Cello Concerto (2026)

Commissioned by the Hong Kong Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic and Chethams School of Music
Premiered 15th May 2026 with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, conducted by Michael Sanderling, with soloist Richard Bamping
UK premiere to take place 9th July 2027

c. 24”00 ww: 3333 (fl3 picc. ob3 cor. cl3 bcl. bs3 ctra) 4331 3p + tp, hp, strings + solo cello

*Archival recording available on request

EXTRACTS

Programme Notes

c. 24 minutes, in Four movements

Reflections on Seneca’s “On the shortness of life” text (written 49 AD), Maverick is a portrait on individuality, mentorship, and the fleeting nature of time. The concerto contemplates what it means to live fully and authentically—to embrace experience, to learn deeply from others, and ultimately to shape a voice that is unmistakably one’s own.

The solo cello stands at the centre of this journey as both narrator and protagonist. Its relationship with the orchestra mirrors the evolving dynamic between student and mentor: at times guided and supported, at others challenged or set apart, and eventually emerging with a distinct and self-assured identity. 

Having studied the cello with Richard Bamping for many years, Dani Howard draws on her own musical past throughout the work. Echoes of core cello repertoire surface and dissolve, like memories recalled and reinterpreted—fleeting traces of the music that later became so influential.

The first movement, the most expansive, acts as an opening chapter. The cello emerges alone, setting the scene for a bold and unique individual, though with a voice that is still searching, exploratory, and gradually more defined. 

A strong sense of momentum drives the second movement. It opens with a rhythmic solo cadenza before launching into a more propulsive, orchestral texture—music that suggests striving, discipline, and forward motion.

The third movement offers a stark contrast: slow, sparse, and deeply introspective. Individual members of the orchestra step forward in a series of intimate exchanges, while the prominence of natural harmonics in the strings creates a fragile, almost suspended sound world.

The final movement gathers these threads into a vibrant and energetic conclusion—playful in spirit, yet grounded. Towards the end, a kaleidoscopic ‘rewind’ revisits fragments of earlier material, as if tracing the arc of a life in compressed form, before driving towards a bold and decisive close.

At its core, Maverick is about embracing your uniqueness—not in isolation, but through everything we experience and everyone who shapes us.

For Richard, and in loving memory of Mike Howard