Tag Archives: Toronto Mendelssohn Choir

Mendelssohn Choir — Brahms German Requiem

Posted on November 9, 2025 by barczablog

Friday night Toronto Mendelssohn Choir & Musicians of Kitchener – Waterloo Symphony presented Brahms German Requiem in a sold out Koerner Hall to rapturous applause. I had been initially concerned that this massive work employing a big choir & orchestra … Continue reading →

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Missa Solemnis from Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony

Posted on April 5, 2025 by barczablog

Friday April 4th the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir conducted by Jean-Sébastien Vallée presented Beethoven’s glorious Missa Solemnis to a partially – full Roy Thomson Hall. The Missa Solemnis is a perfect showcase for JS and his impeccable baton work leading this … Continue reading →

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Gimeno’s Mahler: reconciling Nietzsche, angels and pantheism

Posted on June 13, 2024 by barczablog

If that headline sounds like a mouthful you should hear Mahler’s 3rd Symphony. I just did tonight at Roy Thomson Hall. The Toronto Symphony led by music director Gustavo Gimeno aided by members of the Mendelssohn Choir, the Toronto Children’s … Continue reading →

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Toronto Symphony’s virtuoso Beethoven

Posted on October 26, 2023 by barczablog

Last night’s Toronto Symphony concert titled “Beethoven’s Seventh” was another chance to watch the ongoing romance between the TSO and their new music director Gustavo Gimeno. Whether it’s a love of Beethoven or delight in the ongoing lovefest between orchestra … Continue reading →

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Mass in B minor from Toronto Mendelssohn Choir

Posted on March 29, 2023 by barczablog

Last night’s performance of the Bach B minor Mass by the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir at Koerner Hall with a baroque orchestra led by their new artistic director Jean-Sébastien Vallée has put us on notice, that maybe Toronto Mendelssohn Choir are … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Gustavo Gimeno’s First TSO-TMC Messiah

Posted on December 18, 2022 by barczablog

The surest sign the city seems to be returning to something like normal, is Handel’s Messiah performed all over. I’m seeing many friends on Facebook either reporting that they’re singing it or feeling left out because so many others are … Continue reading →

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2021 TSO Messiah

Posted on December 16, 2021 by barczablog

As Kevin Bazzana observes in his Toronto Symphony Orchestra program note, “there is no one definitive Messiah.” It’s an ironic turn of phrase considering the religious implications one might give that phrase. Indeed when I look at the bizarre mockeries … Continue reading →

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TSO Thais: via Massenet & Anatole France

Posted on August 12, 2020 by barczablog

The Toronto Symphony concert performance of Thaïs, recently released on Chandos, has me wishing we could see & hear more from Jules Massenet, the opera’s composer.  I begin to understand why the late Stuart Hamilton in his time with Opera … Continue reading →

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TSO Messiah via Mozart

Posted on December 21, 2019 by barczablog

Tonight I heard something different from the Toronto Symphony. The TSO’s annual Messiah in Roy Thomson Hall with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir may seem like a ritual, but it actually varies from year to year. Every time we get different … Continue reading →

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