Monthly Archives: March 2017

Raiders: Williams & the matter of popularity

Posted on March 30, 2017 by barczablog

The recent fad for films with live accompaniment is shining a light on artistry that has often languished in obscurity.  Oh sure, film music composers are well paid, especially someone like John Williams, composer of the score for Raiders of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Leave a comment

Kommunisten: Straub sans Huillet

Posted on March 29, 2017 by barczablog

TIFF have been presenting “Not Reconciled”: which is both the epithet attached to this powerful retrospective and the first film from the uncompromising collaborative team Danièle Huillet and her husband Jean-Marie Straub. Tonight we ventured into a very dark, place, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Politics, Reviews | 1 Comment

Tallis Scholars & friends: Magnificat

Posted on March 26, 2017 by barczablog

Tonight felt like a kind of affirmation of permanence in the face of change and disorder in the world. The Tallis Scholars, conducted by Peter Phillips, joined forces with two University of Toronto ensembles –Schola Cantorum and Theatre of Early … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion | 1 Comment

Beyond Reason: Wagner contra Nietzsche

Posted on March 25, 2017 by barczablog

I finished my previous book last night (They Can’t Kill Us All). I began the review of that fascinating book—filled with the keen-eyed observations of Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowery—by a kind of apologetic preamble about my life in fantasyland, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Opera, Politics | 1 Comment

They Can’t Kill Us All

Posted on March 25, 2017 by barczablog

I may seem to lead a divided life, vanishing into realms of violins and sopranos, opera and oratorio, without much apparent connection to the struggles of people in the 21st century: with the possible exception of the singers trying to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Politics | 2 Comments

Lintu Finesses TSO

Posted on March 24, 2017 by barczablog

I don’t know if Hannu Lintu is a candidate to succeed Peter Oundjian or not, but I wish he were.  The Finnish conductor enticed some of the finest playing I’ve heard all season out of the Toronto Symphony in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | 2 Comments

COC’s 2017 Revival of Louis Riel: “from a more inclusive perspective”

Posted on March 19, 2017 by barczablog

CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY’S 2017 REVIVAL OF LOUIS RIEL FEATURES VOICES NOT HEARD BEFORE A Uniquely Canadian Contribution to Opera Revisited for the 21st Century Toronto – Louis Riel, composed by Harry Somers with libretto by Mavor Moore, is a uniquely … Continue reading →

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Schönberg and Sicilia: two more from Straub /Huillet

Posted on March 18, 2017 by barczablog

Tonight’s installment of TIFF’s retrospective “Not Reconciled: the films of  Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet” must have seemed like a remarkable opportunity to James Quandt and the team assembling the schedule.  Each film is almost exactly an hour long, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Politics, Reviews | 5 Comments

Too Early/Too Late: you say you want a revolution?

Posted on March 17, 2017 by barczablog

Too Early/Too Late (1980), the latest installment in “Not Reconciled“, TIFF’s Straub-Huillet retrospective, is aptly titled for at least a couple of reasons.  As a study of revolutions co-opted or hijacked by others, the title is about timing.  But the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Politics, Reviews | 1 Comment

Moses,Aaron, and a few others at TIFF

Posted on March 13, 2017 by barczablog

Today TIFF presented two musically-oriented films from their Straub-Huillet retrospective, introduced with a live performance by Against the Grain Theatre. AtG have boldly gone where opera has not often gone before, taking their productions into bars, TV studios, and now … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Opera, Reviews | 1 Comment