Virtuoso pianist makes glorious return to exotic roots

JP/19/PIANO

Virtuoso pianist makes glorious return to exotic roots

M. Taufiqurrahman and Jim Read The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

For the evening recital, pianist Esther Budiardjo was dressed in a simple, dark velvet gown adorned with flower-motif embroidery; it turned out however, that her modest appearance served merely to conceal her stunning dexterity, if not virtuosity, at the piano.

The clutch of glowing press reviews accorded to her recordings and live performances were proven justified when Budiardjo produced a memorable performance on Tuesday evening at which the audience witnessed for themselves Budihardjo's masterful command of her instrument.

Time stood still at an almost-full Gedung Kesenian Jakarta (GKJ) as the Jakarta-born pianist gave a rendition of Asian- inspired compositions from Claude Debussy (1862-1918), Alexandre Tansman (1897-1986) and Leopold Godowsky (1870-1938), as well as standard classical fare from Polish composer Frederic Chopin (1810-1849).

The audience was taken on a journey into new territory with the help of images and scenarios from Budiardjo that were coded and hidden within the music -- the approach naturally embraced by composers from the Impressionist era.

Budiardjo chose a very suitable program for her recital, the first in Jakarta in 18 years, especially as the first three compositions were all heavily tinged with the mood and nuance of traditional Indonesian music.

However, rather than merely summoning up her Indonesian roots, the three compositions created an impression that evoked the atmosphere of an unknown land as discovered by the three Western composers during their sojourn in the East.

In Pagodes, the first movement of Debussy's Estampes for example, Budiardjo's playing of minor keys recalled the diffuse sound of traditional Javanese gamelan. Debussy's unmistakable impressionism was imbued with pentatonic nuance -- one of gamelan's essential features -- while repeated note patterns provided a sensuous wash of sound.

The two other pieces in Estampes brought to mind images of Spain (The Evening in Granada) and France (Gardens in the Rain). The Spanish references were delivered through an alluring veil of impressionistic brush strokes, while Budiardjo was able, very effectively, to capture Debussy's quirkiness and essential coquettishness throughout.

In the two compositions by Godowsky and Tansman, Budihardjo attempted to capture, using classical expression, the feeling and emotion that overwhelmed the two composers while they stayed at foreign places in Java.

The sensuous fluency of pentatonic motifs was combined with classical diatonic harmony in a way that, with great subtlety, emphasized the quintessentially esoteric allure of the gamelan.

In Godowsky's Chattering Monkeys at the Sacred Lake of Wendit from Selections from Java Suite, Budiardjo started by producing a lyrical tone that evoked a dark, starry night above a placid lake in the Java hinterland, before jumping into repetitive, playful piano lines.

Ending the piece was a simple melody that called to mind a traditional Javanese chant.

During the Godowsky and Tansman pieces, Budiardjo regularly displayed her much-anticipated virtuosity. Her technical command of the piano was marked by very clear articulation and subtle use of the sustaining pedal, which produced exceptionally persuasive mood music.

In Tansman's Exotique (Danse Javanaise), Budiardjo, at times, produced brilliant tremolos and dazzling arpeggios before reaching a dizzying, bravura crescendo at the end.

All of this was executed with breathtaking speed and precision, as if the piano keys were glued to her fingers.

Such technical virtuosity was repeated extensively during the performance of Chopin's Preludes Op. 28, played in its entirety.

Her technical command was again on clear display in the many running passages in some of the faster preludes, while she fully explored the differences in mood and tone offered by the major and minor keys.

Budiardjo's interpretation was a kind of song cycle that moved from the drama of soldiers being called to march, to a funereal hymn, from pulsating whirlwind to waltzing in lush, green meadows.

At times, her playing evoked the majestic, thick texture of Brahms, while at others the sheer romanticism, tempestuousness and passion of Beethoven were brought to mind.

After a warm reception from the audience, Budiardjo wrapped up her recital with a rendition of the well-known traditional Javanese tune, Tembang Alit, whose basic song structure was taken and given a classical overlay.

The encore, therefore, had the most local flavor of all the compositions performed during the one-hour-plus recital.

Speaking to The Jakarta Post in a backstage interview, Budiardjo -- now a Canadian citizen -- said in almost self- deprecatory tones that it was the appreciative audience that deserved the most credit.

"They gave their undivided attention, even though it would not have been easy to sit through a 40-minute performance of Chopin," she said, modestly.

-- Profile of Esther Budiardjo on Page 20