A star is born at Erasmus Huis<\/p>\n
By Mehru Jaffer<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A star was born at Erasmus Huis last week when
\nsoft-spoken Alpin Limando, 18, was honored as the winner of this
\nyear's piano competition organized by the Indonesian Composers
\nAssociation.<\/p>\n
A resident of Bandung who looks forward to studying business
\nmanagement at university, Alpin has been playing the piano since
\nhe was six years old. But it remains a hobby with the shy pianist
\nwho loves Beethoven.<\/p>\n
He does not see himself playing the piano as a profession.
\nAlpin plans to buy a nice present for his mother with the Rp 3.5
\nmillion he received along with a trophy for winning the contest,
\nand will put the rest of the money in the bank.<\/p>\n
It is Alpin's mother who is responsible for instilling in her
\nson his great love for western classical music. Alpine grew up
\nlistening to his mother sing at the local church and is the only
\none out of three children to share her passion for the piano.<\/p>\n
The competition attracted 17 contestants from all over the
\ncountry, out of which six made it to the finals. Otto Sidharta,
\nthe head of the composers association, feels there is so much
\ntalent in the country that is not discovered while the would-be
\nmusicians are still young. And one way to uncover this talent is
\nto get these youngsters together at competitions and concerts.<\/p>\n
Although Otto admits he could not depend upon music to earn a
\nliving, he feels the times are changing. \"For a long time there
\nhas been confusion in this country over what is art. As society
\nbecomes more open and accepting there will remain a place for
\nwestern classical music even in a very traditional society like
\nours,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He is optimistic about the future of western classical music
\nhere and thrilled at all the local talent that was displayed at
\nthe competition.<\/p>\n
The association also will help the youngsters play at concerts
\nin the future. According to Addie MS, the conductor of the
\nTwilite Orchestra, the audience is there and composers are
\ncreating plenty of music, but there is an acute shortage of
\nperformers. Competitions like this one help find performers who
\nmay be playing great music in their little corners, totally
\nunknown to the world.<\/p>\n
Genssly Ediansyah, 17, who won a special prize for the best
\ninterpretation of a work by an Indonesian composer, returned to
\nSurabaya, her hometown, with a cash prize of Rp 1 million, a
\ncertificate and a trophy. The bespectacled Genssly, who bursts
\ninto giggles every time she is asked a question, played Suite
\nVillgaets, a very eastern piece throbbing with the sounds of the
\ncountryside and conjuring up images of a village belle caught in
\nthe act of dancing as if without a care in the world.<\/p>\n
Genssly said she learned the piece when she was seven years
\nold and then forgot all about it. As she prepared for the
\ncompetition, the composition returned on its own to haunt her and
\nshe began to practice it all over again. And this time she was
\nnot just imitating the notes blindly but playing the music with
\ngreat love and admiration for the composer.<\/p>\n
Her older sister, Brigifine, 21, chose Fragmen, a piece by
\nJaya Suprana that is full of flute sounds and vigorous drumming.
\nShe placed second in the competition and said she would use part
\nof her Rp 2 million cash prize to have her car repaired, which
\nshe damaged on the eve of the competition as she was so
\npreoccupied with her music. She also will use 10 percent of the
\namount as a gift to God to thank him for being there with her
\nwhile she played on stage.<\/p>\n
Brigifine loves Beethoven as much as Alpine does. \"But not
\nbeing a very romantic woman, I play Beethoven differently than
\nAlpin. In his hands Beethoven is transformed into something soft
\nand calm, whereas I prepare for war when I play Beethoven,\"
\nBrigifne explained, guessing that she may have lost to Alpine
\nbecause she did not prepare for her Chopin piece as well as she
\nhad wished.<\/p>\n
Brigifine already has 35 private students in Surabaya and is
\none of the few youngsters who cannot think of doing anything else
\nin life but play music. Ideally she would love to marry a
\nbusinessman for whom she could play the piano when he was tired
\nand stressed, so he would be revived and return to making more
\nmoney, she laughed.<\/p>\n
Even as a three-year-old, Brigifine would imitate pianists she
\nsaw on television, tapping her fingers on a table as if it was a
\nkeyboard.<\/p>\n
Since her father could not afford to buy a piano for a long
\ntime, he eventually rented one from a music shop and hired Sienny
\nDebora, a piano teacher with a great reputation, to teach both
\ngirls at home.<\/p>\n
Brigifine, a third-year student of information technology who
\nspent the day after the competition shopping for clothes and
\ngifts at Mangga Dua and Block M, is already preparing for a
\nforthcoming competition to be held next month in Brisbane,
\nAustralia. Good luck, Brigifine.<\/p>",
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