Young musician's debut impressive<\/p>\n
By Gus Kairupan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Hendry Wijaya is the name of a young pianist
\nthat deserves to be remembered.<\/p>\n
His credits would fill a page and list such august
\ninstitutions as the Royal Schools of Music, Boston University,
\nwhich granted him a scholarship when he was only 16; the
\nManhattan School of Music; master classes by many of today's
\nforemost pianists such as Charles Rosen, Stefan Jezierski and
\nMichael Ponti; teachers who are attached to the Juilliard and, of
\ncourse, Manhattan School itself where he is now in the process of
\ngetting his master's degree.<\/p>\n
Hendry displayed his talent at a very early age. He began
\npiano lessons at the age of two under the guidance of his mother,
\nperformed for Radio Republik Indonesia at four and joined the
\nYamaha-sponsored Junior Original Concert group where he played
\nhis own compositions by the time he was six. Through all this he
\nwas supervised by Yazeed Djamin, Muneaki Watanabe, Soetarno
\nSoetikno and Tamam Hoesein.<\/p>\n
A most impressive track record for one so young. The result
\nwas displayed last Saturday when Hendry debuted at Gedung
\nKesenian Jakarta. He has, of course, played there before, but it
\nwas his debut as a recitalist, playing before an audience the way
\nsome of his prominent teachers do. One of his teachers, Constance
\nKeene, performed here last year.<\/p>\n
He is now working towards and being guided through his
\nmaster's degree. But afterwards? With all the prominent music
\neducation institutes from which he has received diplomas and
\nawards, it seems that he has now been provided with all the
\nnecessary equipment to build up a career. Everything, that is,
\nexcept mental, spiritual and intellectual maturity.<\/p>\n
He displayed some of this in his recital, but, on the whole,
\nthe three elements are still too strongly traceable to his
\nteachers. In other words, he is still adhering too much to their
\npointers.<\/p>\n
Hendry must keep in mind that their pointers are to direct him
\nto a road that he must travel alone. All teachers can do is show
\nthe way. Diplomas and awards -- no matter how excellent the
\ninstitutes from which they come -- are only a beginning.<\/p>\n
The program last Saturday was comprised of four sonatas by
\nBeethoven, Scriabin, Schumann, and Prokofiev as well as Chopin's
\nPolonaise Fantaisie, which Hendry opened the recital with.
\nBarring the few understandable hitches which often occur in
\nopening numbers, there was very little that could be faulted. The
\nright ingredients were there, like the crisp succession of three
\nsixteenth notes that are the most prominent feature in the rhythm
\nof the polonaise, the harmonic shifts typical of Chopin and the
\nmelodic lines in the bass. Hendry did all the right things. Yet
\nit seemed as if Hendry played the way he did because Lillian
\nFreundlich or Peter Frankl or Jung-Ja Kim or Constance Keene had
\nsuggested it. He sounded as if he were playing for his teachers,
\nnot for the audience.<\/p>\n
Another problem was that his sonorities were similar from the
\nfirst piece onwards. This won't do. There is a world of
\ndifference between Chopin, Beethoven, Schumann, Scriabin and
\nProkofiev. They differ in personality, concept, circumstance, and
\nlife experiences. It follows that Chopin shapes his tones
\ndifferently from the other four. Scriabin, with a strong streak
\nof mysticism in his psychological make-up cannot -- sonority-wise
\n-- be equated with Beethoven.<\/p>\n
Half-way through the Chopin, I expected that Prokofiev would
\nprobably be the most satisfactory rendition. It was. But again,
\nthe shaping of tones were not much different from those of the
\nother four. Throughout this sonata, I couldn't help wondering
\nwhether Hendry had ever tried playing without the use of the
\nsustaining pedal. Of course it's an impossibility but it may
\nprovide an insight into the crispness that marks the sonata.<\/p>\n
As for Schumann's sonata, I was quite at a loss as to how
\nHendry conceived it. Here is a composer who can't help being a
\nsinger -- he is regarded as one of the two giants of the German
\nart song. It is this aspect which comes out most of all in the
\nsecond movement, but song-like strophes occur throughout the
\nentire sonata, from about three or four bars after the fortissimo
\nG-Minor chord in the beginning. The tempo, \"as fast as possible\"
\naccording to Schumann's directive, was there and kept up
\nthroughout the movement. Music and speaking both deliver a
\nmessage that comes in sentences, phrases and even whole chapters.
\nAnd, like speaking, in delivering a musical message one also
\nbreathes, accentuates, works up to climaxes and so on.<\/p>\n
So, what is one to make of Hendry Wijaya? He is still very
\nyoung, but already has the seeds in him to become a great
\npianist. He must deepen his knowledge of the circumstances that
\nled or provided composers with the inspiration for their works,
\nincluding literature, painting, sculpture and contemporary world
\naffairs (Beethoven's Eroica has such overtones). He should also
\nstudy the other types and forms of music, like symphonies,
\noperas, songs, chamber music, etc., which were written by the
\nsame composers whose piano works he plays. Most of all, he must
\nbegin to think about cutting the umbilical chord that ties him to
\nhis mentors.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/young-musicians-debut-impressive-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}