Category Archives: Personal ruminations & essays

Reinhardt’s first and last film

Posted on June 26, 2013 by barczablog

Originally posted on barczablog:
Director Max Reinhardt The 1935 Warner Brothers A Midsummernight’s Dream (AMSD) directed by Max Reinhardt, is one of my favourite films.  This week I will once again get the pleasure of including it in my film…

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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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Architect, house thyself

Posted on June 20, 2013 by barczablog

University of Toronto are undertaking an ambitious building project, the new home of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.  But it’s not that it’s a tall building or a unique shape; that’s not what’s especially daring … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Personal ruminations & essays, University life | 1 Comment

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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Pendulum

Posted on June 6, 2013 by barczablog

Styles change so regularly it’s as though there were a regular pattern being enacted.  It’s been said that shifts in fashion, artistic movements are as regular as tides, possibly even like the swing of a pendulum.  If it’s human nature … 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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Wagner and the animals

Posted on May 23, 2013 by barczablog

Don’t mistake me for an apologist for  Richard Wagner.  I am merely seeking balance. It’s the birthday of Wagner: the composer, the dramaturg, the musician, the pamphleteer, the communist, the racist… Yes, all of those and more. Was he also perhaps … Continue reading →

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Wagnerian Bicentennial

Posted on May 22, 2013 by barczablog

We’ve come to the first of the three important opera composer birthdays in 2013. May 22:  Richard Wagner’s bicentennial October 10:  Giuseppe Verdi’s bicentennial November 22: Benjamin Britten’s centennial You may prefer Britten’s operas. You may point to the box … Continue reading →

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Brian Wyers: artist at work

Posted on May 21, 2013 by barczablog

It’s Victoria Day long weekend. Fireworks are exploding in my neighbourhood as I type this. It’s not fair to call it the Canadian equivalent to the 4th of July, as there’s no particular patriotism, no national myth underlying the date, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged | 3 Comments

Visions: not saying “no”

Posted on May 10, 2013 by barczablog

I’ve been listening to a CD of piano music, contemplating the word “no”.   It may seem like an odd combination, a strange segue. Why would I wonder about the word “no”? I’ve been thinking a lot about how people make … Continue reading →

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