The Sungkonos: Twin pianists find keys to success

The Sungkonos: Twin pianists find keys to success

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It took time, patience and relocating to another country, but
Indonesian-born classical pianists Sonja and Shanti Sungkono are
finally getting the critical recognition they hoped for.

But the associations with their homeland still precede them.

"Indonesia is the land of music," German's Berliner Morgenpost
daily opened a glowing review of the 31-year-old twins.

The piece, published at the end of last year, closed with a
four out of five star rating.

Meanwhile, another German daily, WAZ, gushed that the two
sisters' performance was breathtaking, offering "atmospheric
density, technical brilliance and pure enjoyment of playing".

Among the classical music community in Germany, the sisters
have gained a reputation as "two supertalents".

Playing compositions ranging from Debussy and Dvorak to Haydn
and Shostakovich, the sisters specialize in piano-duo and piano-
fourhands.

"We've just finished our second (course of) study. When we
first came to Berlin, we studied piano with a focus on music
pedagogy. In this second study, we focused on piano performance,
especially on piano-duo and piano-fourhands," the sisters said in
a recent interview via e-mail.

After graduation, more work has come their way: Concerts to
introduce piano-duo literature, promotion for their 2002 debut CD
Werke Fuer 2 Klaviere (Music for 2 Pianos) and working on the
second CD, which is also due to be releases in December.

"We're also preparing our concert here to celebrate the 150th
anniversary of (piano producer) Steinway & Sons in Munich. One of
us will introduce the limited production of an exclusive grand
piano, only 150 of them, which is designed by Karl Lagerfeld,"
they said, referring to the German-born Chanel designer.

Also on their agenda is cooperating with the Indonesian
Embassy in Berlin to promote Indonesian music.

The road to their growing success began in 1992.

Born and raised in Jakarta, high school graduates Sonja and
Shanti moved to Berlin to join their sister.

They had studied piano since the age of five, and they pursued
music studies at the Akademie der Kunste Berlin (University of
Arts Berlin).

"The first years were not easy. We had to take language course
for a year, and also had to repeat our senior year at high school
because the Indonesian diploma is not accepted here," they said.

"We initially studied linguistics, before deciding to switch
to music, based on the recommendation of our professor."

The hard work paid off, and they began receiving offers for
gigs in Germany, Poland, Italy, France and the United States.

In 1997, they received an "Excellent" commendation by the
Jerusalem Rubin Academy of Music and Dance, as well as becoming
participants in the European piano forum in Berlin.

Two years later, The Murray Dranoff Foundation in Miami,
Florida, picked the twins out of 183 worldwide entrants as the
winner of its seventh international piano duo competition. More
awards came their way, including third place at Torneo
Internazional Musicas in Italy, and dozens of invitations to
seminars and discussions.

The achievements attracted Hamburg-based record company New
Classic Adventure (NCA), which signed the twins to a record deal.
Their debut CD has sold well in the classical music market in
major European countries as well as in the United States, and led
them to concerts in those regions, and also Brazil.

The CD also received a warm welcome from critics in noted
magazines like Germany's Fono Forum, Klassik Heute and Piano
News, France's Crescendo and Italy's TIM.

They are thankful of the opportunities provided to them, and
say they have never felt like "outsiders" in the Germany's
classical music scene.

"We're very grateful that our career has been going well. We
think that no matter where you are from, as long as you're doing
a good job, you will find the way. We've never faced
discrimination here," they said.

The second CD, with production due to be finished by the end
of August, is the second chapter of music from the 20th century
on two pianos.

One of the numbers will be highlighted by Balinese traditional
music, while the rest come from countries like France, Iceland,
Poland and Hungary.

"We plan to come to Indonesia following the release of our
second CD. We haven't gone home for a long time," the sisters said.

They believe that appreciation of classical music in Indonesia
is improving, with the emergence of music schools in the country
and the increasing frequency of classical music concerts.

"It means that Indonesians are more willing to open
themselves. Although, frankly, we have yet be able to compete
with Asian countries like Japan, Korea and China whose young
pianists are really up to the world standard."

They also realize that pursuing a career in classical music is
beyond the means of many Indonesians.

"We know that many still struggle even to make ends meet, let
alone buying a piano or any other instrument. But that's OK, it's
better to develop slowly but surely."

Indonesia has changed in many ways since they left in the
early 1990s, and they feel the reverberations even far from home.

"Being Indonesian citizens, although we're not responsible for
all the incidents, we get the impact as well. Many ask questions and
it's just sad that a lot of our German friends are afraid to come to
Indonesia."

But they add that residing in another country has given them a
new perspective on their homeland.

"It's good that our country is known as a paradise. But
becoming a touristic country should not be our main goal. There
is so much potential in the economy, arts, natural resources that
are just abandoned because of the lack of good human resources."

They bemoaned the ignorance and consumerism of Indonesian
society -- and the sorry lack of leadership.

"Indonesia is like an airplane flying without a compass, going
in some direction without knowing the closest way to reach it," the
sisters said.

It is their country nevertheless, and through music, Sonja and
Shanti are hoping to make a little contribution to making it better.

www.geocities.com/sssungkono/