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Author Archives: barczablog
Jeff Bezos gives us another reason to shop local
Yes we’re all doing our part doing the elbows up thing, shopping local as a way to support Canadian business. Right? But here’s another huge reason. Google “amazon injury rate”. You will see a series of concerns raised. In 2023 … Continue reading
Posted in Personal ruminations & essays
Tagged Amazon, Dan Price, injury rates, Jeff Bezos, Prime Day, regulations, safety, weight limits
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Discovering Mandle Philharmonic via YouTube
I’ve been watching the passionate responses to the concert at Roy Thomson Hall last week when Mandle Cheung conducted the Toronto Symphony in Mahler’s 2nd Symphony. The Globe & Mail contacted me the day before, asking me if I’d be … Continue reading
A Real Pain’s Chopin
I have just seen Jesse Eisenberg’s film A Real Pain (2024). I call it his, in the sense that Eisenberg wrote & directed and also stars as David opposite Kieran Culkin who is David’s cousin Benji. They are on a … Continue reading
Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Reviews
Tagged A Real Pain, Adrien Brody, Andrea Most, Erick Eiser, film music, Frederic Chopin, Hava Nagila, Holocaust, Irving Caesar, Jesse Eisenberg, Jewish culture, Kieran Culkin, Making Americans, marijuana, Poland, Tea for Two, The PIanist, Wladyslaw Szpilman
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Gimeno Conducts the Best of Brahms
I would not dispute the title of tonight’s Toronto Symphony concert: “Gimeno Conducts the Best of Brahms”. Among the many wonderful pieces Johannes Brahms composed, his first piano concerto and fourth symphony are not just popular but arguably among his … Continue reading
Embedded at Apocryphonia Cabinet of Curiosities2
The invitation sought uncommon music to be performed. I proposed to play a piano transcription of an orchestral piece. Alex Cappellazzo, Artistic Director of Apocryphonia encouraged me to participate for their Cabinet of Curiosities2 in the Heliconian Hall Sunday June … Continue reading
Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews
Tagged A Cabinet of Curiosities2, Alexander Cappellazzo, Benjamin Stein, Cameron Mazzei, Daniel Ramjattan, Donnacha Dennehy, Echoes from the Sea, Maeve Palmer, Naoko Tsujita, Narmina Afandiyeva, Qara Qarayev, Rezan Onen-Lapointe, Robert Brenner
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Interviewing soprano Lynn Isnar
Lynn Isnar is a soprano with a wonderful voice and stage presence who appears regularly in the Toronto, area. Lynn will be singing with the Toronto Concert Orchestra in July in a program titled “Romeo & Juliet” both as Gounod’s … Continue reading
St John Passion variant for Bach Festival Finale
Sometimes I’m a little compulsive about dates and details. Sunday I attended the 3:00 pm performance of the St John Passion, to close the 2025 Bach Festival at Eastminster United Church. Maybe it doesn’t matter which version they present when … Continue reading
Beethoven’s Eroica and Goodyear’s Callaloo: TSO’s triumph
Tonight the Toronto Symphony continue their winning streak, another wonderful program of diverse musical compositions, played brilliantly. A key contributor to our enjoyment was guest conductor Kristiina Poska. We heard three pieces tonight after the obligatory Oh Canada performance. Speaking … Continue reading
