Category Archives: Music and musicology

10 Questions for Kevin Lau

Posted on March 2, 2016 by barczablog

I first encountered composer Kevin Lau on the 2012 CD PREMIERES, where I said the following: Speaking of happy, I find myself more and more impressed by the work of the most junior contributor, namely Kevin Lau’s Joy. I found myself … Continue reading →

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Going Home Star: against Babel

Posted on February 29, 2016 by barczablog

I’ve been listening to Christos Hatzis’ score for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Going Home Star and by that I mean that it’s constantly playing in my car over the past week. I saw the ballet earlier this month, a creation … Continue reading →

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Questions for James Ledger: Anton Webern and John Lennon come together

Posted on February 28, 2016 by barczablog

When I go to James Ledger’s website his bio begins with “The orchestral music of James Ledger is well known to Australian concert-goers:” which sounds like an admonition to this Canadian, who doesn’t yet know his work. Ledger interests me as a … Continue reading →

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Toronto Symphony and the music of change

Posted on February 28, 2016 by barczablog

I will eventually talk about the music performed at tonight’s Toronto Symphony Concert at Roy Thomson Hall but I must first observe a few things that were different. At intermission I met two guys from Richmond Hill named Michael. Yes, … Continue reading →

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Last tango in Siviglia

Posted on February 24, 2016 by barczablog

There’s a curious mix of adventure and nostalgia that goes with the annual Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio performance of one of the season’s operas. After having seen a production with a cast of seasoned professionals, each year we get … Continue reading →

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Betroffenheit’s ambitions

Posted on February 21, 2016 by barczablog

I am riding the emotional high of Betroffenheit, a co-creation & co-production of Crystal Pite’s Kidd Pivot and Jonathon Young’s Electric Company Theatre, presented tonight at the Bluma Appel Theatre as part of Canadian Stage’s current season, in a run … Continue reading →

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CASP – The Pilgrim Soul

Posted on February 20, 2016 by barczablog

“The Pilgrim Soul” was the name given to tonight’s collaboration between pianist Emily Hamper and baritone Phillip Addis for Canadian Art Song Project (aka “CASP”). I had assumed that tonight’s program would be more conventional, less experimental than CASP’s last … Continue reading →

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Questions for Christos Hatzis

Posted on February 19, 2016 by barczablog

Christos Hatzis is a Juno award winning composer and professor of composition at the University of Toronto.  I was recently blown away by his score for Going Home Star, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s extraordinary piece in response to the Truth … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology, Popular music & culture, Spirituality & Religion, University life | 3 Comments

Questions for Iain MacNeil: Guth’s Figaro

Posted on February 17, 2016 by barczablog

Canadian bass-baritone Iain MacNeil joined the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio in the fall of 2014, after studying at University of Toronto Opera with Canadian soprano Wendy Nielsen.  There’s a more complete biography on his website: here. His career is off … Continue reading →

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Cakes and Puppets/Buchty a Loutky: La Calisto

Posted on February 11, 2016 by barczablog

The Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies at University of Toronto are in the midst of a residency by Cakes and Puppets, a Czech puppetry company.  Who are they and what are they presenting in this brief visit? Cakes … Continue reading →

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