Category Archives: Popular music & culture

Pisani: putting the “melos” in Melodrama

Posted on May 9, 2016 by barczablog

Everyone uses the word, yet few really know what it means. “Melodrama” is a label often attached to human behaviour, but the usage is a metaphor for something else. And I suspect that those who have studied drama or theatre … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Popular music & culture | 2 Comments

TSO’s happy midweek memorials

Posted on March 11, 2016 by barczablog

The second of the New Creations concerts by the Toronto Symphony Wednesday at Roy Thomson Hall was a wildly diversified program as Festival curator Brett Dean put a collaborative work by two Canadians between works by two Australian composers. Each … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Popular music & culture, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Questions about Life Is a Dream

Posted on March 7, 2016 by barczablog

Aleksandar Lukac aka Sasha Lukac is a director known on both sides of the Atlantic, a former Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Serbia who now teaches and directs in his own inimitable style at York University. I’ve had … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Popular music & culture, University life | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in Music and musicology, Politics, Popular music & culture, Psychology and perception, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology, Popular music & culture | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

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

COC Figaro: memories of Don JianGhomeshi

Posted on February 5, 2016 by barczablog

The media have brutalized us the past few weeks. It’s not enough to be watching Dumb and Dumber, aka the GOP’s epic displays of bigotry. And if they aren’t reporting on the cop who emptied his gun into a deranged … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Popular music & culture | Leave a comment

An Electric Messiah comes to Messiahville

Posted on December 9, 2015 by barczablog

We may as well be living in Messiahville. There are so many performances of this work in Toronto, it’s amazing that they don’t play excerpts on the organ at hockey games (but then again, there’s been so little cause for … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Popular music & culture, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Youtube’s revolutions, big and small

Posted on April 23, 2015 by barczablog

It’s youtube’s tenth anniversary today.  Much will be written / spoken about the impact of this empowering channel and its imitators, the influence on political movements.  It’s played a role in uprisings & elections, actions both democratic and violent. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal ruminations & essays, Popular music & culture | Leave a comment

Ten Questions for Seán Dagher and Sylvain Bergeron

Posted on March 6, 2015 by barczablog

Sometimes the art that excites me takes a while to catch on with others.  This is among the most poignant aspects of culture.  Mainstream acceptance often seems to be reserved for that which is average, obvious, or just plain conservative, … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology, Popular music & culture | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment