Category Archives: Music and musicology

New Creations Festival Finale: Miller, Bjarnason & Lizée

Posted on March 12, 2017 by barczablog

Tonight’s Toronto Symphony New Creations Concert to close the festival was a demonstration of the old maxim “less is more”, an epithet I used to use as a personal motto (at least for its pun-potential).  If I had any objection … Continue reading →

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Pallett – Ehnes TSO #NCF17

Posted on March 9, 2017 by barczablog

Tonight’s New Creations Festival Concert by the Toronto Symphony gave us a closer look at the co-curator Owen Pallett, who stepped into the spotlight with a premiere of his own, alongside two other world premieres and a recent composition from … Continue reading →

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Schoenberg: live performances reconciled with Straub-Huillet films

Posted on March 8, 2017 by barczablog

The title of the TIFF retrospective is NOT RECONCILED: THE FILMS OF JEAN-MARIE STRAUB AND DANIÈLE HUILLET. Sunday afternoon March 12th at 3:15 pm, Against the Grain Theatre will be offering a live performance alongside a screening of a film that … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology | 1 Comment

Toronto Summer Music: Passing the Torch

Posted on March 8, 2017 by barczablog

Toronto Summer Music Festival had their first ever launch event tonight in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, signifying the beginning of a new era: violinist & Toronto Symphony Concertmaster Jonathan Crow succeeding Douglas McNabney as Artistic Director. And to properly celebrate … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Press Releases and Announcements | 1 Comment

#NCF17 begins

Posted on March 5, 2017 by barczablog

The Toronto Symphony’s 2017 New Creations Festival aka #NCF17 co-curated by Owen Pallett and Peter Oundjian began tonight. And I couldn’t help feeling, this is what it should feel like when I go to the symphony.  Usually? The place is … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | 1 Comment

Mackay’s Visions & Voyages

Posted on February 25, 2017 by barczablog

My own little reconciliation journey continues. Last year I saw the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Going Home Star, a ballet aiming to probe the history behind the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a powerful piece about the trauma associated with the residential … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology | 2 Comments

Toronto Symphony Ratatouille

Posted on February 18, 2017 by barczablog

I’ve been loving the live performances of film-scores accompanying screenings of films presented by the Toronto Symphony over the past couple of years.  They set up a huge screen above the stage, the orchestra assembles in their usual place, but … Continue reading →

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Kindred Spirits in Markham

Posted on February 12, 2017 by barczablog

At the risk of saying something really obvious: there’s a great deal of music going on in Toronto, and all around the city too.  I ventured just north of the city to one of several community venues, the charming 527 … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays | Leave a comment

A Bach Tapestry

Posted on February 11, 2017 by barczablog

It’s been a JS Bach sort of week, what with the tiff screening on Wednesday (“Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach” coming Friday, March 3 at 6:30 p.m)  and the press release announcing the upcoming Bach Festival, including a reconstruction of … Continue reading →

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Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach: Straub & Huillet @ tiff

Posted on February 9, 2017 by barczablog

Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach is the original title of the 1967 film by Danièle Huillet & Jean-Marie Straub, that I just saw on a new 35 mm print, courtesy of TIFF / Bell Lightbox, in anticipation of an upcoming … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Personal ruminations & essays, Press Releases and Announcements | 5 Comments