Category Archives: Music and musicology

COC Figaro: memories of Don JianGhomeshi

Posted on February 5, 2016 by barczablog

The media have brutalized us the past few weeks. It’s not enough to be watching Dumb and Dumber, aka the GOP’s epic displays of bigotry. And if they aren’t reporting on the cop who emptied his gun into a deranged … Continue reading →

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TSO in 2016/17

Posted on February 4, 2016 by barczablog

If each season announcement by a major Toronto company is a demonstration of core values, the Toronto Symphony were in perhaps the most challenging position, having declared their intention to be the most innovative & inclusive orchestra in the world’s … Continue reading →

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COC Siegfried: Love on the rocks in white PJs

Posted on January 31, 2016 by barczablog

Of the four operas in Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle the closest thing to a comedy is Siegfried. Yes we do have a couple of deaths and a couple of would-be rulers of the world thwarted but it’s got a happy ending, … Continue reading →

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Love, Death and the TSO

Posted on January 29, 2016 by barczablog

Tonight was my first look at the Toronto Symphony playing under Peter Oundjian since their Florida tour. On the trip I saw an ensemble who were playing with commitment and passion. Oundjian’s leadership for the three performances I saw of … Continue reading →

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Tafelmusik: Season Launch 16/17

Posted on January 27, 2016 by barczablog

Tis the season. At a time of year when it can be so cold that one prefers to dream of next year (even if it’s been unseasonably warm to begin 2016), the major classical music organizations make their big announcements. … Continue reading →

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TSO Stage Mozart Requiem

Posted on January 24, 2016 by barczablog

We were all invested with a sense of community. As I sat making notes afterwards, Joseph Johnson’s solo cello kept playing away, as though he didn’t want to go home. I think it’s fair to say that so far Jeff … Continue reading →

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The Harvester: an operatic workshop

Posted on January 23, 2016 by barczablog

The Harvester is a play by Paul van Dyck, identified as an intriguing story for adaptation into an opera by soprano Stacie Dunlop, who was looking for a new piece to share the bill with Erwartung (a work she was … Continue reading →

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La bonne chanson @ RBA

Posted on January 21, 2016 by barczablog

Today’s noon-hour concert at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre was the first collaboration between the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio and the COC Orchestra Academy.  As I so often do I’ll begin with a preamble, one that corresponds to the gap … Continue reading →

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Amy’s Requiem, in the season of mourning

Posted on January 16, 2016 by barczablog

Ahead? the return of Bernard Labadie, who was sick and is getting better. Saturday he’ll conduct the first of the Mozart @ 260 concerts with the TSO, next week conducting their adventurous staging of the Mozart Requiem. Behind? A week … Continue reading →

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TSO Announcement: good days for Canadian composers

Posted on January 12, 2016 by barczablog

The official announcements are still to come.  It’s a great year, or will be a great year to be Canadian, as we celebrate 150 years of Confederation in 2017. Anticipation is a big part of the fun. On Wednesday the … Continue reading →

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