Musician blends local tunes with classical

Text and photo by Harry Bhaskara

JAKARTA (JP): In this time of domestic crises, it is easy to forget that there are numerous Indonesian artists abroad who are still alive and kicking.

One of these artists is Berlin-based classical guitarist Iwan Tanzil who visited Indonesia last week. He has been living in the German capital for 19 years but retained his Indonesian passport.

Born in Jakarta in 1963 Iwan's repertoire, performed in more than 50 European cities over the last ten years, has always included popular Indonesian songs played in a classical guitar style.

He named his collection of these songs Suite Pusaka (sacred treasure) comprising Sarinande, Ayo Mama, Lissoi and Bubuy Bulan, all of them locally cherished melodies.

Suite Pusaka mesmerized thousands of guitar lovers who thronged the world's great concert halls such as the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, Stettin Palace in Poland and also Seoul Arts Center in South Korea.

In last year's international guitar festival held in Poland, Suite Pusaka was chosen to be played by a young Polish guitarist who eventually went on to win the top prize.

Iwan himself was the winner of the 1989 International Guitar Festival in Milan, Italy.

Iwan applied to Hochschule der Kuenste in Berlin in 1983 just after he finished school.

"How can you earn a living, if playing the guitar is the only thing you want to do in life?" Iwan recounted his father's concern.

"But the guitar is the only instrument that I really want to master," Iwan replied, "at that time I never thought about earning a living."

After he finished his studies, Iwan said, it turned out that he was able to earn a living through the instrument.

Iwan initially took a concert guitar course in Berlin in 1988 before going on to take a concert diploma and graduated in 1991, with honors.

Iwan is married to Dr. Gundula Schulze, a university lecturer, has a toddler, Julian. They are currently on holiday in Indonesia, something he finds difficult to do with ease.

But his Jakarta friends and fans, perhaps too tempted to learn something from him have virtually "dragged" him from his holiday.

Last week he gave coaching classes to students from the Jakarta Institute of Arts.

A discussion was held after Iwan played a number of pieces including Potong Bebek Angsa, a children's song he composed for his son.

Iwan has recorded five CDs, including one comprising the complete works of Heitor Villa-Lobos.

Both his concerts and CDs have won wide acclaim from musical magazines throughout Europe including Magazin Gitarre & Laute in its German and Japanese editions and Classical Guitar, published in London.

A number of European composers have composed songs for Iwan including one by Italian composer Carlo Domeniconi. The piece was named after a traditional Indonesian string instrument, Kecapi.

Iwan now teaches for about 15 hours a week in addition to arranging pieces and composing songs. He said he had reduced his stage performances to a minimum.

Rudi Hamid, a talented Jakarta guitarist who knew Iwan before he went to Germany said that Iwan's musical talent was obvious.

"It is not surprising that he was the only Indonesian accepted at the Berlin music school," he told The Jakarta Post.

"His musical sensitivity has always been extraordinary, so is his mastery of the instrument and it turns out that he also has a talent for composing songs. He is both a performer and a composer, a rare combination," Rudi said.

One of his former teachers, Johny Legoh, said that he spotted his talent early on when Iwan took guitar lessons with him while he was still at school.

"His enormous talent coupled with his steely determination is the secret of his success," said Johnny, who is a senior guitar instructor from the Indonesian Music Foundation.

Besides Iwan, the guitar coaching class that evening was enriched by valuable insights from Sudirman Leman, a young and promising Indonesian guitarist who graduated from the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Graz, Austria last year and Benny Tanto, an instructor of classical guitar from the Jakarta Institute of Arts.

A Jakarta guitarist, 16-year old Meilisa Husein, who took part in the coaching class said that she was determined to become a professional classical guitarist.

"I will go to Germany after I finish school and take a guitar major at a conservatory," she told the Post .

Rahayu Rahardjo, who heads the Gita Niti Para Samya music school in Kebayoran Baru where the class was held, said she expected to hold regular lecture concerts in her school.

Upcoming lecture concerts will include guitarist Sudirman Leman together with leading soprano Aning Katamso Asmoro on Sept. 1 and Jakarta guitarists on Sept. 29.

Closer on the agenda for guitar lovers will be a concert by five former Indonesian guitar festival winners on Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Yamaha building on Jl.Gatot Subroto, Central Jakarta. Entrance to this concert will be free.