YMI concert not quite up to standard

By Gus Kairupan

JAKARTA (JP): The smaller the group, the more difficult it gets to make music. Maybe that isn't quite right -- symphony orchestras have difficulties, too. In a large group, though (instrumental and vocal), it's not all that noticeable if a violinist, cellist, or a singer in a big choir misses a note or two, if only because there are, say, six others playing or singing the same note.

But the smaller the group, the less its musicians can afford to miss a note. At a musical performance of a chamber orchestra recently, I heard the cellist demanding that the orchestra seats be rearranged "because I can't hear the leader's breathing." That sent my eyebrows reaching for the sky and the lower jaw for my socks. Until then it had never occurred to me how important one's breathing is to someone else when they're engaged in making music. The moral of the story is that in small groups you mustn't only hear your neighbor's notes, you must also hear his or her breath. Make music together and breathe together. Not all together in a strict regime of "one, two, one, two" rhythm, but coordinated in such a manner, that it flows seamlessly from one player to the next, from one section to the other, from the violin, to the piano, to the cello, and so on.

So, togetherness in every aspect of the music performed is the sine qua non, in order that the work performed emerges as a complete product in which all details are well blended and harmonized to make one perfect whole. This also applies to big orchestras, of course, though I have no idea of how the element of breathing is worked out in such a large group.

It is this wholeness that was, unfortunately, lacking in the performance of the Jakarta Chamber Music Society last Thursday, (Nov. 5) at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta. The Society is, as the program said, in residence at the International Music Foundation (Yayasan Musik Internasional). The first impression that came to my mind about the performance was that they seemed to be playing so very carefully, almost painfully. Why did the musicians play the way they did? It couldn't have been technique because all of them possess the kind of educational qualifications for which you'd take your hat off. All of them have performed regularly -- singly or in groups -- in this country as well as overseas. So it is well within their capacity to tackle the compositions performed: Debussy's Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello in G Minor featuring Pudjiwati Effendi at the piano, IG Bagus Wiswakarma on violin and Sulistyo Utomo on cello; Zoltan Kodaly's Adagio for Viola and Piano (Sharon Eng and Ary Sutedja); Prokofiev's Sonata for Violin & Piano in D Major, and Mozart's clarinet quintet with Yudianto Hinupurwadi on clarinet, IG Bagus Wiswakarma and Heri Sunarto on violin, Sharon Eng -- violist and Sulistyo Utomo -- cellist.

I am not familiar with Debussy's Trio, but from what I heard the work seems to be an early one. At any rate, as far as form, rhythm and harmony are concerned, you could call it classical although the movements do not follow the classical order. But the latter is of lesser importance. Almost totally missing were the typical Debussy characteristics of, for instance, vague rhythms and the type of harmonic structure that imparts a mystic quality to his music (ninth chords and whole-tone runs, coloring through frequent use of the left pedal). Did Debussy write this before the Suite Bergamasque, say, or his only string quartet, or was it a late composition?

Whatever the case may be, the work with its conventional classical characteristics is far more transparent than Kodaly's and Prokofiev's compositions. And because of that, it made some of the performance's shortcomings stand out clearer. Lack of coordination between the instruments and coloring are two things that come to mind. Next was Kodaly's Adagio for viola and piano. Ms. Eng had played it before at another concert about a week before this one, and at that time gave a more inspired interpretation of the work with Ary Sutedja as accompanist. Both are members of the Classical Nuances quartet so it may be said that they are more attuned to each other, since they have frequently performed together.

The change in pianists may well account for the lesser performance at the Gedung Kesenian.

As regards the Prokofiev sonata, well, one would certainly have expected a far wider range of coloring from violinist IG Bagus Wiswakarma, including the biting and snapping Prokofiev is known for. His tone and color tended to be on the light side which I, at least, don't find quite right for a Russian composer. The way he performed the piece could well have communicated itself to Sutedja's playing because she, too, lacked the fire of Russian music, which is unusual for someone with an educational background that includes Russia.

The performance of Mozart's clarinet quintet was more satisfying, but better results could have been achieved with better coordination between players. It was in this work that cellist Sulistyo's imperfection in hitting notes stood out loud and clear. I had already noticed it in Debussy's trio. Mozart is about a hundred times more transparent, so any mishap -- however small -- is immediately noticeable.

The conclusion? A rather unsatisfactory concert, which I found very surprising to say the least because this one is a far cry from performances last year in which the Society played, among others, a Brahms piano quartet and Schubert's Trout quintet. Both much more difficult works were interpreted with such verve and conviction that the end product came very close to brilliance. My guess is that not enough time has been spent in playing together, as well as discussing the works -- which is just as important. This brings us to the term "in residence." A group of musicians -- say, a quartet -- usually comprises members who have been performing together for years and years, and have more than earned their spurs on countless concert stages. They're thoroughly familiar with each other's character, temperament, musical qualities and capabilities, manner of playing, etc. etc. It goes without saying that a group that does not have this background needs far more time to get to know one another in more respects than those connected with music.