BSO’s Artistic Director & Chief Conductor, Luke Severn presents a solo program spanning three centuries, framed by a new work of his own.

Inspired by the very beginnings to some of the late peaks of the repertoire for cello alone Alpha & Omega (2026) opens the recital. In this world premiere performance, Luke explores the full range of the cello’s expressive capabilities.

Bach’s Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007 follows. The immediately recognisable Prelude, built from continuous semiquavers, leads into a sequence of dance movements. Perhaps without ever knowing it, Bach went on to form one of the foundational works of the cello repertoire and began the championing of this instrument as worthy of it’s own solo platform.

One of the most difficult and virtuosic works for cello ever written, Kodály’s Sonata for Solo Cello in B minor, Op. 8 concludes the program. Written in 1915 and employing scordatura tuning, the sonata expands the instrument’s range and sonority. Its central Adagio is spacious and rhapsodic, while the final movement draws on Hungarian rhythmic patterns.

This recital places familiar repertoire alongside new work, focusing on the cello alone in the acoustic of The Capital.

Luke Severn, cello