Competition picks trio of talented piano composers

By Yudha Kartohadiprodjo

JAKARTA (JP): Many of us are quite familiar with jazz piano compositions. Some of us are even more familiar with classical piano pieces.

Even though they do have selected audiences in the society at large, the two types of music have enjoyed a wider spectrum of audience compared to contemporary piano music.

An attempt by the Association of Indonesian Composers to popularize contemporary music among Indonesian composers therefore, has been applauded by many people. Especially as the attempt brings young composers into the public eye.

Together with the German Embassy and Mercedes-Benz, the association organized a competition for contemporary piano compositions. Three winners of the competition were announced during a piano concert in Erasmus Huis on Sept. 20.

The concert featured Hansjorg Koch, a solo pianist who was a member of the jury for the competition. Other members of the jury included Slamet A. Sjukur and Suka Hardjana, both well known Indonesian composers, and Dieter Mack from Germany.

Out of the 19 compositions which qualified for the competition, the jury selected three compositions as the winners. These compositions were: Bayang (Shadow) by Marissa C.L. Susanto, Langendria (Children's Playsong) by Dody Satya Ekagustdiman, Kenang (Remembering) by Soe Tjen Marching.

The jury decided not to give any ratings to the winners because two of the members felt that it was inappropriate for musical competitions to be treated like sporting events. Even so, the jury unanimously agreed that these compositions contained some outstanding characteristics compared to the other contenders.

Soe Tjen and Marissa could be considered the hope of the future for Indonesian contemporary composers, because the two are well under 30 years old. Soe Tjen is 27 years old and Marissa is only 15, while Dody, who teaches karawitan (Javanese traditional orchestra) at the Indonesian Arts School (STSI) in Bandung, is 37.

Marissa started to learn piano at the age of five. Six years later, she learned to write musical compositions with Sjukur. Her piece, Bayang, is characterized by its short, persistently repeated melodic figures. Unlike famous compositions with similar characteristics, which usually emphasize the variety of rhythm and harmony, Marissa stresses the timbre in her composition.

"The piece is heavily inspired by jazz compositions" said Koch.

According to Koch, who also teaches piano at the Freiburg Music School, each of the pieces has its own characterization.

Koch considers Dody's composition as playful. The piece, which the jury regarded as the most solid composition among the three, stressed the timbre through the development of pure intervals throughout the musical score.

"While I was composing the piece, I was heavily influenced by children playsongs from my surrounding," said Dody. He added that his background in traditional music helped him to compose the music.

Soe Tjen, currently taking a doctorate degree in Asian and Womens Studies at Monash University in Australia, wrote Kenang in the wake of her preparations to leave for her study.

"The piece was written based on two intervals, it mainly uses the lowest and the highest pitches on the keyboard," Soe Tjen told The Jakarta Post..

The audience was a little bit surprised when Koch was just about to start playing Soe Tjien's composition. Instead of sitting down, Koch stood at the side of the piano, and throughout the piece he occasionally plucked the piano's strings.

"Conventional use of the keyboard in piano bored me. In my piece, the middle part of the keyboard is rarely used, I play around using the strings within the piano case, and I use the pedals extensively," Soe Tjen said.

Hearing her composition in full for the first time, she admitted that there were some parts that she would like to straighten out.

To judge musical works created by the hands of composers who come from different cultures has proved to be a challenge for the German juries. Koch said that he was trying to be subjective to the setting and the societal context while judging.

Koch, in his third visit to Indonesia, characterized the Indonesian compositions he judged as "calmer, with softer moods compared to western compositions."

When asked for advice for the young composers if they wish to be successful in the future, the judges agreed that there was a lack of experience among the entrants in notation. Only one out of all entrants was up to the common standard.

In addition, Mack thinks that Indonesian composers should seek more exposure if they want their work to mature. He said that events such as this competition were really rare in Indonesia while the Art Summit only occurs once every three years.

"In my country, an event like that occurs more than 20 times in a year. Competition and exposure is badly needed (in order for artists to develop)," he said.