Tag Archives: Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Gimeno and TSO: old music made new

Posted on June 9, 2023 by barczablog

I will quietly keep calling Gustavo Gimeno the Toronto Symphony’s “new” music director in my head, but maybe not for the reason you think. Yes he started in 2021, delayed over a year by the pandemic’s impacts on performing arts. … Continue reading →

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Gimeno Conducts Messiaen’s Epic Turangalila

Posted on May 5, 2023 by barczablog

Roy Thomson Hall was quite full tonight for the first of two Toronto Symphony concerts undertaking Olivier Messiaen’s Turangalila-Symphonie. But for such an event one wants a full house. The response from the audience was as rapturous as the music … 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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Best of 2022

Posted on January 9, 2023 by barczablog

I enjoy recalling the best moments of the past 12 months. There’s a fork in the road, however. One pathway leads towards that which is truly “new”, while the other relies on what we’ve seen before. Need I mention, the … 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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Peter Oundjian warmly welcomed back to TSO

Posted on November 10, 2022 by barczablog

How could it be otherwise? Peter Oundjian, the Toronto Symphony’s Conductor Emeritus, was greeted with a huge ovation when he came out at Roy Thomson Hall to begin tonight’s concert. We brought his wit to the microphone, cleverly mangling Shakespeare … Continue reading →

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Holst’s Neptune and Wagner’s Lohengrin Prelude

Posted on November 5, 2022 by barczablog

I’ve just noticed something concerning Gustav Holst’s Planets suite. You’ve probably heard that Holst did not mean planets in the sense of astronomy but rather to be more of a meditation on the astrological significance of each planet. His seven … Continue reading →

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Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas—In Concert with the TSO

Posted on October 29, 2022 by barczablog

Tonight Erika and I watched The Nightmare Before Christmas shown with the Toronto Symphony playing the score live, conducted by Sarah Hicks at Roy Thomson Hall. As with the 100 Years of Film Music concert we attended earlier this week, … 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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Yuja Wang, Magnus Lindberg, Anton Bruckner and the TSO

Posted on October 21, 2022 by barczablog

As we tentatively poke our heads out, looking for signs that normal life has resumed after the pandemic, concerts like tonight’s from the Toronto Symphony affirm relationships & collaboration, the latest in a series of celebratory moments in the orchestra’s … Continue reading →

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