Tag Archives: Daniel Barenboim

Gimeno prepares the taste-buds for Bronfman’s Beethoven

It was a unique Toronto Symphony concert. Conductor Gustavo Gimeno said he had never conducted six items on a program before. It was pretty radical for me too, although I was fortunate. I noticed the unorthodox program and wrote about … Continue reading

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Beethoven 250: interpreting Sonata #9

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

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La Scala Lohengrin 2012

Wagner’s Lohengrin opened the season at La Scala, Milan in a new production directed by Claus Guth.  That it was Wagner rather than Verdi in this season of centennials—both Guiseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner were born in 1813—is the least … Continue reading

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Above the clouds

Last weekend John Terauds used the occasion of the Simcoe Day holiday to celebrate the quintessential Torontonian composer, Godfrey Ridout. It reminds me of a time long ago, when I took a course taught by two giants at the Faculty … Continue reading

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Faster, Higher, Stronger

Is it a competition?  To some extent. Both Richard Wagner & Claude Debussy used the metaphor of the circus acrobat to describe the virtuoso dynamic with an appreciative audience.  Whether we’re speaking of singers or instrumentalists, there is an implicit … Continue reading

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