Ladies Orchestra mesmereizes Jakartans

By Arif Suryobuwono

JAKARTA (JP): For Indonesian women, housewives in particular, a gathering will usually mean an arisan (a rolling loan scheme). Or a time for tea or coffee which might degenerate into a gossipy Kaffekrnzchen (ladies' coffee party).

But for the 14 women of the Vienna Waltz Dream Ladies Orchestra (Damenkapelle Wiener Walzertraum) featured at the autumn ball at the Shangri-la here last Friday, it means rehearsals or a concert.

"We usually practice every two weeks for three to four hours," said the orchestra's violinist leader, Doris Dorer. The ladies do not belong to Dorer's orchestra only. Some are in other ladies orchestras or in mixed orchestras at the same time.

"Of course, we have to practice more often when we have to give a concert like this one," Dorer said. Dorer, who set up the ladies orchestra in January 1990, stressed that women are also capable of delivering a quality concert, and not just perform in restaurants, bars or coffee houses.

Dorer proved what she said as soon as the flaxen-haired Viennese ladies became one in three-four time, extending an irresistible invitation to dance to the audience, evenly split between expats and locals. The assembled multitude took up the offer passionately, though they seemed to be afraid of staying up too late.

In 19th-century pink tulle dresses, minus the stand-up collars (to make holding the violins easier), the ladies were more than able to evoke the spirit of Johann Strauss' Vienna in the 1,800 square meter ballroom.

In their concert's program, they beautifully blended the golden era of the waltz (epitomized by Strauss) and the silver era (Franz Lehar, Karl Komzak, Emmerich Kalman). The program started with Lehar's Gold und Silber and ended with Strauss' An der schnen blauen Donau (On the beautiful blue Danube).

They played the instruments in a joyful way. Despite the somewhat formal occasion, what came across was an informal sense of intimacy.

Intimacy and passion for Viennese music were also apparent in the way Dorer gave the audience, in her thick German accent, a brief background to each waltz.

Dorer, a 1985 graduate of the Vienna Conservatorium in violin studies, danced to the music as she was playing with her violin, leading her group.

The secret of their success, Dorer said, lay in their long- standing, intimate relationship. "We are all old friends. We have known each other very well for a long, long time. This is important to developing a true feeling for typical Vienna waltzes."

She added that "one must not stick to scores but rather pour out the spirit of the waltz to the audience. This means that our members must not be imprisoned with how the music should be interpreted. They must have intuition."

Equally remarkable, however, was their intimacy with the instruments, not just the strings and the piano but also with instruments not commonly played by women -- trumpets, horns and drums.

Pri Sulisto, owner of Jakarta's classical-music radio station, Radio Klassik Top FM, praised the group's drummer. Sulisto, himself a drummer in the late 1960s, commented, "It is rare that a woman plays a percussion instrument in such a skillful way."

For the drummer, Annie Hirschvogl, however, there is nothing special about her skills. "Since I was six, I have played various musical instruments. At 16, I was asked by my brother to join his band as the drummer because there was no drummer in his band. I started playing the drums seriously and took percussion lessons at Vienna's academy of music for about five years."

Hirschvogl, who also teaches percussion, said that it is now quite common for girls in Austria to play the drums. "The number of girls in my classes is about the same as the number of boys. In some classes, there are more girls," she said.

The same was also true for the woodwind instruments, added trumpeter Elisabeth Hujer. She started playing the accordion at the age of 10 but later fell in love with the trumpet.

"We want to show that women, too, can play instruments which have long been regarded as men's instruments," said Dorer, adding that "we also want to show that us women can play better than men."

In some respects, Dorer was right. Dorer conducted Johann Strauss' Tritsch-Tratsch polka faster than Herbert von Karajan. No wonder. Her idols are Willy Boskowski, one of the most acclaimed and senior conductor in Vienna's New Year Concert, and Carlos Kleiber.

Dorer, who is also a violin teacher, added that women are generally more diligent than men, as was confirmed by her ob servation of the girls and boys in her classes.

"I think the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra will have to admit women in 20 years," she said. That the most celebrated orchestra of Vienna refused to take in women musicians is also a reason why Dorer opted for a ladies orchestra rather than a mixed orchestra.

"We have lots of great women musicians in Austria. Why should they (the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra) not accept us?" Dorer asked. Moreover, she added, there are many ladies orchestras in Austria because "they are more in demand than mixed orchestras and because ladies often have finer feelings for the waltz."

Dorer took the name "Waltz Dream" from an operetta by Oscar Strauss which featured a ladies' orchestra of the same name in its first performance in Vienna in 1907.

"The leader of the orchestra was nicknamed Franzi. A man broke her heart," she said. Obviously, she says, she does not identify with Franzi. It is perhaps more suitable to associate her with "the Vienna Blood," a Johann Strauss operetta but also a nickname given to singer Antonie Mansfeld. If this moniker was given to Mansfeld for her temperament, it should be given to Dorer for her struggle for equal rights.