Tag Archives: film music

Calidore String Quartet offering American culture

Posted on July 16, 2025 by barczablog

I love ambitious concerts, and that’s certainly what we heard tonight at Walter Hall from Calidore String Quartet, comprised of violinists Jeffrey Myers & Ryan Meehan, violist Jeremy Berry and cellist Estelle Choi. In one of his brief introductory talks … Continue reading →

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A Real Pain’s Chopin

Posted on June 24, 2025 by barczablog

I have just seen Jesse Eisenberg’s film A Real Pain (2024). I call it his, in the sense that Eisenberg wrote & directed and also stars as David opposite Kieran Culkin who is David’s cousin Benji. They are on a … Continue reading →

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Interviewing Ronald Royer, composer and artistic director of Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra

Posted on March 6, 2025 by barczablog

My interest in Ronald Royer is complex. Ron was a teacher at my school, although I was only dimly aware of that because Ron arrived at the school long after I left. I encountered Ron as Artistic Director of the … Continue reading →

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Jerskin Fendrix scores Poor Things

Posted on March 18, 2024 by barczablog

Every year in the aftermath of the Academy Awards I’m left wondering how they do it. Yes I should be in awe of the creations: but I was speaking of the awards process. Why this film and not that one? and … Continue reading →

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100 Years of Epic Film Scores from the TSO

Posted on October 26, 2022 by barczablog

The Toronto Symphony program “100 Years of Epic Film Scores” is a kind of history lesson, while celebrating the role music has played in film for over a century. The significance of the century comes from it being TSO’s 100th … Continue reading →

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The Music of Our Time: John Williams at 90

Posted on February 4, 2022 by barczablog

It can be awe-inspiring to look at a composer’s lifetime of work. We know that JS Bach composed over 1,000 pieces in his 65 years, while Mozart, who lived only 35 years, composed perhaps 600 pieces. Yet we only care … Continue reading →

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Episode V: beyond popularity

Posted on March 14, 2019 by barczablog

Films with live accompaniment are becoming a regular experience. I don’t mean that the novelty is wearing off, at least I hope not. But what began as an experiment has become a new revenue-stream for the Toronto Symphony, somewhere between … Continue reading →

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Sabbatical

Posted on August 8, 2018 by barczablog

I’m taking a break from teaching for 2018-2019, while I focus on other projects. In past years I’ve taught introductory film music and opera courses at the School of Continuing Studies.  The blog will continue but for this year I’m … Continue reading →

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Remembering the films and the music of James Horner

Posted on June 24, 2015 by barczablog

Some say that if done right you shouldn’t notice the music in a movie. Of course that’s one ideal and it’s a much more self-effacing idea of how a composer should approach the task of composing a score for the … Continue reading →

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