To re-purpose
The word is in my head after The Death of Stalin. Iannucci’s film takes music and uses it in new ways. Whether we’re talking about John Hughes, Stanley Kubrick or your organist at church, the re-use of...
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Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa (Our Maliseets Songs) from Jeremy Dutcher
I’ve been listening to Jeremy Dutcher’s debut CD, Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa. When I googled to try to find out what that means, the phrase “Our Maliseets Songs” came up. Wikipedia tells me that “The...
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Exploring: Liszt and the Symphonic Poem
Serendipity leads me in my choices at the library. Sometimes I get lucky. There is so much more to Liszt than his abilities as a pianist, or his virtuoso compositions for piano such as the Hungarian...
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Yiddish Glory: The Lost Songs of World War II
Tonight was the opening night concert of the 2018 Ashkenaz Festival at Koerner Hall, an unforgettable evening of Yiddish culture titled “Yiddish Glory: The Lost Songs of World War II”. For awhile...
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24 ways of looking at Winterreise
Tonight’s event at Lula Lounge from Tongue in Cheek Productions was not your typical song cycle. Yes we did get the 24 songs in Schubert’s romantic Winterreise, or “winter journey”. But instead of a...
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Liszt’s Winterreise
After experiencing the 24 man deconstructed Winterreise from Tongue in Cheek Productions, I’ve had all that Schubert rattling around in my head the past couple of days. Given that I had to return a...
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Wagner & Sibelius insights with Margarete von Vaight
There’s so much to know about some repertoire, a little flash of insight about this song or that role can get lost in the massive store-house of knowledge. It used to be said among my circle of friends...
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Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique & the fork in the recreational road
I’m responding as much to the serendipity of timing as anything else. Recreational marijuana becomes legal in Ontario next month. The Toronto Symphony are about to begin their 2018-19 season with...
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Mozart 40, Tafelmusik 40
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra are at Koerner Hall this week. I can’t be the only one noticing the parallel between the title of tonight’s concert (“Mozart 40”) & a historical note in the program...
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A new start with the old guy
A very long time ago I was a Toronto Symphony subscriber watching Andrew Davis conduct the TSO. We’re both much older now. Tonight’s concert at Roy Thomson Hall was the launch of a new season with a...
View ArticleHan-Na Chang and Javier Perianes: Mahler & Ravel
The Toronto Symphony played a mid-week concert tonight to a rapturous reception. The TSO are in a transition, awaiting their new music director while playing either with their interim Artistic director...
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Han-Na Chang, Javier Perianes: photos from Nick Wons
I have these three great pictures from Nick Wons to add to yesterday’s review of the Toronto Symphony conducted by Han-Na Chang, I figured I’d simply post them this way, which gives them–and him– a bit...
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Questions for Colin Ainsworth: Actéon and Pygmalion
Tenor Colin Ainsworth is one of the most versatile performers I know. While he regularly stars in period performance he has done lots of new works, including Victor Davies’ The Transit of Venus and...
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Thomas Søndergård leads the TSO
Tonight was the second of two consecutive concerts of the Toronto Symphony conducted by Danish maestro Thomas Søndergård, a spectacular program devoured by an eager audience showing off the strengths...
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Pushing our buttons 2: pornographic musings on Actéon and Venus
Ten days ago I posted something about erotic opera, especially as it pertains to Actéon, an opera that is to be presented again by Opera Atelier beginning Thursday October 25th at the Elgin Theatre....
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Workshop Ecology
I’ve been tossing and turning, struggling with several questions in my head. I regularly wake up in the night to fine-tune something that I’ve blogged, fixing a wrong spelling, adding wrinkles &...
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A closer look at Hadrian
Today was the closing performance of Hadrian, the new opera by Rufus Wainwright and Daniel MacIvor, presented by the Canadian Opera Company at the Four Seasons Centre. After tonight’s display of...
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Opera Atelier: Actéon and Pygmalion
I saw two baroque operas on the same bill, plus something brand new added. Opera Atelier are presenting Charpentier’s Actéon and Rameau’s Pygmalion at the Elgin Theatre in a program exploring Ovidian...
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A Recipe for Resilience: Yiddish Glory
Do you have any DVDs or books or CDs that you use to cheer yourself up or chase away the blues? I’ve had several I relied upon over the years. And I’ve discovered a special new one. I’m very lucky,...
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Centre Stage 2018: a Night of Voices
There are several ways to watch the annual Centre Stage competition, when young singers vie for a series of awards while seeking places in the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio. You can watch...
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