Author Archives: barczablog

Adam Sherkin investigates the queer canon in upcoming Piano Lunaire concert COMPOSERS IN PLAY XVI.

Posted on May 12, 2025 by barczablog

Thursday night at 7:30 pm May 15th, at the Arts and Letters Club, Piano Lunaire will present COMPOSERS IN PLAY XVI, a concert subtitled “Sounding the Queer Canon”. I asked Piano Lunaire founder Adam Sherkin a few questions about the … Continue reading →

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First Mother’s Day since my mother passed away

Posted on May 12, 2025 by barczablog

I played the organ at Hillcrest Church Sunday, substituting for David Warrack. It was Mother’s Day, the first Mother’s Day since my mom passed away. I played one of her favourite melodies as the Offertory. Ack Värmeland du sköna is … Continue reading →

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Asking Ardra Shephard about her Fallosophy

Posted on May 8, 2025 by barczablog

I dashed through Ardra Shephard’s memoir Fallosophy in a day, unable to put it down and laughing out loud regularly, the most entertaining book I have read in a long time. I am such a lucky guy that I get … Continue reading →

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Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique from the Toronto Symphony

Posted on May 8, 2025 by barczablog

Tonight was entirely an orchestral night for the Toronto Symphony. No concerti, no soloists, just the virtuoso players of the TSO in two big works, one a world premiere. As Gustavo Gimeno suggested in his program note, tonight’s pieces “examine … Continue reading →

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COC gets Eugene Onegin

Posted on May 5, 2025 by barczablog

It seems like Tchaikovsky season in Toronto. Yuja Wang played his 1st piano concerto with the Toronto Symphony a couple of weeks ago, and the TSO play his 6th Symphony later this week. This weekend the Canadian Opera Company have … Continue reading →

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Scarborough Philharmonic season finale

Posted on May 4, 2025 by barczablog

Tonight’s concluding concert of Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2024-25 season is like a perfect mirror, as I reflect on questions of nationalism, artistic leadership and approaches to programming. This concert was the concluding evening of Linda Rogers’ tenure as the Executive … Continue reading →

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COC’s Wozzeck, a relatable opera

Posted on April 28, 2025 by barczablog

This spring season of the Canadian Opera Company feels a bit like the second coming of Alexander Neef, their former General Director. Next week we’ll be seeing the revival of Robert Carsen’s Eugene Onegin, a production that Neef brought to … Continue reading →

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Soundstreams’ Garden of Vanished Pleasures on a dark Toronto weekend

Posted on April 27, 2025 by barczablog

In 2021 the COVID pandemic disrupted the plans by Soundstreams to present their original production Garden of Vanished Pleasures, a music-theatre work about Derek Jarman, the gay activist, film-maker & poet who died of AIDS related complications in 1994, devised … Continue reading →

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Celebración hispana from Gimeno, Gomyo & TSO

Posted on April 26, 2025 by barczablog

Tonight is the first of three voyages into the heart of the hispanic as imagined in music, guided by Toronto Symphony Music Director Gustavo Gimeno, a program to be repeated Saturday and Sunday that feels like a genuine celebration. While … Continue reading →

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Yuja Wang plays Tchaikovsky with the Toronto Symphony

Posted on April 17, 2025 by barczablog

I have never seen Roy Thomson Hall as full as it was tonight, Wednesday April 16th. They had a cop directing the cars out of the underground parking garage: because so many people came to see Yuja Wang play the … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments