Approximate duration: 1 hour and 45 minutes

This October marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Bendigo Symphony Orchestra with the launch of In Recital, a series of concerts that brings music into a more personal space. The first program will be held in the Capital Theatre and features Artistic Director and cellist Luke Severn with pianist Elyane Laussade.

The performance will open with Cassadó’s Requiebros, full of Spanish colour and lyricism, before turning to Beethoven’s Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major, a work that brims with invention and charm. Elyane will then perform Gershwin’s Three Preludes for Piano, short pieces that sparkle with jazz-inflected rhythm and melody. The program closes with Shostakovich’s Cello Sonata, Op. 40, music of deep feeling and striking contrasts, written in the shadow of one of the most turbulent periods of his life.

This recital brings together two musicians who know each other well and whose playing speaks with warmth, imagination, and directness. It is a chance to hear the cello and piano in close conversation, and to begin a new tradition of chamber music in Bendigo.