Steven Alward was an arts patron and champion of ethical journalism. His distinguished career at the ABC included roles as both Head of ABC Radio National, and Head of ABC International News. I met Steven Alward and his partner Mark Wakely in 2017 following the premiere of my Concertino for clarinet and string quartet at the Sydney Opera House. Steven enjoyed my album Monday to Friday and we began a discussion regarding the commissioning of a new work. In early 2018, however, Steven tragically died, and the idea of a commission was at that time virtually abandoned by me.

Cyrus Meurant. Photograph © By The Road Less Travelled

I spent the next six months in Europe, performing violin in my score for a ballet version of Le Petit Prince at the Divadlo F.X. Šaldy (Czech Republic) and overseeing the premiere of my opera Herakleitos at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg (Germany). Upon my return to Australia, I began a new discussion with Mark Wakely regarding the writing of a commission “in loving memory of Steven Alward”. We agreed the new work should explore universal themes of love, loss and transformation, whilst maintaining a personal and...