Erasmus hosts Art Song Series

Yohanes Bintang Prakarsa, Contributor, Jakarta

The ever popular Art Song Series will begin its third season next Friday at Erasmus Huis with soprano Binu Doddy Sukaman and accompanist Adelaide Simanjuntak-Simbolon featuring twentieth- century pieces.

This will be one of the most ambitious projects in the entire history of the series: an intriguing mixture of Richard Strauss (1864-1949), Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), Lili Boulanger (1893- 1918), Francis Poulenc (1899-1963), Gerald Finzi (1901-1956), Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992), and the only living composer in the repertoire, Mikis Theodorakis (born in 1925).

Sung in German, French, English, Russian and Greek, the styles and imagery of the pieces vary greatly, from Strauss's high romanticism to Messiaen's mysticism, from Finzi's English countryside to Theodorakis's invocation of folk and religious traditions in Greece.

Beginning as a small enterprise in the middle of last year, this series was initiated by Binu herself, pianist Iswargia R. Sudarno as program designer, and violinist Yasmina Zulkarnain as series manager.

Now, two seasons and twelve performances later, and involving a score of leading Jakarta musicians, it has established itself as one of the most popular classical music series in town, attracted an ever growing audience, and planted the term "art song" in the heart of many classical music lovers who previously knew only operatic arias.

As the series progressed, the series gained support and sponsorship. Yasmina emphasizes, however, that the organizers were committed to running the series and were not depending on the availability of corporate sponsors. This is the reason she introduced the "minimum donation" system for admission, which would hopefully be appreciated by the sympathetic audience.

For this season, the series will continue with art songs on guitar, as well as classic and modern Viennese art songs. In May, a concluding gala concert featuring various artists will be devoted to the lighter fare of folk songs and poetry by famous composers. This final show is to be a fund-raising event for the next series.

"Twentieth Century Art Songs" will be held at Erasmus Huis, Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said Kav. S-3, on Friday, January 17, 2003, at 7:30 p.m. Admission (minimum donation): Rp 35,000 (adults), Rp 25,000 (students). Contact information: Shinta, at the Jakarta Conservatory of Music, at 769 0470, (0815) 882 1719, or (0812) 132 0767.