Event overview
Peter Sheppard Skærved returns to the George Wood Theatre with a typically inventive programme of works by his collaborating composers and meet the composer Nigel Clarke.
The Bow and the Brush – Peter Sheppard Skaerved (Violin/Viola)
Meet the Composer with Nigel Clarke and David Matthews.
Programme:
David Matthews: Works for Viola (1970 – 2024)
Fantasia for viola, Op. 5, No. 1,
Darkness Draws In for viola, Op. 102,
Arctic Suite for viola, Op. 172
Luke Lewis: Unfeathering (2025)
Nigel Clarke: Breug[h]el's Brush - Miniatures for Solo Violin & Solo Viola (2025) (Selections)
Inspired by Paintings by the Brueg[h]el Family (and Followers) at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium.
David Matthews has written over 40 solo and chamber works for Peter over the past three decades. Here is a unique opportunity to hear his output for viola. These range from a haunting early work, to his most recent suite for solo string instrument, inspired by the landscape and atmosphere of the Norwegian Arctic.
Luke Lewis’ ‘Unfeathering’ was, in part, inspired by the work of the poet Alice Oswald (Interestingly her ‘Dart’ lay behind music written for Peter by Michael Alec Rose). Lewis’s delicate solo work finds much of its timbre and affect in the rhythms of speech and song. It was premiered earlier this year at New College Oxford.
Nigel Clarke and Peter have travelled extensively ‘on the hunt’ for the inspiration for new works. Over the past year they have developed a partnership with the Fine Arts Museum in Brussels, the ‘Musée des Beaux Arts’ of W H Auden’s famous poem about Bruegel’s ‘Fall of Icarus’ – just one of 25 works by the Breughel family to be seen at the museum. Peter will premiere the whole of Nigel’s resulting cycle at the museum next year.
Peter Sheppard Skærved – Violin/Viola, is acclaimed internationally for performances of a vast range of solo repertoire. His repertoire stretches from the late 16th century to hundreds of works written for him: these include major works by composers by established ‘greats’ such as Hans Werner Henze and George Rochberg, to the many young composers with whom he collaborates worldwide.
Peter is a Grammy-nominated recording artist, with over 100 critically acclaimed albums to his name. Peter is currently performing, filming, and recording on great instruments in the collections of the Library of Congress, Washington DC, the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, the Metropolitan Museum, New York City, and the Paganini violins kept at the City of Genoa.
Peter’s wide ranging ‘Knowledge Exchange Violin’ Project brings together institutions ranging from the National Gallery of Art Washington DC and the Museo Stradivari in Cremona, through to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in the UK, with a linked series of concerts, recordings, residencies, films, recordings & podcasts.
https://www.youtube.com/@PeterSheppardSkaervedviolin
Image: Nigel Clarke with 'The Fall of the Rebel Angels' at the Fine Arts Museum in Brussels
Peter Sheppard Skaerved website
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Nov 2025 | 6:00pm - 7:30pm |
Accessibility
If you are attending an event and need the College to help with any mobility requirements you may have, please contact the event organiser in advance to ensure we can accommodate your needs.
