Chamber music gig a hit; more to come

Chamber music gig a hit; more to come

By Y. Bintang Prakarsa

JAKARTA (JP): A classical music concert organizer once said
that chamber music is not marketable, but a performance of piano
trios by pianist Ary Sutedja, violinist I Gusti Bagus Wiswakarma,
and cellist Leonard van Hien (Erasmus Huis, Sept. 19) proved that
she was wrong. It was a bit surprising that the pay-to-enter
concert was well-attended, bearing in mind that free concerts are
normally taken for granted at Erasmus Huis.

The musicians nicely performed Haydn's Piano Trio in D major,
Hob XV no. 24, Mozart's in C Major, K 548, and Beethoven's
"Archduke" in B-flat major, Op 97. Haydn's and Mozart's works are
basically simpler than Beethoven's, because they were composed
with amateurs in mind.

Beethoven's trio, which is longer, more difficult, and assigns
more independence to the string section, is more appropriate for
accomplished musicians. Ary, Bagus, and van Hien succeeded in
keeping the intimate nature of chamber playing by cooperating
closely, giving way to the other partner when necessary.

In brief, nothing in excess. One wished, however, for a
greater piano presence, not in terms of volume, perhaps, but in
assertiveness and command.

However elaborate the string parts, these trios are
compositions where the piano is placed in virtual leadership.
Even in Beethoven's trio, the violinist and the cellist cannot
assume a more significant role than the pianist, for whom more
confidence and display is entirely appropriate.

This pleasing concert was but the beginning of a promising
series of Classical and Romantic chamber music concerts with
piano accompaniment. Beginning with this one, there will be
another five monthly performances at the Erasmus Huis. In all, it
will involve 12 leading Jakarta string players, pianists, and
clarinetists, who are to present fourteen works for various
instrumental combinations by six composers ranging from Haydn
through Brahms (for a complete listing of the series of programs
and performers, visit the Chamber Music Series homepage,
http://www.chambermusic.or.id/).

This is no small effort with program conception through to
contacting artists and booklet publishing being done without the
help of professional organizers. Bagus Wiswakarma did most of the
work in conjunction with van Hien, assisted by the Sekolah Musik
Internasional Jakarta.

Everything is commendable, down to the informative booklet
with complete programs, artists, and notes about the works for
the entire series, which will extend to March next year.

According to Bagus, he had been dreaming of this chamber music
series for two years before he finally began to realize it with
the support of van Hien, who is a businessman by profession. He
sounded out the idea with musicians, who responded with
enthusiasm. Bagus then assumed the role of musical director, and
succeeded in bringing together performers from many different
backgrounds.

"Personal chemistry is fundamental," said Bagus. "I admit that
this plan is very ambitious. To involve different pianists in
every concert is really a crazy idea. But this is the key: the
artists were assigned on neutral ground, which encouraged them to
engage in fair competition."

For the next concert, (Thursday, Oct. 19), Bagus, together
with Iswargia R. Sudarno (piano), and Sulistyo Utomo (cello),
will perform Beethoven's Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op. 1 no. 1
and Schubert's Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op. 100. Further
information may be obtained from Yayasan Pendidikan Musik at 829
2469 or Yayasan Musik Internasional at 913 6259.