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.