David Dalle
Thursday April 28th, 2016 with David Dalle
Penderecki's 3rd symphony, a few princes, music from Lahore, Pakistan

I continue today with my Penderecki symphonic cycle and his 3rd symphony. Perhaps my favourite of his symphonies, it is a dark and rich work of unabashed Romanticism mixed with later 20th century freedoms and enlarged orchestra. This work took some time for Penderecki to complete, he began composing it in 1988, 8 years after the 2nd symphony, and did not complete it until 1995. As with all of the cycle we will hear, it is a recording conducted by the composer. I saw the film "Song of Lahore" this past weekend at the Bytowne. A wonderful documentary of the Sachel music studio in Lahore, Pakistan, and the struggle for music in Pakistan which sadly does not support and esteem its classical musical heritage anywhere near the level India does. Particularly difficult to see in Lahore, which has been one of the most important centres of culture and music for centuries in the subcontinent. We will hear a few Princes (from Ghana and Nigeria) and some Lebanese alt-rock.