Tag Archives: Toronto Symphony

Digging into cinematic culture with Maria Dueñas, Gustavo Gimeno & the Toronto Symphony

Posted on June 7, 2026 by barczablog

In a week when every item in the Toronto Symphony’s concert program has a connection to film, it was amazing to see such a remarkable variety, the many different ways music and movies can be connected. And the results were … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Reviews, University life | Tagged 2001: A Space Odyssey, Bekah Simms, Beneath the Twelve Mile Reef, Bernard Herrmann, cinema, classical-music, Dennis Christopher, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Fahrenheit 451, Felix Mendelssohn, film music, Gustavo Gimeno, Gyorgy Ligeti, Hollywood Sound, John Mauceri, John Williams, leit-motiv, Maria Dueñas, Masterworks, Max Steiner, Nostalgie, Richard Wagner, Rodney Dangerfield, Samy Moussa, Steven Reineke, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Toronto Symphony | Leave a comment

Mandle Philharmonic plays Mahler 2nd

Posted on May 23, 2026 by barczablog

I have to make comparisons. Even the most sympathetic critic observes and then contextualizes, by framing those observations in comparison to others. On Friday May 22nd Mandle Cheung conducted his orchestra, the Mandle Philharmonic, in a performance of Gustav Mahler’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Alex Hetherington, Astrid Varnay, Billy Bishop, Bruno Walter, Carl Morey, classical-music, FIFA, George Weston Recital Hall, Gustav Mahler, Herbert von Karajan, Lesley Bouza, Mandle Cheung, Mandle Phil, Mandle Philharmonic, music, Neil Crory, orchestra, Otto Klemperer, RBC Amphitheatre, Resurrection Symphony, Toronto Symphony, TSO, Urlicht | 3 Comments

Co-existing worlds of Epic Wagnerian Toronto Symphony

Posted on May 15, 2026 by barczablog

Thursday night the Toronto Symphony showed us they could blend Western & non-Western cultural traditions. When Gustavo Gimeno spoke in his program note of the imminent arrival of thousands from abroad into our city for the FIFA matches, he spoke … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Abel Selaocoe, Bernard Herrmann, classical-music, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Gustavo Gimeno, improvisation, Jessie Montgomery, Lorin Maazel, Richard Wagner, Ring Without Words, Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto Symphony | Leave a comment

She Holds up the Stars from Red Sky & Toronto Symphony

Posted on April 20, 2026 by barczablog

In a week of adaptations, the trip to Roy Thomson Hall to see & hear the world premiere of She Holds Up the Stars from the Toronto Symphony & Red Sky Performance on Sunday April 19th was a fabulous case … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged James Gerus, Julia Davis, Marsha Knight, Red Sky Performance, Roy Thomson Hall, She Holds Up the Stars, Timothee Chalamet, Toronto Symphony | Leave a comment

Toronto Symphony play Béla Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin

Posted on April 12, 2026 by barczablog

Toronto Symphony recently released their third Harmonia Mundi live recording, captured from performances 21-23 November 2024 at Roy Thomson Hall, featuring two works by Béla Bartók (1881-1945) plus a piece by Canadian Emilie Cecilia LeBel. Roy Thomson Hall’s acoustics seem … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Bela Bartok, Emilie LeBel, expressionist, Gustav Mahler, Gustavo Gimeno, Igor Stravinsky, Menyhért Lengyel, modernist, Olivier Messiaen, Pulcinella, sediments, Symbolist, The Fairy's Kiss, The Miraculous Mandarin, Toronto Symphony, TSO | 2 Comments

Singsational Bach workshop with Jean-Sébastien Vallée

Posted on March 7, 2026 by barczablog

I know Jean-Sébastien Vallée as the artistic director of Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, which sometimes means he’s preparing the TMC for their work with another conductor, sometimes he’s the one leading the big ensemble, as he did for the Brahms German … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Dr. Irene Gregorio, Gustav Mahler, Jean-Sébastien Vallée, Johannes Brahms, JS Bach, St John Passion, St Mark Passion, St Matthew Passion, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Toronto Symphony, Yorkminster Park Baptist Church | 1 Comment

Musing on Mandle Cheung’s orchestral adventures: an interview

Posted on January 30, 2026 by barczablog

I can’t stop thinking about Mandle Cheung, the successful tech entrepreneur who paid the Toronto Symphony for the privilege of conducting Mahler’s 2nd Symphony last summer. I wrote a review of the concert for the Globe & Mail, and couldn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology | Tagged Bugs Bunny, Carl Flesch, classical-music, Gilbert Kaplan, Globe and Mail, Gustav Mahler, Mandle Cheung, Mandle Philharmonic, Naomi Buck, Norman Lebrecht, orchestra, Roy Thomson Hall, Steve Jobs, The Maestro Myth, Toronto Life, Toronto Symphony | 6 Comments

Beethoven’s Eroica and Goodyear’s Callaloo: TSO’s triumph

Posted on May 29, 2025 by barczablog

Tonight the Toronto Symphony continue their winning streak, another wonderful program of diverse musical compositions, played brilliantly. A key contributor to our enjoyment was guest conductor Kristiina Poska. We heard three pieces tonight after the obligatory Oh Canada performance. Speaking … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Arvo Pärt, classical, classical-music, George Gershwin, Kristiina Poska, Ludwig van Beethoven, music, orchestra, piano, Roy Thomson Hall, Stewart Goodyear, Toronto Symphony | 2 Comments

COC gets Eugene Onegin

Posted on May 5, 2025 by barczablog

It seems like Tchaikovsky season in Toronto. Yuja Wang played his 1st piano concerto with the Toronto Symphony a couple of weeks ago, and the TSO play his 6th Symphony later this week. This weekend the Canadian Opera Company have … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Andrii Kymach, Canadian Opera Company, COC Chorus, COC Orchestra, Dimitry Ivashchenko, Emily Treigle, Eugene Onegin, Evan LeRoy Johnson, Krisztina Szabó, Lauren Fagan, Literaturoper, Lord Byron, Michael Levine, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovky, Robert Carsen, Speranza Scappucci, Toronto Symphony | 2 Comments

Yuja Wang plays Tchaikovsky with the Toronto Symphony

Posted on April 17, 2025 by barczablog

I have never seen Roy Thomson Hall as full as it was tonight, Wednesday April 16th. They had a cop directing the cars out of the underground parking garage: because so many people came to see Yuja Wang play the … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Arturo Márquez, classical-music, Gyorgy Ligeti, Jeremy EIchler, Jocelyn Morlock, Karel Ancerl, Leos Janacek, Lorne Michaels, Nutcracker, Philip Glass, piano, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovky, Roy Thomson Hall, Sinfonietta, Time's Echo, Toronto Symphony, Yuja Wang | 6 Comments