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":4908,"description":"He represented Australia in Paris and Seoul. But the four songs he chose reveal something the résumé never could.\nBrendan Berne spent decades as one of Australia's most distinguished diplomats — serving as Ambassador to France and South Korea, operating in rooms where history was quietly being made. In this conversation, he leaves the résumé at the door.Through four pieces of music, Brendan traces a life lived with unusual intentionality — from a childhood in Western Sydney, to coming of age as a gay teenager navigating a society that wasn't ready for him, to a career defined by one rare quality: always knowing when to stop.\nThe music that guides the journey:— Chopin, Nocturne No. 10 in C♯ minor\n — The Smiths, The Boy with the Thorn in His Side\n — Purcell, When I Am Laid in Earth\n — Rameau, Les Indes Galantes\nWhat stayed with me long after we finished recording was this: so many of us keep going, without ever stopping to ask what else is left. Brendan has asked that question at every significant turn. And his answers are quietly extraordinary.\nA conversation about identity, mortality, vitality, and the courage to live authentically.\n🎹🎹🎹Crescendo Conversations is hosted by concert pianist and author Zen Zeng. Season One lands every fortnight.\n\nConnect with Zen: zenzeng.net/connect","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/_EGkS0kMIVqWDm5C4h5L3GEQLbAnprpNCDXW0H8tIQY/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mY2Vl/YTJkMGFlMjUzMjQ2/MjJiOGY5Y2Y5MWIx/ZDMzOS5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}