Complete interview with David del Puerto & me, uncut

Last Monday the newspaper The Jakarta Globe published an interview by guitarrist John Paul that he did to David del Puerto and me during his visit to Madrid (see previous entry). It was as usual cut for the newspaper, but here is the complete interview, literally transcribed from his real time chat. I think it is important to hear the opinion of Spain's prominent composer about Indonesian music. .............................................................................................................................................. During my trip to Madrid recently to perform a concert with Ananda Sukarlan and other selected Indonesian musicians, I had the opportunity of working with David del Puerto, one of Spain’s most important composers today, in preparing to perform his Nocturno y Toccata, for solo guitar. David has composed a number of large works influenced by Indonesian music. His 2nd symphony Nusantara, was dedicated to Ananda Sukarlan. While in Madrid, I was also able to interview David and Ananda especially for The Jakarta Globe readers. .............................................................................................................................................. David del Puerto 1. Would you mind to tell us a little bit about your compositions which were inspired by Indonesian music? I love music from everywhere in the world and the musical culture of Indonesia is one of the most developed, not exactly the folk, but the traditional music. I have composed some big works that are quite entirely devoted to Indonesia such as my 2nd symphony called Nusantara, dedicated to Ananda Sukarlan. Indonesian elements are a strong influence not just in some of my compositions but in my compositional language in general. I am not an atonal composer. My lungs and my breath are modal, sometimes even tonal. The important thing about modalism is not just how the scales sound, but how they work and the understanding of this is important in creating modal music that sounds natural, so not just Indonesian pentatonic scales but also Indonesian culture is a central part of my musical language. .............................................................................................................................................. 2. The identity of the Spanish sound of the Spanish composers particularly of the 20th century is one of the most distinct. How would you advise today’s young Indonesian classical music composers in forging an Indonesian identity in their music? In the Avant-garde world there is the danger of forgetting the ethnic and folkloric sources of music. The Avant-garde was developed by countries which had a strong relationship with such sources in the 19th century. Any country that has not overpassed this status has to develop it now. Indonesia, Japan, Latin America or China has somewhat of the obligation to go through the same steps as France or Germany did in the 18th or 19th centuries. Classical music is not a closed world. Its material includes folkloric sources and this was true for the music of German composers of the 18th and 19th century. So if an Indonesian composer forgets that, then he will lose all the real roots of the way of thinking in regards to Indonesian artistic identity and he will become just a copy of the Germans, French or Italians. This is something that an artist needs to absolutely avoid. He has to find his way of developing from his country and his roots. Of course, he should not forget his studies, but he should not imitate. His point of reference could be his own roots, and the history of the classical music of the 20th century that has not followed the Avant-garde language. Assuming that we are speaking of Indonesian composers who consciously want to produce music that belongs to the long tradition of classical music, then in the simplest terms I would say one must learn from the past, but do not imitate. .............................................................................................................................................. 3. Would you mind to share with us your impression of the concert of the Indonesian diaspora in Madrid recently? It was for me a big, nice surprise. It is great to see how young musicians coming from such a distant country - with a strong and distinctive culture -, are fully involved in the performance of contemporary classical music, the art music of our time. It means that the seed of the musical creation is alive, so we can expect a great harvest in the immediate future. And furthermore, the contribution of the spirit of a rich and complex culture that has recently joined the adventure of classical music will be for sure of the greatest interest, both in interpretation and in composition. I think this event in Madrid was a true guarantee of future for the music, in which we can trust firmly. .............................................................................................................................................. Ananda Sukarlan .............................................................................................................................................. 1. What do you hope to achieve through this event? It’s a beginning where I hope to prove that we can show our quality in Europe. .............................................................................................................................................. 2. Why did you choose Grace, Ratna, Amelia and I? I have seen all of them play and I see potentials in all of you. I hope this is not a onetime project, and I do hope to invite more (Indonesian) musicians in the future. I chose you in particular because you are a guitarist and this is Spain. Also because, well, to be honest, I don’t know any other Indonesian guitarist in Europe. So that’s you in particular. .............................................................................................................................................. 3. The German minister of Arts is quoted as saying that spending on culture is not a subsidy but an investment in the future of our society. Do you agree with this? Of course! And it’s not just the future, it’s the present. .............................................................................................................................................. 4. What must our musicians, educators, corporate sector, government and Indonesian society in general do to improve classical music in general in Indonesia, the appreciation for it, and to forge this Indonesian classical music identity? To start, just one. Believe in ourselves. Many of us still believe that western music is better. Classical music started in Europe, but it no longer belongs only to Europe. The task of American musicians in establishing an American classical music identity was considerably easier than ours since Americans tend to be very proud of America. We don’t believe in our own musicians. The proof can be seen by low attendance at concerts by our own musicians. But try inviting a foreign musician and it will be much easier to sell the tickets. On the other hand, our musicians also don’t play enough music by Indonesian composers. After we believe in ourselves, then what we need is collaboration. Walt Whitman said, “A great nation is one that provides a great audience for its artists”. .............................................................................................................................................. 5. This question of Indonesian identity holds true in a lot of other aspects of Indonesian society. Yes, but we have an advantage over countries like the United States for example, where everything has come from outside. Americans were all immigrants, whereas Indonesians are all natives. So we do have an identity, and it can sound a bit Acehnese or Javanese, etc. .............................................................................................................................................. 6. I have an interesting point about natives. Would you say that any ethnic group that has been in a country for over 500 years or even millennia can be called native? Yes. In fact, I call the Chinese people in Indonesia as native. I’m against people who say “Oh, he’s Chinese” (condescendingly) because for me anybody who was born in Indonesia is a native. .............................................................................................................................................. 7. Why relate Indonesian arts to this long line of classical music that originated from Europe, why not just learn the Gamelan or Balinese dancing? What’s the point of going to Europe to study in a conservatory and of creating this whole intertwined idiom? Well, in my case it’s because that (classical music) is my passion. It’s like asking why are you in love with this girl instead of that girl? .............................................................................................................................................. 8. So it’s not mutually exclusive? No. I mean, I love gamelan and I love reading books but I don’t want to be a writer and I don’t want to play the gamelan. I want to play the piano. I love Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and gamelan simultaneously. But then I write my own music, having learnt from both of them. .............................................................................................................................................. 9. There seems to be a common misconception among people, parents and children alike, that one learns the arts in order to become an artist. Is this true? No. .............................................................................................................................................. 10. What do you think? Why should anyone or everyone learn the arts? The brain is divided in two parts, one is the logical part and the other is the illogical part. Using only the logical part creates imbalance and this can be seen in our imbalanced society. It’s all money-oriented with people selling weapons and creating wars, dirty politics, no spirituality because the part of the brain which includes spirituality, instinct, artistic values, including chaos is never used. .............................................................................................................................................. 11. What do you mean by spirituality though, since one might consider that in Indonesia we seem to be perhaps even to “spiritual”? Yes, even corruptors. They ask dukuns to santet, if you call that spiritual. .............................................................................................................................................. 12. So you might say that as a result of the imbalance, many decisions that should use logic are being made illogically since they never train that part of the mind? Yes! I mean corruption is basically illogical. One has lots of money and yet still needs more money from poor people.