Tag Archives: Koerner Hall

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 →

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Opera Atelier bring David and Jonathan to Toronto

Posted on April 10, 2025 by barczablog

Opera Atelier brought their opulent 2022 Versailles production of Marc Antoine Charpentier’s 1688 opera/ballet David and Jonathan to Koerner Hall in Toronto. Artistic Director Marshall Pynkoski reminded us last night in his pre-show speech that the company began forty years … Continue reading →

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Tafelmusik get Podger who gets Mozart

Posted on September 28, 2024 by barczablog

As I look at this stylish picture of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart I wonder. Through the decades I have been listening to his music there are a variety of approaches, sometimes so respectful as to put Mozart on an impossible pedestal. … Continue reading →

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Mercury & La Passione: Rachel Podger leads Tafelmusik in Haydn Symphonies

Posted on September 7, 2024 by barczablog

There’s a new recording of two Symphonies by Joseph Haydn scheduled to come out in October from Tafelmusik. The performances feature violinist Rachel Podger, who debuts in her new role as Principal Guest Director later this month when Tafelmusik begin … Continue reading →

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Beethoven Unleashed by TSM

Posted on August 2, 2024 by barczablog

Last night’s final 2024 Toronto Summer Music Festival concert at Koerner Hall, titled Beethoven Unleashed, featured the violin concerto and the Eroica Symphony, a perfect snapshot of TSM at its best.   TSM combines the educational objectives of an academy and a showcase … Continue reading →

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Tafelmusik and Ivars Taurins celebrate Handel

Posted on June 1, 2024 by barczablog

Tafelmusik turned their choral specialist loose for their season-concluding Handel celebration concert. If you have any way of getting to this concert do so, a love-fest centred on Handel and his alter-ego Ivars Taurins. You may know Ivars Taurins for … Continue reading →

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Violinissimo II calibrating Esprit at Koerner

Posted on March 29, 2024 by barczablog

Thursday March 28th Esprit Orchestra led by their artistic director and conductor Alex Pauk presented Violinissimo II at Koerner Hall. The program leant heavily on soloist Mark Fewer in a pair of big works, playing solos for over an hour … Continue reading →

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Tafelmusik Beethoven 4 and 5

Posted on September 25, 2023 by barczablog

Tafelmusik launched their 45th season with a concert titled “Beethoven 4 and 5“ at Koerner Hall, perhaps in echo of their anniversary. We not only heard a wonderful concert, but witnessed a moving reunion between the ensemble and their regular … Continue reading →

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TSM Metamorphosis

Posted on July 29, 2023 by barczablog

Toronto Summer Music’s theme is the same as the title for last night’s concert, namely “metamorphosis”. I’m writing about it Saturday on the closing weekend of the festival. I’ve been pondering that word over and over in response to the … Continue reading →

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TSM J’Nai Bridges

Posted on July 28, 2023 by barczablog

The drama of tonight’s Toronto Summer Music Recital at Koerner Hall was as much about the one who didn’t sing (Sondra Radvanovsky) as the one who did (J’Nai Bridges). I’m sympathetic to Sondra however much I may have wished to … Continue reading →

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