Monthly Archives: August 2024

Thinking about Richard Strauss’s death in 1949

Posted on August 29, 2024 by barczablog

On September 8, 1949 composer and conductor Richard Strauss died after a long productive life. I think of him as a romantic composer carrying on the stylistic traditions of Richard Wagner. In Salome and Elektra he was the modernist pushing … Continue reading →

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Poet and Peasant: a picture and an overture

Posted on August 25, 2024 by barczablog

In 1967 Joseph Budai was working on a renovation of a Chinese restaurant in Peterborough. An old lithograph picture was left inside the walls that he was renovating. At the time it was still inside an old ornate frame that … Continue reading →

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A Faustian legend in miniature: Orville Doodles and his Terrible Imagination

Posted on August 18, 2024 by barczablog

Today it’s the full moon, when people seem to go mad. I have just watched Scott McClelland’s Orville Doodles and his Terrible Imagination: a retelling of the Faust legend at the Red Sandcastle Theatre. No, there was no transformation into a … Continue reading →

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Orville Doodles and the terrible imagination of Scott McClelland

Posted on August 14, 2024 by barczablog

Forgive me. The name of the show may be Orville Doodles and his Terrible Imagination but I couldn’t help thinking (as I ponder questions that I will pose to Orville’s creator), that Orville comes from the brain of Scott McClelland. … Continue reading →

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Edwin Huizinga: Songs and Serenades at Sweetwater Music Festival

Posted on August 14, 2024 by barczablog

Edwin Huizinga is one of those people doing many things in different places. I first encountered him as part of Tafelmusik. I heard Edwin’s original composition in Opera Atelier’s The Angel Speaks in 2019, when he played his baroque violin. … Continue reading →

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Recovering Romantic by Briane Nasimok

Posted on August 5, 2024 by barczablog

The concept of Recovering Romantic is simple. Whether or not we’re drinkers, we have all seen Alcoholics Anonymous in films and tv, that organization that gives addicts a place to find support on their journey back from rock bottom. AA … Continue reading →

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Beethoven Unleashed by TSM

Posted on August 2, 2024 by barczablog

Last night’s final 2024 Toronto Summer Music Festival concert at Koerner Hall, titled Beethoven Unleashed, featured the violin concerto and the Eroica Symphony, a perfect snapshot of TSM at its best.   TSM combines the educational objectives of an academy and a showcase … Continue reading →

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