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Category Archives: Music and musicology
Affairs of the Heart at TSM
Friday night’s Toronto Summer Music concert at Walter Hall titled “Affairs of the Heart” lived up to its name. Three chamber works in a diverse assortment of styles brought the sold out audience to its feet each time. We started … Continue reading
Missing comes east to Toronto
Toronto Summer Music presented a single concert performance of the opera Missing, from a libretto by Marie Clements and a score by Brian Current, to a full Koerner Hall. This was its first appearance in Eastern Canada after having been … Continue reading
Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion
Tagged Andrea Ludwig, Andy Moro, Asitha Tennekoon, ATOM, Brian Current, Caitlin Wood, Cale Crowe, City Opera Vancouver, Continuum Ensemble, Evan Korbut, Gitxsan, Indigenous art, Indigenous Genocide, Koerner Hall, Marie Clements, Melody Courage, Michelle Lafferty, Missing, oratorio, Pacific Opera Victoria, Timothy Long, Toronto Summer Music
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George Li: virtuosity in the service of good taste
Tonight I had the pleasure of making my first acquaintance with pianist George Li, courtesy the Toronto Summer Music Festival, in an excellent concert at Koerner Hall. The four big works on the program plus the pair of encores all … Continue reading
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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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
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