Category Archives: Music and musicology

TSO’s Beethoven & Stravinsky

Posted on April 2, 2017 by barczablog

There are several different currents flowing through Roy Thomson Hall right now, and each one is inspiring the Toronto Symphony and their audience in different ways. We’re hearing two minute Sesquis: original little jewels to commemorate the Canadian Sesquicentennial. We’re … Continue reading →

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Raiders: Williams & the matter of popularity

Posted on March 30, 2017 by barczablog

The recent fad for films with live accompaniment is shining a light on artistry that has often languished in obscurity.  Oh sure, film music composers are well paid, especially someone like John Williams, composer of the score for Raiders of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Leave a comment

Tallis Scholars & friends: Magnificat

Posted on March 26, 2017 by barczablog

Tonight felt like a kind of affirmation of permanence in the face of change and disorder in the world. The Tallis Scholars, conducted by Peter Phillips, joined forces with two University of Toronto ensembles –Schola Cantorum and Theatre of Early … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion | 1 Comment

Lintu Finesses TSO

Posted on March 24, 2017 by barczablog

I don’t know if Hannu Lintu is a candidate to succeed Peter Oundjian or not, but I wish he were.  The Finnish conductor enticed some of the finest playing I’ve heard all season out of the Toronto Symphony in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | 2 Comments

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