Tag Archives: Claude Debussy

Provocative TSO program: a glimpse of Gimeno

Posted on October 5, 2022 by barczablog

It’s fun getting to know the new music director of the Toronto Symphony, Gustavo Gimeno. I’m excited both by the programming and the performances. Assembling concerts involves a curating process, picking & choosing pieces for performance. Forgive me for repeating … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Opera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

From the Met: Jocelyn and Dean create a Hamlet

Posted on June 5, 2022 by barczablog

Adapting a play into an opera can be fascinating work, especially when it’s as well-known a play as Hamlet. I’ve seen several attempts to turn this play into something else including a couple of musicals, an opera long ago, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Cyrano you’re unlikely to see

Posted on March 9, 2022 by barczablog

Cyrano de Bergerac is the name of Edmond Rostand’s play directed by Chris Abraham, set to open at the Shaw Festival in a couple of weeks. But that same 19th century play is the basis for a new film named … Continue reading →

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TSO Winds, Brass & Percussion Spotlight

Posted on November 20, 2021 by barczablog

We’re still in the earliest days of Gustavo Gimeno’s tenure as music director of the Toronto Symphony, enjoying the pandemic protocol of smaller groups onstage playing for smaller groups in Roy Thomson Hall, in 60 minute concerts. That’s why we … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Melisande and Sam

Posted on May 28, 2021 by barczablog

The picture is a bit of whimsy, Sam seeming to float with the flower. If you don’t have your glasses on (hello! That was how I took the photo), the alignment of dog + flower is much easier to do, … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Art, Architecture & Design, Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Psychology and perception | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wordless chorus

Posted on May 21, 2020 by barczablog

This subject seems apt right now. The voices in this music have no words, which is a perfect expression for a time when we don’t know what’s to come. Of course we never do, but it’s especially noticeable when we’re … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Essays, Music and musicology, Personal ruminations & essays, Popular music & culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Imagining the unimaginable or why we need a #GlobalClimateStrike

Posted on September 27, 2019 by barczablog

I boarded this train of thought last week in preparation for church. I was the substitute music director in a Sunday without the choir, seeking joy while pondering darker thoughts. I don’t pretend to know how I happened to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Politics, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Les sons et les parfums…

Posted on September 15, 2019 by barczablog

Janina Fialkowska has made a delightful new recording of French piano music titled “Les sons et les parfums…” You might know that phrase from Baudelaire’s Fleurs du mal, in a wonderfully evocative poem “Harmonie du soir”, where music is as fundamental … Continue reading →

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Glimpses of The Eternal Feminine with Barbara Hannigan

Posted on February 15, 2019 by barczablog

When I posted that photo at lunch earlier today from last night’s Toronto Symphony concert, I joked that Barbara Hannigan is a precedent setter. Even so I understated what we saw & heard tonight. With one exception, the five works … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Thomas Søndergård leads the TSO

Posted on October 21, 2018 by barczablog

Tonight was the second of two consecutive concerts of the Toronto Symphony conducted by Danish maestro Thomas Søndergård, a spectacular program devoured by an eager audience showing off the strengths of the orchestra: Thomas Adès: Dances from Powder Her face … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments