Chamber music gig a hit; more to come<\/p>\n
By Y. Bintang Prakarsa<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A classical music concert organizer once said
\nthat chamber music is not marketable, but a performance of piano
\ntrios by pianist Ary Sutedja, violinist I Gusti Bagus Wiswakarma,
\nand cellist Leonard van Hien (Erasmus Huis, Sept. 19) proved that
\nshe was wrong. It was a bit surprising that the pay-to-enter
\nconcert was well-attended, bearing in mind that free concerts are
\nnormally taken for granted at Erasmus Huis.<\/p>\n
The musicians nicely performed Haydn's Piano Trio in D major,
\nHob XV no. 24, Mozart's in C Major, K 548, and Beethoven's
\n\"Archduke\" in B-flat major, Op 97. Haydn's and Mozart's works are
\nbasically simpler than Beethoven's, because they were composed
\nwith amateurs in mind.<\/p>\n
Beethoven's trio, which is longer, more difficult, and assigns
\nmore independence to the string section, is more appropriate for
\naccomplished musicians. Ary, Bagus, and van Hien succeeded in
\nkeeping the intimate nature of chamber playing by cooperating
\nclosely, giving way to the other partner when necessary.<\/p>\n
In brief, nothing in excess. One wished, however, for a
\ngreater piano presence, not in terms of volume, perhaps, but in
\nassertiveness and command.<\/p>\n
However elaborate the string parts, these trios are
\ncompositions where the piano is placed in virtual leadership.
\nEven in Beethoven's trio, the violinist and the cellist cannot
\nassume a more significant role than the pianist, for whom more
\nconfidence and display is entirely appropriate.<\/p>\n
This pleasing concert was but the beginning of a promising
\nseries of Classical and Romantic chamber music concerts with
\npiano accompaniment. Beginning with this one, there will be
\nanother five monthly performances at the Erasmus Huis. In all, it
\nwill involve 12 leading Jakarta string players, pianists, and
\nclarinetists, who are to present fourteen works for various
\ninstrumental combinations by six composers ranging from Haydn
\nthrough Brahms (for a complete listing of the series of programs
\nand performers, visit the Chamber Music Series homepage,
\nhttp:\/\/www.chambermusic.or.id\/).<\/p>\n
This is no small effort with program conception through to
\ncontacting artists and booklet publishing being done without the
\nhelp of professional organizers. Bagus Wiswakarma did most of the
\nwork in conjunction with van Hien, assisted by the Sekolah Musik
\nInternasional Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Everything is commendable, down to the informative booklet
\nwith complete programs, artists, and notes about the works for
\nthe entire series, which will extend to March next year.<\/p>\n
According to Bagus, he had been dreaming of this chamber music
\nseries for two years before he finally began to realize it with
\nthe support of van Hien, who is a businessman by profession. He
\nsounded out the idea with musicians, who responded with
\nenthusiasm. Bagus then assumed the role of musical director, and
\nsucceeded in bringing together performers from many different
\nbackgrounds.<\/p>\n
\"Personal chemistry is fundamental,\" said Bagus. \"I admit that
\nthis plan is very ambitious. To involve different pianists in
\nevery concert is really a crazy idea. But this is the key: the
\nartists were assigned on neutral ground, which encouraged them to
\nengage in fair competition.\"<\/p>\n
For the next concert, (Thursday, Oct. 19), Bagus, together
\nwith Iswargia R. Sudarno (piano), and Sulistyo Utomo (cello),
\nwill perform Beethoven's Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op. 1 no. 1
\nand Schubert's Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op. 100. Further
\ninformation may be obtained from Yayasan Pendidikan Musik at 829
\n2469 or Yayasan Musik Internasional at 913 6259.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/chamber-music-gig-a-hit-more-to-come-1447893297",
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