Category Archives: Music and musicology

A fit of Christmas musick against Christmas music: Toronto Consort’s The Little Barley-Corne

Posted on November 23, 2014 by barczablog

Come for the rant, stay for the review. If you’re like me, you’re conflicted about Advent, a period before Christmas. While the season of Advent isn’t quite here yet (meaning the four Sundays before Christmas, ergo, Sundays Nov 30 + … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged | 2 Comments

Beethoven, Nielsen and Mozart: TSO & Jan Lisiecki

Posted on November 23, 2014 by barczablog

Tonight was the last of the mini-festival of three programs / five concerts from the Toronto Symphony ostensibly featuring the music of Carl Nielsen & two of his big influences, namely Mozart & Beethoven. It’s as though there were two … Continue reading →

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Maghan McPhee: Portrait

Posted on November 22, 2014 by barczablog

I missed seeing Carmen on Tap last summer, a version of Bizet’s masterpiece seen around the province (including Toronto) last summer. If I’d known that Maghan McPhee was in the show I would have made more of an effort to … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Cinematic Music- How We Hear Film: a course at the Royal Conservatory

Posted on November 18, 2014 by barczablog

I’m teaching a course at the Royal Conservatory of Music called “Cinematic Music- How We Hear Film” (register here). There are many ways to teach the history of film. Do you see directors as the key to understanding cinema? Then … Continue reading →

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Tapestry Briefs: Booster Shots

Posted on November 16, 2014 by barczablog

I took in Tapestry Opera’s latest experimental workshop “Tapestry Briefs: Booster Shots”. The title plays on a few influences: Because Tapestry lives in the so-called “Distillery District” we’re in a realm of booze, so it makes sense to be thinking … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | 2 Comments

Ambitious Extensions of Us

Posted on November 14, 2014 by barczablog

This is one of those crazy weeks when it’s difficult to know what to see. I’m missing the opening concerts of Jan Lisiecki’s mini-festival with the Toronto Symphony, a gala concert from Aprile Millo and the opening of Tapestry Briefs: … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | 2 Comments

Stewart Goodyear and Czerny’s four boxes

Posted on November 13, 2014 by barczablog

Do you read liner notes?  I always begin to do so.  If there’s something of substance, not only do I read them but I cherish them, making them part of the big conversation that is the work of art.  Nothing … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Personal ruminations & essays, Popular music & culture | Leave a comment

Gerald Finley on the shelf

Posted on November 11, 2014 by barczablog

It’s November. October was Gerald Finley month in Toronto, as his Falstaff jumped up on the table that was our collective experience (and for the final scene of the opera). Don’t let the headline (“Finley on the shelf”) scare you, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | 1 Comment

10 Questions for Jan Lisiecki 

Posted on November 8, 2014 by barczablog

This month the Toronto Symphony has a festival of five concerts between November 12th and 22nd, featuring Danish conductor Thomas Dausgaard and young Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki commemorating Carl Nielsen’s 150th birthday, presented alongside the three final piano concerti of … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology | 1 Comment

Dreams of the Vienna Woods

Posted on November 7, 2014 by barczablog

How can a place signify so much if you’ve never been there?  But when we look forward to a promised land –whether it’s America for the immigrant, Mecca or Jerusalem for the pilgrim, or just a personal utopia—it’s a mental landscape … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, University life | 3 Comments