Prayer for a Lost Friend
for violin and piano
Composed for Emily Beauchamp
First performance: 4 Dec 2021
Performed at the ANAM Set Festival by
Emily Beauchamp (violin) and Leigh Harrold (piano)
This ANAM Set commission was generously supported by the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund – an Australian Government initiative
Program note:
Peter Johnathan Garlick 16.05.02 –10.04.21
“Bereavement is a universal and integral part of our experience of love’, wrote C.S. Lewis. He was describing a paradox intrinsic to love, our most sacred and productive emotion. It is a paradox our family is living through now due to the recent and abrupt death of our fourth child, Peter, in a rock-climbing accident. We deeply loved Peter, who was a teenager full of vitality, humour, faith and adventure, with a reputation for making connections wherever he went. Although we feel outraged that earthly life inevitably goes on without Peter, we feel comfort and relief that his life still evokes responses like Alexander’s. Alexander carefully considered his own grief and his love for our family in creating Prayer for a Lost Friend. Above all, we deeply yearn for life, love and music to go on in their finest forms and to transcend the grave into eternity –a hope that has inspired artists since the beginning of time.”
- Sue Garlick, 15th August 2021, Brisbane
About the composer:
Alexander Voltz’s music has been performed and supported by the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Australian National Academy of Music, Australian Youth Orchestra, Ensemble Offspring, Flinders Quartet and others. He is twice a semi-finalist of the composition division of the Bartók World Competition (HUN) and placed second in the Harlow Chorus’ 2022 Young Composer Competition (UK). In 2021, Alexander independently produced his first opera, Edward and Richard: The True Story of the Princes in the Tower. The following year, he conceived and directed The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Concert, Australia’s largest celebration of Elizabeth II in her seventieth regnant year. In 2024, his Dunrossil Elms won the Symphonic Category of the 19th George Enescu International Competition (ROM).
Since 2023, Alexander has worked as the founding Music Editor of the longstanding Australian cultural journal Quadrant. His opinion editorials on music, culture and politics have been published by Limelight, Sky News Australia, The Spectator Australia, The Australian Financial Review, The Critic (UK) and others. Alexander holds both a Bachelor of Music (Hons I) and a Bachelor of Arts with majors in Ancient History/History and Writing from The University of Queensland. He has benefited from the mentorships of several leading Australian composers, including Brenton Broadstock and Brett Dean.
Alexander lives in Brisbane. More info: https://alexandervoltz.com/