Blue Riband Weekly

26/10/2020

Blue Riband meets Toronto International Festival of Authors — Head over to the link below for our interview with Roland Gulliver, the festival’s new director who, stepping into his first year to make it work despite the pandemic.


To meet this uniquely challenging moment with a uniquely-2020 solution, TIFA will host it’s festivals entirely online. The obvious limitations to a digital festival also present opportunities to reach new demographics (certainly a theme with ever arts organization these days).

“I’m really thrilled and excited that Margaret Atwood will be opening the festival and that Richard Ford will be in the program. Having come from Edinburgh, it’s nice that Ian Rankin and Val McDermid will be part of the festival. Then, I think also there is a great poetry lineup, we have people like Tyler Pennock reading his work. The fiction list, people like Ayad Akhtar. I think just the whole range of the fiction writers. For me, bringing in that kind of wealth and diversity of writers has been really important.” Roland Gulliver
.

Gulliver’s arrival—as an expat from the Edinburgh International Book Festival—is being met with quite the roster of literary superstars, from Margaret Atwood to Desmond Cole. It’s going to be a long winter, so a well-stocked reading list via a conveniently located literary festival will certainly help. Start your experience of TIFA 2020 with the link below and be sure to pass it on.

Writer: Erin Baldwin

10/10/2020

It feels sooo good to read a review of a show again—didn’t think I’d get to do that again this year. Even better to host the insanely talented Emily Trace on Blue Riband Weekly again. At the link below, you’ll find the most in-depth analysis you’re going to get anywhere of the Fall for Dance North Festival Signature 2020 program which featured 6 Canadian premiers.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Emily’s writing and this full-length review is exactly why—even if you don’t follow dance you’re gonna to take something away from her evocative transcription of an otherwise visual experience. Also be sure to keep an eye out for Emily’s upcoming article that takes a very in-depth look at the unsavoury experiences of BIPOC artists at certain dance companies in Canada and beyond ( Hey The Dance Current, when’s this getting published? 🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️).

Please share this review far and wide, a review this well-conceived deserves to get around. 🙏🏾🙏🏾

The Fall For Dance Festival goes till October 18th, for $15 you can enjoy the entire festival experience from the comfort of your own screen.

In a season when performance venues are purchasing house plants to take the seats of their patrons, the impressive effort that Fall for Dance North put into digitally staging their 2020 Signature Program will be a welcome respite for dance lovers isolating at home. Their six world premieres—some b...

29/09/2020

New episode of the Blue Riband Podcast! It’s a pleasure to welcome Artistic Director of Fall for Dance North Festival, Ilter Ibrahimof, back for another interview, this time as a podcast! The Fall For Dance North Festival opens today and runs till October 18th. Head to ffdnorth.com for more information and to get your $15 ticket which gives you access to the ENTIRE FESTIVAL, plus an exclusive program featuring six Canadian premieres.

For the first ever Blue Riband podcast interview, Ilter and I talked about what those first couple months of the pandemic felt like for him and his team, and we go through a selection of programs that caught my eye from this year’s catalogue. We also talk about a social issue that’s dominated 2020 headlines, that obviously being the BLM movement and how it pertains to the dance world.

Click through to the podcast at the link below — please check it out and pass it on✌🏾

It’s a pleasure to welcome Artistic Director of FFDN, Ilter Ibrahimof, for an podcast interview! The Fall For Dance North Festival opens today and runs till October 18th. Head to ffdnorth.com for more information and to get your $15 ticket which gives you access to the ENTIRE FESTIVAL, plus an exc...

19/09/2020

Blue Riband meets Famous Last Words (Famous Last Words Toronto) — Head over to the link below to read our interview with Marlene Thorne, owner of the literary bar and Junction favourite.

Marlene Thorne first opened her west-end Toronto cocktail bar famous last words in 2016 after deciding she was ready to get out of the corporate world.

Over the past four years flw has steadily grown their reputation as a book lover’s haven, hosting numerous book club meetings, trivia nights and book launches in their elegantly decorated literary space.

While 2020 has thrown them — and everyone else — some major curveballs, flw opened a new curbside patio this summer and has adjusted to throwing virtual trivia nights on Zoom. Recently Marlene took the time to talk to us about the original inspiration for flw, the bar’s literary aesthetic and how they’ve been managing the pandemic.

Pass it on!🙏🏾

Marlene Thorne first opened her west-end Toronto cocktail bar famous last words in 2016 after deciding she was ready to get out of the corporate world. Over the past four years flw has steadily grown their reputation as a book lover’s haven, hosting numerous book club meetings, trivia nights and

11/09/2020

Latest on Blue Riband: Literary Curator Erin Baldwin checks in with the Director of Toronto’s Word on the Street Festival, David Alexander, for an in-depth interview on his vision for the festival in this especially unpredictable year.

Going into his third year in the gig, Alexander spills a little bit of tea about what the festival’s doing differently this year and how it’s reacting to the current limitations.

“We’re still figuring things out—volunteers, marketing strategies, book sales—that in a normal year would have been settled by now. But we think we’re through the storm. Or, if not, at least everything’s tied down and we’re holding steady.” Alexander

A broader look at the publishing landscape in Toronto takes their virtual conversation into the history of the festival and how the city around it has changed.

“A lot has changed since the first WOTS was held on Queen Street West in 1990. For one thing, Queen Street West is no longer a bohemian neighbourhood full of cafés, bars, and bookstores. Publishing has changed quite a lot, too.” Alexander

Ahead of the festival weekend, September 26-27, Alexander also takes a deep dive into their innovative programming that aims to remind virtual attendees that the book is most certainly not dead, and that publishing houses have a role to plan in the fight for equity of access in the industry.

“It’s not hard to see that people from marginalized backgrounds face additional barriers moving through this publishing process. So we think carefully about how we amplify new writing and what kinds of conversations we encourage through our programming.” Alexander

Read the full interview at the link below.

Pass it on!

Author: Erin Baldwin Toronto is a hub of publishing houses, poetry readings and even literary-themed cocktail bars, but it is also — perhaps most importantly for the literary landscape — the home of some major book-related festivals, including Canada’s largest annual book and magazine festival...

12/08/2020

Where do I get started with classical music? That was the question I asked myself four years ago. So I started a musical calendar of sorts, beginning in August, 52 weeks to digest 52 recordings.
At first I thought it would be impossible to maintain this schedule alongside the demands of being twenty-something in Toronto—but, looking back on the last four years, I simply can’t imagine getting through it in one piece without this constant regimen.
Going into the fourth year of this calendar, I didn’t want the list below to read like another musical-obituary of dead-white-men—a difficult feat in this genre—so I sought out to find more works by female and minority composers. You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find such works on vinyl, the format is a literal record of exclusion.
While this roster (at the link below) is still far from what I would describe as truly diverse catalogue of composers—I remain committed to getting there—it is a reminder to the occasional visitor of the important contributions made by classical music’s ‘others’.
So I hope you will accept my invitation to join me for another year of musicking. Stop by here occasionally for a great recording of an old favourite, who knows, you might find something new.
Link below for the next 52 weeks on Blue Riband — pass it on, we’re growing!

- From my desk to yours — Michael

Where do I get started with classical music? That was the question I asked myself four years ago. There are of course many ways to go about answering that question. In my case I cared more about the emotional power and historical context of the music, than theoretical formulations and the adulation....

04/08/2020

Week52 on Blue Riband: So you wish this year was over already? Couldn’t agree more. Three years ago when I started thinking about putting together a musical calendar, I knew I wanted to use it as an opportunity to hit the refresh button when late-summer sluggishness sets in. Definitely could’ve used that button four months ago. Better late than ever. As I’ve done in the last three years, I’m wrapping up the ‘year’ with a Britten opera, this time his underperformed ‘Turn of the Screw’—eerily similar in subtext to Peter Grimes and, can be described as, ‘The Sound of Music’ meets ‘The Others’. Happy new year everyone 🙃. A great recording at the link below. Please share and spread the word✌🏾

London ffrr Recording, printed in the U.S.A. Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) The Turn of The Screw , Opus 54 (1954) The English Opera Group Orchestra, conducted by Benjamin Britten Cast: Jennifer Vyvyan, Joan Cross, Peter Pears, Arda Mandikian, Olive Dyer, David Hemmings   Many nouns in i

29/07/2020

“Her sensual poems written from a first-person perspective speak of domestic life, wedding ceremonies, virginity, motherhood and, above all things, love. Sappho gives voice to a whole sphere of society generally ignored by male writers at the time. Even when Homer spoke of women, most famously Penelope in ‘The Odyssey’, it was filtered through a male gaze. When Sappho speaks of women, she speaks as a woman. ” Erin Baldwin — Why Sappho is the World’s First Feminist

A new Blue Riband x Truths & Edits article by editor Erin Baldwin, ‘Why Sappho is the World’s First Feminist’, positions the archaic Greek poet as a revolutionary well ahead of her time.
Read the full article at the link below.

Author: Erin Baldwin Before there was Time’s Up and , there was Sappho.  Sappho may not have specifically been advocating for change, but she was revolutionary in her own distinct way. Sappho was doing what few — if any — other women were doing at the time. She was writing, and s

13/07/2020

“While it is tempting to reiterate the many injustices endured by the Palestinian people, in a bid to raise awareness and help gain support for the cause, the intent of this article is to remember Hammad’s The Gaza Suite. In this remembering, I hope to do something different than share statistics or facts or broken policies of the dead and the dying Palestinian people. I hope to remind you that Palestinians are more than just data. More than just poetry.” Farrah Abdel-Latif

A new Blue Riband article by Toronto-based writer, Farrah Abdel-Latif, presents the poetry of Palestinian-American poet Suheir Hammad, as a reminder that the plight of the Palestinian people have an emotional reality that is often omitted by news coverage and statistical analysis.

Read the full article at the link below

Author: Farrah Abdel-Latif

06/07/2020

To gain some insights on the power and mechanics of story-telling, the intersection of Ernest Hemingway and video games might seem like an unlikely source—but that's exactly where Toronto-based writer and gamer, Caleigh McEachern, went looking.

For the latest Blue Riband article, McEachern dives into the spatial, sonic, and psychological ways that video games communicate rules of engagement:

“The more story driven video games I play, the more I recognize that such video games can provide as much opportunity for interpretation and as much literary value as works of classic literature.”

Click through for the full article!

Author: Caleigh McEachern

30/06/2020

Had a great conversation with the Surviving Classical Music podcast about my recent Against The Grain Theatre article titled 'A Collective Awokening in the Performing Arts', and the issue of blackface in opera. Thank you to Andrew for continuing this conversation and for having me on.

The conversation continues tonight as Madison Angus and I host a live panel discussion about, equity, inclusivity, and diversity in the arts. Please join us at 8pm on Against The Grain Theatre's page!
http://survivingclassicalmusic.buzzsprout.com/529972/4349519-michael-zaranthus-cook?fbclid=IwAR3oi80u25ceNrvUHhv8iib8w-qNh8RPu7wUhXA_TcN11ZVubMjiiAh3hWA

This week Andrew speaks with Michael Zarathus-Cook about Opera and inclusivity, as well as blackface in opera productions. Michael Zarathus-Cook is a music writer and Editor of www.briband.com, he has been published in The Wholenote Magazine, Oper...

29/06/2020

Week47 on Blue Riband: a serenade to one of Erik Satie’s chansons, and a song by Ethiopian nun/composer Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou. You’ll also find a booklist curated by an anonymous writer for Blue Riband: SIX FEEL-GOOD GAY READS I WISH SOMEONE GAVE ME EARLIER.

(program)  Candide Recording, printed in the USA Erik Satie (1866-1925) Selected songs Pianists: Frank Glazer & Richard Deas Mezzo-soprano: Elaine Bonazzi Violin: Millard Taylor Songs: 3 Morceaux en forme de Poire  Trois Mélodies Trois

26/06/2020

Just in time for pride weekend: SIX FEEL-GOOD GAY READS I WISH SOMEONE GAVE ME EARLIER — A booklist curated by an anonymous writer (K. Niine) for Blue Riband/Truths+Edits. Happy Pride everyone 🌈🌈

Author: K. Niine

15/06/2020

Week45 on Blue Riband: another Liszt on the list, this time the composer’s Piano Concerto No.2. Also: a song that I’ve been using to ward off s**tty thoughts from everything that’s going on, by Nigerian-British artist from his 2020 EP ‘Which Way is Forward’.


̧ois

YR3 WEEK45: FRANZ LIZST — PIANO CONCERTO #2; OBONGJAYAR June 14, 2020 (program)Angel Stero recording, printed in CanadaFranz Liszt (1811-1886)Piano Concerto No.2 in A MajorPhilharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Constantin SilvestriPianist: Samson FrançoisPiano Concerto No.2 in A MajorAdagio sostenu...

07/06/2020

Erin Baldwin and I have put together a list of 20 books that we think adequately address a number of the issues currently being protested by anti-racism activists. While we believe these books will be an excellent resource for those looking for more education on all forms of racism, reading them is only effective when that translates to action: from how you vote to how you engage and perceive visible minorities around you.

This is also the launch of a collaboration between Erin’s blog (truthsandedits.com) and Blue Riband. We’ve both been talking and thinking about joining forces for a combination of content on music and literature for the past nine months. While this was not exactly how we foresaw launching this new addition to Blue Riband, we are grateful to have a platform where we can contribute to this incredibly important conversation. I’m particularly grateful to Erin for spearheading this list, for her sincerity and diligence in curating it while underlining my concern that the current groundswell doesn’t devolve into performative allyship.

We hope you’ll join us for this new addition to Blue Riband. But more importantly, we hope you’ll make use of the books in this list, either for yourself or someone who you think needs more education on the subject. So please share it with your friends and colleagues and we look forward to bringing you more content on the issues that matter the most to us today.

— Michael Zarathus-Cook

Authors: Erin Baldwin and Michael Zarathus-Cook

01/06/2020

Week43 on Blue Riband: It’s a tough week to talk and think about anything else but all the s**t that’s going on. On the other hand, that’s exactly why I started this blog, to find a personal helicon of beauty during the toughest weeks. .
This week it’s via Mozart’s last Piano Concerto and Bristol’s own Yola.

(program)  Funk & Wagnalls recording, printed in Canada W. A. Mozart (1756 - 1791)  Piano Concerto No.27 in b Flat (1791) Vienna Volksoper Orchestra, conducted by Paul Angerer. Soloist: Alfred Brendel  Piano Concerto No.27 1) Allegro 2) Larghetto 

25/05/2020

Week42 on Blue Riband: At times of disruption, like the one we’re currently living through, a routine centered around music can be life saver. Mozart in May is a combination that’s worked over the last couple years, as a light entry into the summer months. So I’ll be spinning through four Mozart recordings in May; this week it’s his Piano Concerto No.11, paired with a song by one of my favourite West African bands.

(program)  Electrola recording , Printed in Germany.  W. A. Mozart (1756 - 1791)  Piano Concerto No. 11 (1783`) English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Barenboim. Piano: Daniel Barenboim  Piano Concerto No.11 1) Allegro 2) Larghetto 3) Tempo di Men

18/05/2020

week41 on Blue Riband: At times of disruption, like the one we’re currently living through, a routine centered around music can be life saver. Mozart in May is a combination that’s worked over the last couple years, as a light entry into the summer months. So I’ll be spinning through four Mozart recordings in May; this week it’s his Symphony No.40, paired with my favourite song from the latest Bon Iver album. All at the link in bio. . . . . .

(program) Westminster recording , Printed in U.S.A.  W. A. Mozart (1756 - 1791) Symphony No. 40 (1788) Vienna State Opera Orchestra, conducted by Adrian Boult Symphony No.40 - Molto Allegro - Andante - Menuetto: Allegretto - Trio - Menuetto   - Allegro assai When we were

11/05/2020

Week40 on Blue Riband — At times of disruption, like the one we’re currently living through, a routine centered around music can be life saver. Mozart in May is a combination that’s worked over the last couple years, as a light entry into the summer months. So I’ll be spinning through four Mozart recordings this month, beginning with his Symphony No.39 (paired with that Iron & Wine song we all love sing wrong).
Link in bio. .

(Program) Deutsche Grammophon recording , Printed in Germany.  W. A. Mozart (1756 - 1791)  Symphony No. 39 (1788) Wiener Philharmoniker, conducted by Leonard Bernstein Symphony No.39 - Adagio — Allegro - Andante con moto - Menuetto. Allegretto  - Finale. Allegro

11/05/2020

08/05/2020