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/