Category Archives: Reviews

Dausgaard leads TSO

Posted on April 8, 2017 by barczablog

Judging by the way the Toronto Symphony are responding to their current series of guest conductors, I have to wonder. Are they better than we realize? Perhaps it’s unrealistic to expect so much excitement from a resident music-director. Or then … Continue reading →

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Othon: au revoir à Straub et Huillet

Posted on April 3, 2017 by barczablog

The mystery of Straub and Huillet has not been solved by watching their films.  This afternoon TIFF presented the final screenings of Not Reconciled: The Films of Jean-Marie Straub and Daniéle Huillet. And while the TIFF series may be over … Continue reading →

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TSO’s Beethoven & Stravinsky

Posted on April 2, 2017 by barczablog

There are several different currents flowing through Roy Thomson Hall right now, and each one is inspiring the Toronto Symphony and their audience in different ways. We’re hearing two minute Sesquis: original little jewels to commemorate the Canadian Sesquicentennial. We’re … Continue reading →

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Raiders: Williams & the matter of popularity

Posted on March 30, 2017 by barczablog

The recent fad for films with live accompaniment is shining a light on artistry that has often languished in obscurity.  Oh sure, film music composers are well paid, especially someone like John Williams, composer of the score for Raiders of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Leave a comment

Kommunisten: Straub sans Huillet

Posted on March 29, 2017 by barczablog

TIFF have been presenting “Not Reconciled”: which is both the epithet attached to this powerful retrospective and the first film from the uncompromising collaborative team Danièle Huillet and her husband Jean-Marie Straub. Tonight we ventured into a very dark, place, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Politics, Reviews | 1 Comment

Tallis Scholars & friends: Magnificat

Posted on March 26, 2017 by barczablog

Tonight felt like a kind of affirmation of permanence in the face of change and disorder in the world. The Tallis Scholars, conducted by Peter Phillips, joined forces with two University of Toronto ensembles –Schola Cantorum and Theatre of Early … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion | 1 Comment

Lintu Finesses TSO

Posted on March 24, 2017 by barczablog

I don’t know if Hannu Lintu is a candidate to succeed Peter Oundjian or not, but I wish he were.  The Finnish conductor enticed some of the finest playing I’ve heard all season out of the Toronto Symphony in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | 2 Comments

Schönberg and Sicilia: two more from Straub /Huillet

Posted on March 18, 2017 by barczablog

Tonight’s installment of TIFF’s retrospective “Not Reconciled: the films of  Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet” must have seemed like a remarkable opportunity to James Quandt and the team assembling the schedule.  Each film is almost exactly an hour long, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Politics, Reviews | 5 Comments

Too Early/Too Late: you say you want a revolution?

Posted on March 17, 2017 by barczablog

Too Early/Too Late (1980), the latest installment in “Not Reconciled“, TIFF’s Straub-Huillet retrospective, is aptly titled for at least a couple of reasons.  As a study of revolutions co-opted or hijacked by others, the title is about timing.  But the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Politics, Reviews | 1 Comment

Moses,Aaron, and a few others at TIFF

Posted on March 13, 2017 by barczablog

Today TIFF presented two musically-oriented films from their Straub-Huillet retrospective, introduced with a live performance by Against the Grain Theatre. AtG have boldly gone where opera has not often gone before, taking their productions into bars, TV studios, and now … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Opera, Reviews | 1 Comment