Tag Archives: Frederic Chopin

George Li: virtuosity in the service of good taste

Posted on July 18, 2025 by barczablog

Tonight I had the pleasure of making my first acquaintance with pianist George Li, courtesy the Toronto Summer Music Festival, in an excellent concert at Koerner Hall. The four big works on the program plus the pair of encores all … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Chopin, classical-music, Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin, George Li, Koerner Hall, Ludwig van Beethoven, Modest Mussorgsky, music, pianist, piano, Pictures at an Exhibition, Toronto Summer Music | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged A Real Pain, Adrien Brody, Andrea Most, Erick Eiser, film music, Frederic Chopin, Hava Nagila, Holocaust, Irving Caesar, Jesse Eisenberg, Jewish culture, Kieran Culkin, Making Americans, marijuana, Poland, Tea for Two, The PIanist, Wladyslaw Szpilman | Leave a comment

Illia Ovcharenko recital in Toronto

Posted on March 5, 2025 by barczablog

Tonight Illia Ovcharenko played at the Jane Mallett Theatre in Toronto. I can give you the list of items in the program, but it can’t possibly convey the experience, between the pieces you might know and the ones we’ve never … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged classical-music, exile, Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin, Honens piano competition, Illia Ovcharenko, Jane Mallett Theatre, Levko Revutsky, Music TORONTO, pianist, piano, Ukraine, Valentin Silvestrov | Leave a comment

Interviewing pianist Illia Ovcharenko

Posted on February 20, 2025 by barczablog

Young pianist Illia Ovcharenko, winner of the 2022 Honens International Piano Competition, made a great impression at the Toronto Summer Music Festival in 2023. I remember expressing my hope that he would return. And he’s coming back Tuesday March 4th … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology | Tagged Borys Lyatoshinsky, classical-music, Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin, Illia Ovcharenko, Jon Kimura Parker, Levko Revutsky, Litany, Music TORONTO, pianist, Sergey Bortkiewicz, Toronto Summer Music, Ukraine, Valentin Silvestrov, Vladimir Horowitz | Leave a comment

30 years since Derek Jarman died.

Posted on February 19, 2024 by barczablog

It’s the anniversary of Derek Jarman’s passing, February 19th 1994. He was 52 years old when he passed. I was looking at Jarman’s IMDB entry, where there are a pair of pictures with him with Amy Johnson, listed on IMDB … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged Amy Johnson, Aria, David Ferry, Derek Jarman, Franz Schubert, Frederic Chopin, Leontyne Price, Pet Shop Boys | Leave a comment

Electrifying opener for Gimeno and TSO

Posted on September 22, 2022 by barczablog

Tonight’s concert by the Toronto Symphony was a fitting beginning to their centennial season, a genuinely celebratory evening. The program message from Music Director Gustavo Gimeno is very promising: “The creation of contrast is at the heart of what I … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Bruce Liu, Frederic Chopin, Gustavo Gimeno, Icarus, John Williams, Jonathan Crow, Kevin Lau, Lera Auerbach, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Peter Oundjian, Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, TSO | Leave a comment

Kindred Spirits Orchestra– Enigma Variations

Posted on March 13, 2022 by barczablog

Last night I heard Kindred Spirits Orchestra playing at the Richmond Hill Centre, led by their conductor Kristian Alexander with piano soloist Naomi Wong. From outside it looks nice enough.. I forget the beauty of this space, until I enter. … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Edward Elgar, Frederic Chopin, Kindred Spirits Orchestra, Kristian Alexander, Lieutenant Kije Suite, Naomi Wong, Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, Sergei Prokofiev | Leave a comment

Beethoven 250: which incarnation?

Posted on November 20, 2020 by barczablog

I hope it isn’t a radical idea to suggest that each of us is really several people, depending on context. The people around me, the places I visit, even the time of day might influence how I act. I’m more … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Popular music & culture | Tagged Antonio Salieri, Brian Wyers, Dreamgirls, Eddie Murphy, Frederic Chopin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mike Leigh, Mr Turner, Norbit, Roman Polanski, Shrek, Stanley Kubrick, The PIanist, Walter Murphy, Wendy Carlos, Wladyslaw Szpilman | 1 Comment

Question on the radio

Posted on August 26, 2020 by barczablog

I was listening to a Chopin Waltz played on the radio as it came to its brilliant conclusion. The host said something under her breath, not entirely complimentary. “Why” she asked “does it build to that big loud bang at … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Music and musicology, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged Frederic Chopin | Leave a comment

Lisztomania CD

Posted on December 30, 2019 by barczablog

Lisztomania? It was a Ken Russell film. And the name described an actual phenomenon, crazed admirers of the great pianist Franz Liszt aka Liszt Ferenc back in the 19th Century. And there’s a CD from Mikolaj Warszynski, capturing a live … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin, George Gershwin, Gregory Oh, Johann Strauss Jr, Ken Russell, Lisztomania, Mikolaj Warszynski, Nicole Lizee, Scott Walker | 2 Comments