Franki Raden's review

Franki Raden's review

Franki Raden's review of the latest concert by the Nusantara
Chamber Orchestra (The Jakarta Post, April 27) covers the event
well enough, but his opinion on classical piano playing in
Indonesia compels me to respond.

The use of the word "international" in his qualification of
pianists is apparently not based on objective criteria. It is not
enough for a pianist to have played in some foreign countries to
be qualified as "international".

I think an international pianist is a musician who performs in
the world concert circuit at fairly regular intervals, who
commands a reasonably wide repertoire or whose playing is of
exceptional quality. To play in what hall, in what city, on what
occasion, for what audience, may be some additional criteria to
assess a pianist's capabilities. If this is something to go by I
am not sure whether we have as yet international-caliber pianists
among us.

However, as Franki Raden says, Iravati Sudiarso-Rudi Laban-
Sutarno Sutikno and Oerip Santoso-Kuei-Pin Yeo-Yazeed Djamin are
inspired educators in piano playing. These pianists used to
appear in public but played increasingly less with the passing of
time because they became deeper involved in teaching. People
cannot expect that concert pianists take on many pupils,
inversely piano teachers cannot be expected to perform regularly
in public. The more important aspect of musical life is the
maintenance of a good level of music education. And that is
currently in good hands.

Now, about Myrna Setiawan. As Franki Raden writes, she showed
admirable consistency and accuracy. She displayed the whole range
of shadings from pianissimo to fortissimo in good tempo. She
really was a powerhouse of skillful piano playing. But that is
not enough to elicit the sensations one usually feels with
Tchaikovsky's music. This Slavic composer has created music that
speaks to the heart rather than to the head. It was this lyricism
that was not apparent in Myrna's rendering of Tchaikovsky's
warhorse, the B-flat minor Piano Concerto.

If Myrna Setiawan has the potential to become international, I
think she would do well to spend a few years in a music center in
Middle or Eastern Europe where she can absorb the local music
culture, rather than in the U.S. only. After all it is in Europe
that one finds the origins of Western classical music. She will
become a complete musician when she will have discovered the more
profound aspects of music beyond mere virtuosic notes.

S. HARMONO

Jakarta