Myrna Setiawan, an Indonesian success story in the music world
Myrna Setiawan, an Indonesian success story in the music world
By Franki Raden
JAKARTA (JP): The marvel of Indonesian classical music during
the New Order government is the rise of pianists of international
repute. Irawati Soediarso, Rudi Laban and Sutarno Sutikno, for
instance, have all secured senior rankings.
A question remains, though. Why have these piano virtuoso cut
short their stage careers to concentrate on teaching? Young
serious music buffs may not have even heard of the musical feats
of Iravati Soediarso, Rudi Laban and Sutarno Sutikno. In the West
and the U.S., on the other hand, the career of a professional
pianist, or any artist for that matter, is not affected by age.
It appears that a second generation of local pianists of
international acumen has also suffered a similar fate. Their
stage careers appear to be just as short-lived. Oerip Slamet Iman
Santoso, Koei Pin Yo and Yazeed Djamin are examples.
Iravati Soediarso, Rudi Laban and Sutarno Sutikno nobly gave
up the stage to make way for the younger generation. In the
process, they passed on their expertise and have raised
Indonesian pianists to an international standard. Oerip Slamet
Iman Santoso, Koei Pin Yo and Yazeed Djamin all took lessons from
the veteran pianists. Oerip, Koei Pin Yo and Yazeed Djamin seem
to be following the first pianists.
Forfeiting their own stage careers, these two batches of
pianists have sifted musical talents and prepared the few who
studied in Europe and the United States.
Myrna Setiawan is one of these students. Her recent solo
performance with the Nusantara Chamber Orchestra at the Jakarta
Art Center was a dead giveaway that she had been a student of
Yazeed Djamin.
Her brilliant performance of Tchaikovsky's Concerto Piano No.
1 solidified her place at the top. She has won several piano
competitions and was merited with international awards during her
sojourn in the U.S.
Under her agile fingers, Tchaikovsky's music took on a super
lilt. Her sense of accuracy, plus her overall dynamic touch,
strong musical feeling, and mature understanding of the
composer's piece, made her rendering a true delight. Her
excellence on stage, however, put the individual output of the
orchestra members deep into the shadows.
How did these senior pianists manage to mold such outstanding
pianists? Were these young pianists primarily the seed of the
present music world? Or might their cultural backgrounds led to
their success?
Most Indonesian pianists come from the urban environments of
Jakarta and Surabaya, while many orchestra members have their
roots in the Javanese culture (in small towns of Central Java) --
producing different life values from the Western diatonic music
they attempt to play. Perhaps the demands of a solo music
instrument like the piano are stricter, demanding more of the
serious piano student than of other music disciplines.
The correct answer to these questions will allow Indonesia to
eventually musically outdo other Asian countries because a
pianist like Myrna Setiawan is not easily found, not even in the
West.
The performance of the Nusantara Chamber Orchestra conducted
by Yazeed Djamin that evening was merely satisfactory. Its
shortcomings in various movements call for more hard work.
In the third Prelude of The Afternoon of a Faun from Debussy,
the violins united in one sound, whereas in the first movement of
Tchaikovsky's Concerto Piano No. 1, each seemed to go its own
way. Likewise, the first part of Sabre Dance, a fast movement in
the second part of A. Khatchatorian's Gayne Ballet Suite,
lumbered on, although the second part of Lullaby was played
beautifully.
The orchestra's soloists could do with more exercise because
the interpretations of the solos left much to be desired.
Prelude to Debussy's The Afternoon of a Faun fell hopelessly
short of expectations because both flute and oboe soloists
rendered a rigid version of the melody. Yazeed Djamin should have
spared more time to exercise his soloists. If he can make an
international pianist of Myrna Setiawan, he should also have been
able to take the Nusantara Chamber Orchestra to a higher level.
Young pianists like Myrna Setiawan should be performing on
stage more often to provide music-hungry audiences with quality
pieces. Two generations devoted to teaching should be quite
adequate. It would be a waste if all talented pianists resorted
to teaching, robbing audiences of quality music.
Now that quality music is in demand, the years of the
struggling classical music player could well be over.
Perseverance, as shown by the Nusantara Chamber Orchestra and
pianist Myrna Setiawan, are the necessary requisites to develop
classical music in Indonesia.
In a capitalist system where culture is part of the ideology,
Indonesian talents in all fields should be developed, especially
in the arts.