Tag Archives: classical-music

Opera Atelier present their new Pelléas et Mélisande

Posted on April 16, 2026 by barczablog

Wednesday night saw the premiere of Pelléas et Mélisande in a new orchestration by Christopher Bagan, conducted by David Fallis at Koerner Hall. Opera Atelier commissioned Bagan to reduce the scope of Debussy’s opera from a post-Wagnerian orchestra (70 + … Continue reading →

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Room of Keys with David James Brock and Adam Sherkin playing Béla Bartók

Posted on April 10, 2026 by barczablog

Room of Keys is a sort of sacred mystery play. I don’t throw that M word out there in the spirit of a whodunnit so much as the old sacred pre-Shakespearean plays that would stage a small Biblical episode. No … Continue reading →

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Anticipating David James Brock’s upcoming Room of Keys: an interview

Posted on April 2, 2026 by barczablog

Room of Keys is David James Brock’s one act play, created with Adam Sherkin of Piano Lunaire, inspired by Béla Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle (1918). It’s natural that a mysterious symbolist play invites exploration. As with the piano paraphrases of La … Continue reading →

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French Meditations take Scarborough Philharmonic to new heights

Posted on March 29, 2026 by barczablog

When someone improves, you may wonder why. Listening to Scarborough Philharmonic’s “French Meditations” concert Saturday night I wondered: is it the leadership, is it the players, is it their choice of music? whatever factors came into play, this was the … Continue reading →

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JS Bach’s St Matthew Passion with Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and JS Vallée

Posted on March 27, 2026 by barczablog

Wednesday March 25th I attended the concluding performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion at Koerner Hall by the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the TMC Baroque Orchestra led by Jean-Sébastien Vallée. This massive work is the perfect celebration of … Continue reading →

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Ugly crying at Yuval Sharon’s brilliant Tristan und Isolde from the Metropolitan Opera

Posted on March 23, 2026 by barczablog

Saturday March 21st I was among the viewers in a Scarborough Cineplex watching and listening to the Metropolitan Opera high definition broadcast of Tristan und Isolde directed by Yuval Sharon, conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin. At least as far as the … Continue reading →

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Christopher Bagan, busy keyboardist & scholar talks about his new orchestration of Pelléas et Mélisande

Posted on March 14, 2026 by barczablog

Christopher Bagan wears a lot of hats, as keyboardist, conductor, professor at University of Toronto, chamber musician, basso continuo specialist, coach & repetiteur. In the immediate future: Christopher joins Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s presentations of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion March 24th-25th. … Continue reading →

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A Bach Celebration with Tafelmusik Chamber Choir & Ivars Taurins

Posted on March 13, 2026 by barczablog

Thursday night was the first performance by Tafelmusik of A Bach Celebration at Jeanne Lamon Hall. The explanation was that this is an attempt to present a curated series of works that less well-known, instead of the usual canonical pieces, … Continue reading →

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A closer look at the COC’s zany Barber of Seville

Posted on February 22, 2026 by barczablog

Your tickets to the opera really are a case of “location location location”. When I saw the Canadian Opera Company’s Barber of Seville two weeks ago seated in the middle of the downstairs at the Four Seasons Centre, yes I … Continue reading →

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TSO are back for Gimeno’s Mahler 9 proposition

Posted on February 20, 2026 by barczablog

I’ve had a wonderful experience tonight at Roy Thomson Hall watching and listening to Gustavo Gimeno leading the Toronto Symphony in Mahler’s 9th Symphony. The orchestra has just returned from their European tour. You can read more about the tour … Continue reading →

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