Paul Kildea [the Artistic Director of Musica Viva Australia] had been chatting with me for a while about a possible collaboration, and this was the one that materialised. I’m sure Paul had his reasons – maybe something to do with Johan and I both being relatively young and having similar musical interests. He seems to enjoy performing expressive, technically demanding music, and I enjoy writing it.

Jack Frerer. Photo © Julie Skarratt

The brief was spectacularly unspecific – just eight minutes for violin and piano. I think there was mention of a preference for virtuosity, though I remember them quickly backtracking for fear of stepping on my toes. But a virtuosic piece is what they got – a lot of notes!

I didn’t have any direct conversations with Johan and Jennifer, but I did listen to a lot of their recorded performances to get a sense of their musical personalities. I’d recommend checking out Johan’s recording of Arvo Pärt’s Fratres and Jennifer’s performance of the Bach-Busoni Chaconne. Johan’s performances from the 2019 Carl Nielsen International Competition are also totally mind-blowing.

I have written for violin and...