Aemilia, Iswargia in piano recital

JAKARTA (JP): Pianists Aemilia B.M. Teguh and Iswargia R. Sudarno are to go back on stage at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta on Saturday for a piano recital.

Aemilia, who performed at the same venue on July 10, currently lives in the U.S. where she is finishing her doctoral studies in piano performance at Arizona State University.

Born in the East Java town of Jember, Aemilia likes presenting the works of 20th century composers. But she also has a mission of introducing works that are inspired by traditional music and local culture.

She has spent five years in the U.S. and completed her undergraduate program at the Boston Conservatory.

Iswargia is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, New York. He teaches at the Bandung University of Education (formerly IKIP). He also teaches piano and music theory at the Jakarta International School of Music.

Beside being a soloist, Iswargia is also known as a chamber musician and a collaborative pianist. He has collaborated with well-known groups like the Trisutji Kamal Ensemble and British cellist Alexander Baillie.

Iswargia and Aemilia are childhood friends but the collaborative performance will be their first ever.

Their repertoires will be eclectic ones, starting with Franz Schubert's Sonata in C Major 'Grand Duo'. The second half of the concert will feature pieces of different styles from the 20th century: Debussy's En blanc et noir, Morton Feldman's Two pieces for two pianos and Colin McPhee's Balinese Ceremonial Music.