Category Archives: Music and musicology

You say “tomato”

Posted on July 11, 2013 by barczablog

I love analogies.  Sometimes I push them too far –beyond the point where they’re helpful illustrations—simply because I enjoy the game so much, of making one thing represent another. Today I was thinking about tomatoes & voices.  Tomatoes don’t usually … Continue reading →

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Bridal grooming

Posted on June 21, 2013 by barczablog

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to play keyboard (organ + piano) at a wedding.  I said yes enthusiastically, even though I haven’t done this in quite awhile.  While I play the organ at my church from time … Continue reading →

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Waiting for Mr Goodyear : Beethoven Guru

Posted on June 7, 2013 by barczablog

It’s June 7th 2013, a year after a very busy weekend.   Last year I somehow managed to fit a Saturday divided between Glass’s hours of Einstein on the Beach and the first part of Stewart Goodyear’s Beethoven Marathon, into a … Continue reading →

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Bruckner 6 Nézet-Séguin, Orchestre Métropolitain

Posted on June 7, 2013 by barczablog

I’ve been listening to Bruckner’s 6th Symphony, a recent ATMA Classique release by the Orchestre Métropolitain conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Not so long ago YN-M was a youngster seeking to make a name for himself, a relative unknown.  And Now? … Continue reading →

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Figaro’s Honeymoon

Posted on June 3, 2013 by barczablog

It’s summertime, a season when young men’s minds turn to mush, in the presence of humidity and hotness of various kinds.  Of course men have no monopoly on this, but I was just mis-quoting Tennyson.  I’m thinking of this as … Continue reading →

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Altared Figaro

Posted on May 30, 2013 by barczablog

If the dress fits, wear it! Against the Grain’s modern adaptation of The Marriage of Figaro, namely Figaro’s Wedding accomplishes almost everything it set out to do: tell the familiar story in a new way give us all that amazing … Continue reading →

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Sympathy for the Bedevilled

Posted on May 26, 2013 by barczablog

It’s an odd week.  Since seeing the COC production of Dialogues des Carmelites I have the “Salve Regina” in my head, particularly the last two pages of the score, where Blanche appears.  I also hear the complementary sonorities of Ravel’s … Continue reading →

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Carsen Dialogues

Posted on May 24, 2013 by barczablog

I like to read a director’s notes before seeing a show, because they often contain clues about what you’re going to see. Robert Carsen’s take on Dialogues des Carmelites is a case in point. The production has been mounted all … Continue reading →

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