OSJ's concert highlights Jakarta's birthday<\/p>\n
By Gus Kairupan<\/p>\n
Jakarta (JP): Jakarta is in the midst of festivities
\ncommemorating its 467th anniversary. Among the events was the
\nconcert presented by the Jakarta Symphony Orchestra (OSJ) under
\nthe direction of Yudianto Hinupurwadi on Thursday at Gedung
\nKesenian Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The program featured two compositions by Mozart, the overture
\nto Marriage of Figaro and Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and Chopin's
\nFirst Piano Concerto in E-Minor, in addition to a number of
\nBetawi folk melodies arranged for symphony orchestra.<\/p>\n
The highlight of the concert was Chopin's work, featuring Kuei
\nPin Yeo as soloist, the well-known pianist and teacher whose
\ntechnique is amazing.<\/p>\n
The two Mozart compositions were the first renditions -- the
\noverture followed by Eine Kleine Nachtmusik -- and, bar some
\nimprecise tuning among wind and brass instruments, the
\npresentations were quite good, the playing rather improved from
\nOSJ's last concert at the Patra Jaya building some time ago.<\/p>\n
The orchestra of course has a very long way to go yet. Wind
\nand brass have always been weak points, not just with OSJ but
\nalso with the Nusantara Chamber Orchestra (NCO), but it is the
\nstrings that deserve some commendation.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Nachtmusik could have done with an even more reduced
\nstring section, but that comes under the heading of personal
\npreferences, and OSJ presented a remarkably good interpretation
\nof the all too well-known work, although there appeared to be a
\ntendency of rushing the piece in the final movement.<\/p>\n
Next on the program was an arrangement of Jali-Jali, a Betawi
\nfolk song. Betawi, incidentally, is the name of the indigenous
\npeople and culture of Batavia, as Jakarta was known during the
\ncolonial period. The Betawi people have a distinctly different
\ntype of artistic expression to other Indonesian groups,
\nparticularly in the performing arts.<\/p>\n
The composer of Jali-Jali is unknown, neither did the program
\nnotes mention who arranged the song. OSJ's rendition was well
\nreceived by the audience. The arrangement does have its merits,
\nbut it is not the first time the song has gone through a process
\nof arrangement.<\/p>\n
Encores<\/p>\n
In light of Jakarta's anniversary it may have been deemed
\nappropriate for the program to feature melodies referring to the
\ncity, but whichever way you look at it, Jali-Jali is not an
\noriginal composition for a symphony orchestra.<\/p>\n
As a matter of fact, the Indonesian repertoire of symphonic
\nmusic mostly covers arrangements of folk or popular songs, played
\nas encores. The song Ondel-Ondel, played as an encore that
\nevening, was one. So far, there have been very few works of real
\nsymphonic proportions, though there certainly is no lack of raw
\nmaterial. One can only hope that one day more works will be
\ncommissioned.<\/p>\n
The main opus of the evening was Chopin's piano concerto, and
\nto describe Kuei Pin Yeo's technique as amazing is putting it
\nrather mildly. Ms. Kuei was accompanied by the orchestra, but it
\nis a well-recognized fact that Chopin's orchestral parts play
\nsuch a minor role it could make pianists forget about the group
\nwhich accompanies them.<\/p>\n
Chopin's Andante Spianato et Grande Polonaise, though written
\nfor piano and orchestra, actually works quite well when played
\nsolo. His first piano concerto however does not fall in that
\ncategory because the orchestra does have some moments, few as
\nthey may be, where it is entitled to a more prominent exposure.<\/p>\n
With that elusive characteristic in music called rubato, which
\ndefies description by mere words, it is far from easy to create
\ntogetherness between the two elements. There must be perfect
\nrapport between conductor and pianist which was not the case at
\nthe concert. The conductor, for his part, must be able to sense
\nand anticipate how the soloist is about to deliver a phrase. On
\nthe other hand, the soloist has to be aware of the precious few
\nmoments that the orchestra steps forward.<\/p>\n
Brilliance<\/p>\n
Unevenness -- e.g. orchestra being a fraction too late -- ran
\nthrough the entire rendition but was especially noticeable in the
\nconcerto's second movement. Chopin may not have given the
\norchestra a large role, but give and take is definitely in order.<\/p>\n
As for the third movement, this was truly an exposure of
\ntechnical brilliance. But with Chopin, brilliance cannot be
\ndisplayed for brilliance's sake.<\/p>\n
Probably the most fastidious of all composers, he did not have
\nthe facility of a Mozart who would hear the music in his head and
\nwrote it down straight away in perfect shape, without any
\ndeletions, additions, or whatever other kind of change you can
\nthink of. Composing never came easy to Chopin who agonized over
\nthe minutest detail.<\/p>\n
It follows, then, that every single note is of equal
\nimportance, be it in a melodic or harmonic context. The
\nbrilliance of Chopin's pieces is planned and has its precisely
\ndesignated place in the overall scheme of the work. They are not
\nmere instances for showing off, as happens with quite a number of
\nLiszt's piano compositions. Rushing the final movement of the
\nconcerto, a rondo, did the work a disservice.<\/p>\n
All in all though, the concert was enjoyable. OSJ still has
\nquite a lot of obstacles to overcome, especially concerning the
\nwind and brass sections which could do with intense practice.
\nConductor Yudianto too may be in need of gaining more experience
\nthrough training abroad. There are, after all, a lot of other
\nstyles and types of work the orchestra will have to tackle in
\nfuture.<\/p>",
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