Category Archives: Personal ruminations & essays

Beethoven 250: ethnic music

Posted on December 2, 2020 by barczablog

This blog expands on something I proposed November 20th when I talked about Beethoven’s multiple incarnations. Everyone has dimensions or facets to their personality. I hope that’s not a radical idea. There are things we proudly show off, other things … Continue reading →

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Sounds like hell Mr Adès: Looking in the mirror of The Exterminating Angel

Posted on November 16, 2020 by barczablog

I wasn’t sure I’d have the nerve to go through with it, watching an opera that seems to show us exactly the predicament we face. Based on the surreal film from Luis Bunuel, The Exterminating Angel was today’s free Metropolitan … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Books & Literature, Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Beethoven 250: interpreting Sonata #9

Posted on November 14, 2020 by barczablog

There are at least two ways to understand music. We listen. Perhaps you hear a performance on some device such as your smartphone, your TV or a computer, or even in a live setting such as a concert or a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Popular music & culture, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Le tombeau de Couperin: Ravel’s Six Remembrance Monuments

Posted on November 6, 2020 by barczablog

In the first days of November we remember. November 1st is All Saints’ Day, the celebration that gave rise to Halloween, even if modern culture pays more attention to the edgy rebellion implicit in October 31st than the day that … Continue reading →

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Beethoven 250: his double life

Posted on November 4, 2020 by barczablog

Composer Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1770, almost 250 years ago. The Heiligenstadt Testament was addressed to the composer’s two brothers, Carl & Johann, as a last will and testament. Written in October 1802 as the composer approached his … Continue reading →

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Beethoven’s 250th

Posted on November 2, 2020 by barczablog

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in December of 1770. I suppose the only people who might care about the precise date would be those of us who want to throw Ludwig a party. In my day one was taught that … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Brand new sound: a moving experience

Posted on November 1, 2020 by barczablog

I stumbled upon something quite by accident and want to share the good news. No I can’t take credit. We’re fixing some old windows, and needed to work with the contractor, who was blocked off by the way the furniture … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Art, Architecture & Design, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, University life | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Aversion to the e-version

Posted on October 22, 2020 by barczablog

Confession: this is a meta-review, a preamble to what’s ahead. I’ve been reading lots of books, and will write about them in the next little while. Once again the pandemic seems to be changing our rules. I saw Singin’ in … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Saturday morning dream

Posted on October 17, 2020 by barczablog

I had a dream this morning. It started out as a nightmare, that classic things going wrong dream, where you have a show to give or a piece to perform and don’t remember your lines. I was to give a … Continue reading →

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Debating debates

Posted on October 9, 2020 by barczablog

Is it time to re-think debates? We have lived for quite a long time in a culture here in the western world, where the consensus is often unspoken. While there may have been something friendly & cordial in our past, … Continue reading →

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