David Matthews and Peter Sheppard Skærved have been collaborating on a series of works for violin for many years now, in a partnership that has resulted in over 30 works, from string quartets to many pieces for violin alone. • Matthews sets Sheppard Skærved formidable technical challenges, and Sheppard Skærved surprises Matthews by finding ways of overcoming the difficulties in his path. • Behind all the pyrotechnics, this collaboration is generating one of the largest, and most musically rewarding, body of compositions for solo violin by any living composer. • The range of reference in this music is wide, from Australian magpies and European songthrushes, via an Alpine ranz des vaches, to Three Chants, where the violinist is required to whistle and sing as he plays.