Musician blends local tunes with classical

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.