A new profession -- in classical music?

Well, you know that many new and prosperous professions nowadays didn't exist like 10 years ago, such as social media manager (or consultant) or anything to do with mobile phones and apps. That's how I feel now in Indonesia as a (classical music) composer. My European colleagues who are reading this might feel strange .... but yeah, classical music, in spite of its term, is something new to us Indonesians, starting from the second half of the last century. We do have pioneers of classical music composers, such as Amir Pasaribu (who died a few years ago with 92 years of age, after around 30 or more years of his last years not composing anything) or, still very much around us, the 80-year-young Trisutji Kamal. But now that the classical music scene is so robust in Indonesia, I am working with so many young (and not so young too) musicians who are playing my music, either as part of their educational purposes or with the intention of performing it professionally. ............................................................................................................................................. Before this, classical musicians are faced with music by dead composers only. You have all the materials provided, besides the music sheet. Now with the existence of youtube, you can even have all the historical recordings, you name it, Glenn Gould, Artur Rubinstein even going back to the recording of the composers themselves such as Rachmaninov or Prokofiev playing their own music (which sometimes are not so brilliant as other pianists performing their music. Even Rachmaninov admitted that about Vladimir Horowitz, as you know). So, you pick a Bach French Suite and you can listen to a few hundred different recordings, most of them artistically of high quality. You choose the best according to you, or the one you feel closest too, and there you get a clear concept of the music. You might not be able to imitate it (who could imitate Gould?), but you work on that piece of music with the sound of your favorite recording in your head, but mostly not your own idea. So, you are already conditioned to a specific interpretation of the music, not the music itself. ............................................................................................................................................. With newly written music, you are demanded to have a clear idea YOURSELF of the musical concept and its character. It's perhaps (a bit) easier if you are a singer, since you have the words to start with, although sometimes a poem could be so complex that it's the music that helps you feel the atmosphere between the words. But if it's a piece of instrumental music, well, it does need your musical sensitivity to grasp its idea. ............................................................................................................................................. This is why a new piece of music is very important in music competitions. It's much easier to perform a piece of music that has a "history" ---and like any history, it has so many different versions--- but it is through an interpretation of a really new piece of music that we can really see the artistic abilities of a musician. Nowadays we don't need more musicians who can read notes so well and play it with the nimblest of fingers; it is already expected from any musician. We need musicians who understand what lies between those notes, even though (s)he has never heard that music before. ............................................................................................................................................. So, for you who are performing my piano pieces in the next Ananda Sukarlan Award competition, you might have acquired my newest CD, A Virtuosic Christmas. I play some of the works that you could choose among the obligatory works to play there. But remember, I am counting on YOU to play it better. You've gotta be able to see other points of views, other ideas, other musical concept of it. I played it as an INTERPRETER, not as a composer anymore, as any pianist-composer could tell you when they are performing their own works. I have heard my music performed differently than I had in mind before, and many times. And some of them, I must say, are excellent. There are fresh approaches in some pieces on Henoch Kristianto's recordings of some of my Rapsodia Nusantara, and some performances of Edith Widayani were also more than artistically very admirable. And I must say that until now, nobody (I include myself here) matches the brilliance of Anthony Hartono's performance of Rapsodia Nusantara no. 10. I am just sooo much looking forward to hearing a mindblowing performance of some of my works in the next competition next July.

Unending Dedication, Ending Doubts

I am deeply grateful for Stanley Widianto’s article on me, titled “His Unending Dedication”, which appeared in The Jakarta Post on Nov. 6. He did a great job, and indeed we talked a great deal in depth at my office while I was in Jakarta last month. You can read it here: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/06/ananda-sukarlan-his-unending-dedication.html . It's a well-written article, but there are some aspects that aren't really in accordance with my opinions and perspectives. I am sorry if I inadvertently gave some false impressions as such to him during our interview last month in my office, when I was in Indonesia. So, I wrote to The Jakarta Post concerning the article that was written about me on Friday, 6th of November, to clarify some things. Jakarta Post publishes my letter today Wednesday, 11th of Nov., on page 7 . Here it is . ............................................................................................................................................. I am deeply grateful for Stanley Widianto’s article on me, titled “His Unending Dedication”, which appeared in The Jakarta Post on Nov. 6. He did a great job, and indeed we talked a great deal in depth at my office while I was in Jakarta last month. But I would like to clarify some aspects. ............................................................................................................................................. When mentioning “the government’s consistent orphaning of classical music”, I was referring to previous administrations. Having received the Education and Culture Ministry’s Cultural award this year, the present government has not only shown appreciation for my works but also recognized the role classical music has in the healthy development of our country. ............................................................................................................................................ I am not a proponent of government subsidies for classical music as such measures do not help increase people’s love for it. If the general audience loves it, then they will happily pay for it. Those who do not have a need for or love classical music should not have to contribute their tax money for classical music subsidy programs. In Europe, government subsidies have been abused by artists who usually have easy access and connections to curators and those who cut the subsidy cake. Subsidies for classical music should be used to promote Indonesian classical music to the world, instead of organizing hundreds of concerts with no clear necessity and public interest. In fact, the growing disinterest in classical music in Europe is the result of unnecessary subsidies for particular kinds of “arts”. These subsidies have enabled those artists to stay in their ivory towers without making any kind of public contribution. ............................................................................................................................................ Classical music is for the “segmented field”, as Stanley wrote, but I would like to add that this is only the case in Europe. In Asia, we can change the situation before it is too late. I believe that the future of classical music is in Asia, since it is not tied by tradition. Therefore, we can be more innovative and daring in its presentation to the public at large. ............................................................................................................................................ Of course, we have different problems than those in Europe. The way Indonesian musicians and audiences think is so different than our European counterparts. Indonesian problems need Indonesian solutions. Moreover, the solutions offered by European artists and government proved to be ineffective in maintaining public interest in classical music, as evidenced by the demographic profile of its listeners. In Europe, the majority of the genre’s listeners are aged 50 and older, while in Indonesia listeners are mostly young people. ............................................................................................................................................ Last but not least, I am so far from frustrated and tired. On the contrary, I have found the greatest job on earth. Classical music is still new to this region, therefore there are so many things to work on and that is exciting! ............................................................................................................................................ Ananda Sukarlan, Composer and pianist