Dualism marks the 1994 classical music scene

Gus Kairupan

JAKARTA (JP): There's day and there's night, two sides to a coin, positive and negative, up and down. And that's what marks the classical music scene in Indonesia, or, to be more precise, Jakarta -- the center of everything that counts in this country. But come to think of it, describing the scene as up-down, positive-negative, etc. isn't quite right because there hasn't been much of a change, in say, the past three years or so. Though this year there were some good individual performances, orchestral music wasn't much to write home about.

First, the individuals. There have been memorable performances, like the piano duo recital (two pianos, two players) by mother and daughter team Iravati and Aisha Sudiarso last August. This was an event of professional standards that, as I said then, would do very well if taken on a tour not only in Indonesia but overseas. Music for piano is of course Indonesia's greatest strength although, except for the duo, there have been very few others who have given proof of their capabilities in front of an audience. Of those who did, Adelaide Simbolon merits a mention for the marvelous work she did when she accompanied Polish violinist, Bartolomiej Niziol last June.

Recently, Linny Sugianto and Iswargia Sudarno performed in a recital of music for piano duet (one piano, two players) and though their performance somewhat lacked musical maturity the event had every indication of good promise because the technique was there.

Of non-piano events, Eric Awuy, Indonesia's sole classical trumpeter, performed at The Stage Restaurant in what would most likely have been the first ever solo recital of classical music for trumpet. He was accompanied by pianist Ary Sutedja who has earned degrees in the U.S. and Russia.

Another event I can think of with pleasure is a recital of choral music featuring the choir of Bandung's Parahyangan University -- surely the best we have -- conducted by Avip Priatna, the only Indonesian musician I know of who has taken up conducting as his major field of study. Avip has been in Austria for the past three years or so, pursuing both choir and orchestra conducting, and has already obtained his baccalaureate degree, with distinction. He is, perhaps, the only hope we have for someone who will be able to whip into shape whatever orchestra we have in this country. It only remains for the tunnel-visioned organizers here to wake up to the fact that present conductors are wanting, and to summon up the nerve to undertake a complete overhaul. It would be a shame if someone like Avip Priatna, with his enormous talent for conducting, decided to remain abroad where he would be more appreciated. One conductor has already done so: conductor Yahya Ling, presently attached to the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra in the United States.

There is another conductor who may yet develop into a very capable orchestra leader, i.e. Addie M.S. of the Twilite Orchestra, whose recent performance some weeks ago was the first one I attended. I must say that Addie M.S., for all his lack of formal studies, communicates far better with the orchestra members than Yazeed Djamin of the Nusantara Chamber Orchestra and Yudianto Hinupurwadi of the Jakarta Symphony Orchestra. Another plus in Addie's favor is that he seems to derive pleasure from what he is doing, which cannot be said for the other two. The Twilite Orchestra has apparently chosen to concentrate on light classics and popular music a la Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops, which is fine. .RM 68

But, heavy classics or light classic/popular, the demands for the conductor remains the same, and Addie M.S. would do well by taking up formal studies for a couple of years. One other thing the Twilite Orchestra (and Addie M.S. too, of course) should look into is performing without amplification. For an orchestra the size of the Twilite Orchestra it is totally unnecessary and besides may pose a danger of the conductor getting dependent on electronically produced sounds rather than natural ones. Amplification is not altogether taboo, but it should be applied with care to enhance the natural sound rather than blowing it up. Besides which the technician in charge should be sitting at the panel with the full score in front of him.

As regards the Jakarta Symphony Orchestra, it still seems to be suffering birth pangs. Or rather re-birth pangs because this group has, over the years, gone through a series of oblivion and renaissance. One concert planned for last November was canceled for lack of funds, I was told. This does not bode well for the group that was re-inaugurated with such fanfare last year when a host of some of Jakarta's most prominent individuals and business-men signed its second (or third, fourth, whatever) birth certificate. Hopes were great because the Jakarta Symphony Orchestra, as a government organization within the Ministry of Information -- and, as such, amounting to less than zero -- had been taken over by private hands, would be better run, or so many people thought. So far, improvement has been scant.

The group which is still called the Nusantara Chamber Orchestra is the only orchestra still performing regularly. It is well into its sixth year now, but musically, the Nusantara Chamber Orchestra reached the peak of its abilities about three years ago. Music of the classical period does not fare too badly at the hands of Yazeed Djamin but he appears to be out of his league with anything following afterwards. The problems with wind and brass sections seems to have become chronic, and with the constant change of personnel (NCO has had a quite noticeable turnover of players), there is no immediate progress in sight. One wonders about the attitude on the part of the players as well as the conductor vis-a- vis the work they are doing, but here is one instance that may serve as an indication. At a performance earlier this year, I felt it necessary to call on the orchestra's manager to tell the members to tune their instruments properly. No one can tell what the orchestra will be like in the near future, but don't expect any renditions of the works of Wagner, Brahms, Mahler, Bartok, Strauss (Richard), Prokofiev, Shostakovich, etc. any time soon.

The above does not present an inspiring picture of classical music activities in Jakarta. And things aren't made any better by an announcer of a private TV company who told an audience of millions in the Nuansa Pagi news program that classical music makes him sleepy (he was referring to the concert of the Wanderer Trio of France).

All the same, there are glimmers of hope particularly where education is concerned. The School of Music (Yayasan Pendidikan Musik), whose annual crop of graduates include quite a few who receive scholarships to study abroad, will, in a short time move from its ramshackle quarters in Manggarai to a brand new and proper building for music education located in Bintaro.

There's also the six-month-old group called The Circle, a very loose, non-commercial and non-political gathering of Indonesians and expatriates that concentrates on anything in the creative fields, including music. It has so far presented about half a dozen admission-free musical events, including one music workshop for children. The Circle is planning a series of such workshops to be presented in schools for a reason that couldn't be simpler: future audiences are to be found among children.