By Robin Roger on March 28, 2015
I’m sure that most people who purchased tickets to last night’s concert at Koerner Hall, did so in order to see violinist Lisa Batiashvili and pianist Paul Lewis perform together, rather than to observe the 500th concert at Koerner Hall. This milestone certainly added to the sense of occasion, and the presence of these two luminaries befit the celebration of a venue that has proven to be such a transformative addition to the musical life of this city...
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By Robin Roger on March 9, 2015
The onset of daylight savings time is usually a bit disorienting but it has been particularly peculiar since 2007, when it was moved to the second Sunday in March . In Toronto this means a misfit between late afternoon and early evening light that evokes a sense of summer (or used to) occurring when the weather remains frigid. One might call this climactic dissonance...
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By Robin Roger on March 2, 2015
Marc-André Hamelin’s piano program for his afternoon concert at Koerner Hall on March 1 began with a piece by the highly seminal but under performed composer, John Fields, without whom we would not have the nocturne...
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By Robin Roger on February 3, 2015
In Woody Allen’s film, The Purple Rose of Cairo, the heroine’s world is turned upside down when the matinée idol from the movie she is watching steps from the screen and enters her life. Recently I reversed Allen’s plot device by stepping into a film, when I travelled to New York City to have a piano lesson with Seymour Bernstein, the subject of a new documentary by Ethan Hawke: Seymour, An Introduction...
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By Robin Roger on February 2, 2015
Presumably, the theme for the Feb 1 Syrinx Chamber Music Concert, “Passion, Possibility, and Pleasure” was chosen to dispel some of the deep winter gloom with which music patrons struggle, including the inertia that makes coming to the concert hall a challenge in itself. Passion is warm, pleasure is consoling and both can make these dark days seem endurable, and the possibility of a better season believable. Gathering in the intimate space of Helicon Hall can further create the sense of a community of like-minded music lovers huddling together to warm their spirits by listening to beautiful expressions of anticipation of brighter and happier days...
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By Robin Roger on December 22, 2014
My inner curmudgeon was pleasantly affirmed by Michael Vincent’s November 27th post on Composer insults. Nice to know that those demigods who have created the sounds that express our highest aspirations, tender sensitivities, and most profound perceptions are capable of being petty, envious, competitive and begrudging. Yet for me, there was a simultaneous dissonance (pun intended) because of attending a recent monthly gathering of Toronto composers called The Toronto Ravel.
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