Tag Archives: Ludwig van Beethoven

Gimeno conducts Beethoven 5

Posted on March 23, 2023 by barczablog

Wednesday night was the latest example of the remarkable chemistry we see, hear and feel between the Toronto Symphony and their new music director Gustavo Gimeno, continuing the magic of their 100th anniversary season. Last night’s program included Madrigal: Celebration … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Brian Harman, Gustavo Gimeno, Gyorgy Ligeti, Iman Habibi, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Jeder Baum spricht, Ludwig van Beethoven, Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto Symphony | Leave a comment

TSO – TMC Mozart Requiem: Best Concert of the Year

Posted on January 12, 2023 by barczablog

The headline is only partly in jest. Yes it was the best concert so far in 2023, as of January 11th. Many are still saying “Happy New Year” and writing the wrong date on cheques (if they even write cheques … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Gregorio Allegri, Hildegard von Bingen, Isaiah Bell, Jane Archibald, Jean-Sébastien Vallée, Kevin Deas, Ludwig van Beethoven, Michael Francis, Susan Platts, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Leave a comment

Gimeno prepares the taste-buds for Bronfman’s Beethoven

Posted on October 13, 2022 by barczablog

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 →

Posted in Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged Atmosphères, Daniel Barenboim, Franz Josef Haydn, Gustavo Gimeno, Gyorgy Ligeti, Lohengrin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Otto Klemperer, Richard Wagner, Roy Thomson Hall, sturm und drang, subito con forza, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Unsuk Chin, Yefim Bronfman | 1 Comment

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 2001: A Space Odyssey, Atmosphères, Charles Baudelaire, Christina Volpini, Claude Debussy, Franz Josef Haydn, Godfather, Gustavo Gimeno, Gyorgy Ligeti, Lohengrin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Richard Wagner, Sarah Polley, Stanley Kubrick, sturm und drang, subito con forza, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Unsuk Chin, Yefim Bronfman | 2 Comments

Gimeno, Schumann’s Spring, Pal’s Scylla at the TSO

Posted on February 6, 2022 by barczablog

What an unusual night for the Toronto Symphony. It’s 11:20 pm as I begin to write this, recalling the headline on CP24 (a picture I snapped at 4:33 pm) about Toronto’s downtown, that says “BREAKING: Traffic is gridlocked in much … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged CP24, Gordon Wolfe, Gustavo Gimeno, Harold in Italy, Hector Berlioz, Jordan Pal, Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann, Roy Thomson Hall, Scylla, Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Leave a comment

Beethoven encore with Crow and Chiu

Posted on July 31, 2021 by barczablog

Toronto Summer Music’s 2021 Festival season concludes this weekend. In a year when theatre, opera & classical music have mostly been clinging to a precarious life through online presentations, this year’s festival was certainly a bit different, mixing vimeo links … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Gavin Fraser, Grace Church on-the-Hill, Jonathan Crow, Kreutzer Sonata, Ludwig van Beethoven, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Philip Chiu, Scheherazade, semiotics, Toronto Summer Music, Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Leave a comment

Crow and Chiu play Beethoven live and in person

Posted on July 28, 2021 by barczablog

The performance is almost incidental to the miracle of live music. Please let me never become blasé, never lose my sense of wonder and gratitude, inured to magic. This is a privilege. I was stunned that not only the Toronto … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology | Tagged Grace Church on-the-Hill, Haydn, Jessie Montgomery, Jonathan Crow, Kreutzer Sonata, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mozart, Philip Chiu, Toronto Summer Music | Leave a comment

Kreutzer rather than Bridgetower

Posted on July 27, 2021 by barczablog

2020 was to have been the Beethoven year, the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth in 1770. But of course the plans for operas, plays or concerts collided with the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. Thank goodness Toronto Summer Music … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged George Bridgetower, Jonathan Crow, Kreutzer Sonata, Leon Tolstoy, Leos Janacek, Ludwig van Beethoven, Rodolphe Kreutzer, Toronto Summer Music | 1 Comment

Beethoven 250: 2020 vision

Posted on December 15, 2020 by barczablog

It’s an oxymoron of a year, this 2020 that is a little over two weeks from its conclusion. Social butterflies (those of us who self-identify as extroverts & are therefore energized by other people) have no choice but to go … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology | Tagged An die ferne Geliebte, Beethoven 250, Franz Liszt, Gerald Moore, Immortal Beloved, Ludwig van Beethoven, Muzak, Richard Wagner | Leave a comment

Beethoven 250: Immortal Beloved

Posted on December 15, 2020 by barczablog

Immortal Beloved (1994) is one of my favorite films. While I’ve been told by a Beethoven scholar that the facts aren’t correct in the film, that doesn’t stop me from liking it. How could it be otherwise? Spoiler alert #1: … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology | Tagged Beethoven 250, Bernard Rose, Gary Oldman, Immortal Beloved, Jay Scott, Kreutzer Sonata, Leon Tolstoy, Ludwig van Beethoven | 1 Comment