More introductions to my music during the pandemic, 2021

Foreword to Rapsodia Nusantara 34 & 35 and other pieces ............................................................................................................ All of the works in this book was written during the Covid-19 pandemic, and two of them are closely related to the impact of the virus itself. ............................................................................................................. Organum was written during my stay in Labuan Bajo, after the passing away this year (2021) of Brigifine E. Syams, a piano teacher and close friend of mine, born and living in Surabaya. She passed away in July in hospital, and this music uses the method of Organum (in general, a plainchant melody with at least one added voice to enhance the harmony, developed in the Middle Ages). The melody itself uses her name B-R(e)-I-G-I-F-I-N-E as the motif and it develops as a kind of passacaglia. ................................................................................... Variations on Ibu Soed's "Pergi Belajar" is in fact written for myself after I was released from hospital. I hadn't played the piano for at least 1 month, I had some kind of brain fog and I was (and still am at this moment writing this) recovering from Long Covid. My stamina was so down, not only physically but also mentally, and I begin to think that I should start writing piano works that is not so mentally and physically demanding, not only for now but for my old(er) years. This is one of them. In fact, I even premiered it in its shorter version, but afterwards I was inspired to write more variations, and so I made this into 2 versions: the shorter one that ends at bar 74 , and the longer one where one should go to bar 71 from bar 75. ........................................................................................................................ I then donated "Pergi Belajar" together with Rapsodia Nusantara no. 35 to Habitat Foundation, to be auctioned for their fundraising event to help victims of the Seroja Typhoon in East Nusa Tenggara. "Pergi Belajar" then was bought by Edwin Soeryadjaya, to be dedicated "to my lovely wife Julie H. Soeryadjaya", while Rapsodia Nusantara no. 35 becomes the gift "From MedcoEnergi to the People of Naibonat Village, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara". ................................................................................. I was still in my covid recovery period and didn't feel so secure in performing Rapsodia 35 at that event, so I asked one of the winners of the Ananda Sukarlan Award 2020, Michael Abimanyu Kaeng to perform it. He already played it for the Kayserburg International Youth Piano Competition that made him the winner of the Asian Region a few months before. I had written a Rapsy based on folkmelodies from East Nusa Tenggara, which was Rapsodia 11. Now that I have covered all the provinces of Indonesia (except Bengkulu from which I haven't found an original folksong) I am focusing on some specific regions or islands and make new Rapsies from them. Hence Rapsy 35 is entirely based on 2 folk-melodies from the island of Rote, which happens to be the most southern island of Indonesia, very close to Australia. Rapsy 35 was also played in the video "Matahari Terbenam di Timur" (The sun sets in the east) produced by the Ministry of Education and Culture on their YouTube channel "Budaya Saya". In that video, Gabriella Prisca Handoko performed that AND Rapsodia Nusantara no. 11. .................................................................................... Apart from these 3 piano works, Rapsodia Nusantara no. 34 and "I Wish Matilda had Waltzed to Minang" was written earlier during the pandemic. I wanted to write a series of "I Wish" pieces, where I intertwine a popular international melody with one from Indonesia, like I did with "I Wish Pavarotti Had Known Marzuki". So, "Matilda" was a "marriage" between "Waltzing Matilda" and the Minang folksong "Kampuang Nun Jauh di Mato". ........................................................................................... Rapsodia Nusantara no. 34 is quite particular because it intertwined two folksongs from two different provinces, although both still are in the island of Kalimantan. I only did this once, in my Rapsy 2, where both folksongs are children folktunes: one from Central Java (Cublak cublak suweng but a bit different melodic contour from the one today: I used the one I heard from the memories of my childhood) and one from West Java (Tokecang). Rapsy 34 used the folksong Tumpi Wayu (Central Kalimantan) and Cik-cik Periuk (West Kalimantan). I mix them both for they have a common motif made of the interval thirds. .................................................................................................. Ananda Sukarlan, November 2021, IG & twitter @anandasukarlan

Flashback to January 2021 : The preface to my music written in 2020, published in Jan. 2021

Have you all barely left the house in these last 9 months? Now you just realize, how much needed are art and artists right? How many works of music, films, literary works (even if they are as short as poems or short stories) or visual arts have you enjoyed while you couldn't leave your house? ...................................................................................................... There is one significant thing resulting from the quarantine of the Covid-19. The number of artistic productions of professional artists has increased sharply, but their communicative power to the "live" public has decreased significantly due to the closure of concert halls and theaters, cinemas, galleries and other public places. And this is dangerous, especially in a time when we are flooded (to be precise: allow ourselves to be flooded) by all forms of online entertainment and information. This can turn us into a passive and ignorant society, by allowing our brains to just accept (not mentioning that the current forms of entertainment and "art" are (very) easy to digest) and be unproductive, let alone creative. Besides, the term "social distancing" in my opinion is a big mistake, because it triggers us to be asocial. The reality is that we are "physical distancing", and we have to fight against anything that is "socially distant". ............................................................................................. Productivity and the new perspectives in creative products have been proven throughout history that creativity cannot be suppressed and silenced. The more limited space the artist is confined, the more his creativity will burn. In 1593 when the theater in London was closed by the plague, William Shakespeare was unable to perform so he wrote "Venus and Adonis," a beautiful narrative poem on love and nature. When the theater closed again in 1606, the poet busied himself locked at home writing "King Lear," "Macbeth," and "Antony and Cleopatra," according to Shakespearean James Shapiro. Indonesia's greatest writer, nominated for the Nobel Prize and recipient of the Magsaysay Award, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, wrote his major works during his exile during the Suharto dictatorship on the island of Buru. Oscar Wilde's greatest work "De Profundis" and French composer Olivier Messiaen's 50-minute "Quartet for the End of Time" were written while they were in prison. I myself, who wrote 26 numbers of Rapsodia Nusantara for 12 years, produced 5 numbers of Rapsodia Nusantara (no. 27-31) in 20 days in April during this Covid 19 quarantine period! In the world of science, not many might remember that Isaac Newton discovered the theory of gravity from the apple that fell from the tree during the bubonic plague that hit London in 1655. If quarantine did not close Cambridge University - sending student Isaac Newton to his village, perhaps the discovery of the theory wouldn't be that fast. .............................................................................................................. Now, in January 2021, I have finished 35 numbers of Rapsodia Nusantara and more piano works than ever, about 80 vocal works for my projects with the Ministry of Education and Culture for their "Rapsodia Nusantara" video series on YouTube, and several chamber works. This is certainly the most productive period, artistically, in my whole life, apart from my student days. Since the Ananda Sukarlan Award had to be done online, we were fortunate to have Calvin Abdiel (from a North Sumatran family) participated from Sydney where he is now currently studying at the Sydney Conservatory of Music, and at last won the 2020 prize. I then wrote a new Rapsodia dedicated to him, based on "Sigulempong" from North Sumatra, although I have written a Rapsodia from that region (number 14, based on the song "Rambadia") and numbered it no. 31 so that it could be published now (chronologically speaking it should be no. 34) . ............................................................................................................ Ananda Sukarlan, January 2021

Introduction to my "Happy Birthday Remix" and other piano pieces in the book

"Happy Birthday Remix" is a set of variations or merely twists from pop songs that was extracted, inspired or derived from melodies or motifs in classical music. To make life more complicated, I add the "Happy Birthday" tune to them, and dedicate them to my friends according to the occasion or zodiac. It's a spontaneous project started during the lockdown era of Covid-19, April 2020. Yes, I do quote from the pop song, but the pop song writer quoted from the classical melody, so who should pay royalty to whom, here? These were written in April - May 2020, during the lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic. They wouldn't have been composed if I haven't had so much spare time! The way I copy and paste those pieces of music was in fact inspired by how the final scene of the movie "Rocketman" was made, when "Elton" sang "I'm Still Standing" using the original video clip. It was that visual technique which I applied in a musical way. ........................................................................................... Eric Carmen used Rachmaninov's tune from the 2nd movement of his Piano Concerto no. 2 as the base of his song, "All By Myself", later made hugely popular by Celine Dion. Released in 1975, it was before the Russian composer's 70th anniversary of death, so Carmen was contacted by the Rachmaninov estate and informed that it was still protected under royalty. An agreement was reached in which the estate would receive 12 percent of the royalties from "All by Myself". Carmen just speeded up the tempo of the original Rachmaninov melody, and put his words on it. What I did is I slowed it down, but not as much as the original tune, and mixed the chorus (which I think is original by Carmen) and the Happy Birthday tune, so listening to this, one gets confused which tune is which. That Rachmaninov’s music would be the source of a pop song hit should come as no surprise. If one of the requisites—at least in the 1970s— of creating a Top 40 hit is having a first-rate tune, then Rachmaninov might actually be the best place for a songwriter to start! . ...................................................................................................... "Memories ... Of Pachelbel" uses the melody from "Memories" of Maroon 5. Adam Levine basically ripped off the main melody of Pachelbel's Canon in D, added lyrics about wistfully recalling memories and missing people from your former life, and created an instant hit (and instant tear-jerker). The vocal melodies use the exact melodic and rhythmic motifs of Pachelbel's, not just the chord progression. I then intertwined the Happy Birthday tune, still using the rhythmic accompaniment of Maroon 5 (the only original thing of Maroon 5 that I used). .............................................................................................. The classic opening theme song of "Inspector Gadget" cartoon series came from Shuki Levy, an American composer famous in children’s television. Levy based his Inspector Gadget song on In the Hall of Mountain King, by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. ..................................................................................................... Toni Wine and Carole Bayer Singer based their song “Groovy Kind of Love” on the opening of the final movement of Clementi’s Sonatina in G minor, Op. 36, No. 5. “Groovy Kind of Love”. It was recorded early on by multiple groups including Diane and Annita (1965) and Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles (1966) and then became a big hit with Phil Collins. Basically Wine & Singer just took the first few bars of Clementi and slow it down and make it "groovy". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Seikilos epitaph could date as far back as 200 B.C. It is the world’s oldest surviving piece of musical composition that has been found in its entirety. And because this piece exists in its entirety, scholars have not only been able to translate the lyrics but have also been able to convert the piece into modern musical notation that can be played today. Researchers have few clues about the creation of the Seikilos epitaph. What they do know is that the inscription on the stele may translate as “Seikilos to Euterpe.” Historians believe the composer, a man named Seikilos, wrote the song for a woman named Euterpe, presumably his deceased wife, and placed it on this tombstone for her. However, another possible interpretation of the text could be “Seikilos, son of Euterpe [or Euterpos],” so it is possible the song was actually dedicated to his mother. “As long as you live, shine, / Let nothing grieve you beyond measure. / For your life is short, / and time will claim its toll.” / .................................................................................................... In addition to the lyrics, another piece of the puzzle is the inscription engraved on the stele that reads, “I am a tombstone, an image. Seikilos placed me here as an everlasting sign of deathless remembrance.” There is thus no doubt that the composition is a type of mourning song, engraved on a loved one’s tombstone as a reminder of the fleeting nature of life. Much of the rest when it comes to the Seikilos epitaph, however, remains unclear. ................................................................................ The song, the melody of which is recorded, alongside its lyrics, in the ancient Greek musical notation, was found engraved on a tombstone (a stele) from the Hellenistic town Tralles near present-day Aydın, Turkey, not far from Ephesus. It is a Hellenistic Ionic song in either the Phrygian octave species or Iastian tonos. While older music with notation exists (for example the Hurrian songs), all of it is in fragments; the Seikilos epitaph is unique in that it is a complete, though short, composition. I therefore can analyze and delve deeply into it in order to make a set of variations on the original theme. Ananda Sukarlan, July 2021 IG & twitter @anandasukarlan

A Few Words Without Music, from the artistic director

My dear fellow musicians, Welcome to the G20 Orchestra, and for my non-Indonesian colleagues, welcome to our beautiful country! If you are here where you are today, it means not only that your musicianship and professionalism are highly valued, but also your willingness to embrace other cultures, to work together, to accept, tolerate and cherish differences and to communicate through means higher than just words and languages. We don't build orchestras. We build people, build their character, empathy, artistic & aesthetic values, discipline and hard work, sense of brother & sisterhood, capabilities of bridging even uniting differences. Only then the orchestra can be formed. .................................................................................................................................................. When the G20 Indonesia and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research & Technology officially asked me to build this orchestra early this year, I told them that I don't want to build just another orchestra, not even for a 4.0 era. I want a 5.0 orchestra, a group of people with a higher conscience, deeper understanding of moral and rational goodness in humans that perfectly integrate with technology (for the arts, especially social media and its algorithms). That is why I insisted in gender equality and the age restriction for the members of the orchestra. I would like to quote the statement by Elon Musk at "Insider", CNBC. It is perhaps politically incorrect, but hey since I'm such an unpolitical person, I will quote it anyway : .................................................................................................................................................. “I don't think we should try to have people live for a really long time. It would cause asphyxiation of society because the truth is, most people don't change their mind. They just die. So if they don't die, we will be stuck with old ideas and society wouldn't advance.” .................................................................................................................................................. The G20 Orchestra is literally a millenial orchestra and I hope it would change how the world perceives classical music, which basically hasn't changed in more than 100 years. Even the word "conservatory" for a music faculty is, for me, unfitting since it implies the unwillingness for change and development. In G20 Orchestra women and men have the same power, but not different generations. It is the millenials that hold the most power here: the power to express and the power to tell the older generations about history and how we should advance or (not) repeat it, through a medium which is the most powerful of all: music. Let us show that music is not just nice melodies, rhythms and harmonies, but a vehicle more powerful than words to tell stories and our deepest feelings. .................................................................................................................................................. Musically yours, .................................................................................................................................................. Ananda Sukarlan .................................................................................................................................................. Artistic Director of G20 Orchestra .................................................................................................................................................. twitter & instagram @anandasukarlan

Post scriptum tentang NFT Piano Competition

Akhirnya, Indonesia bisa meng-claim sebagai negara pertama yang membuat kompetisi piano untuk NFT. Sebelum ini, saya memang ternyata adalah musikus klasik Asia pertama yang meng-NFT-kan musik saya, itu sebabnya saya ingin bagikan "reputasi" ini ke 25 pianis di negeri ini yang akhirnya memenangkan kompetisi ini. Tentu saja untuk bisa membuatnya "Non Fungible" dan unik, kita harus membuat karya baru yang belum pernah ada, sehingga saya membuat Variasi dari Do-mi-sol, 3 not paling basic dari tangganada apapun di planet ini. Untuk lengkapnya, baca aja deh https://www.froyonion.com/news/viral/ananda-sukarlan-gelar-kompetisi-piano-nft-pertama-di-dunia . Saya memang sengaja tidak membocorkan cerita-cerita dan latar belakang dari tiap variasi, karena saya berharap tiap pianis bisa menginterpretasi sendiri apa yang ingin "diceritakan" di tiap variation yang semua memiliki latar belakang programatis, kejadian nyata (yang tentu kadang-kadang di dramatisasi untuk keperluan artistik). Anyway, banyak judul dari variations itu bisa di-google, misalnya Organum, Dies Irae dll. Ada beberapa hal yang "tidak terduga" sebelumnya; yahhh, namanya juga pertama kali, pasti ada surprises dong. ........................................................................................................................................ Misalnya, ada dua pianis yang terpilih memainkan "Organum" karena tiap pianis sebetulnya menonjolkan karakternya. Padahal Organum memiliki expressive range yang besar, dari kelembutan sampai kemarahan / agresivitas. Sensivitas dan kelembutan itu ditonjolkan oleh Lavinia Lee, sayangnya dia tidak bisa mengekspresikan agresivitas dan elemen ritmis yang kuat di bagian akhir dan polifoni karya ini. Nah, elemen ritmis ini sangat baik dimainkan oleh Michael Abimanyu Kaeng, yang masih kurang mengeksplorasi elemen "rubato" di bagian awal dan tengah. Rhythmic sense yang kuat dalam dirinya bisa menjadi bumerang dalam memainkan karya-karya romantik yang membutuhkan kebebasan menarik-ulur tempo dan ritme. Memang sih Michael tidak perlu memilih karya-karya romantis, atau Lavinia tidak perlu memainkan karya polifonik seperti Bach, Hindemith atau Shostakovich dalam karirnya kalau memang itu bukan "forte"nya, tapi aspek ini mereka harus lebih kenali dan kembangkan, karena setiap komponis yang telah menyerap musik dari Bach sampai Philip Glass (dan melalui teknik komposisi Beethoven dan Brahms) seperti saya pasti menggunakan berbagai macam elemen dan aspek walaupun cuma "nyerempet". ........................................................................................................................................ Satu pelajaran yang bisa diambil para pianis yang mengikuti kompetisi adalah untuk jangan mengambil karya yang (akan) menjadi terlalu nge-hitz. "Mother's Love" dimainkan oleh puluhan pianis, dan itu menjadikan opsi menangnya mereka menjadi lebih kecil. Mother's Love itu cukup mudah secara teknis, melodinya catchy, dan mungkin juga para emak-emak yang mendorong anak mereka untuk memainkannya karena ehhhmmm .... ya judulnya aja Mother's Love. ........................................................................................................................................ Kalau mau mengkritik diri saya sendiri, ya sebetulnya kompetisi ini kami adakan agak terlalu buru-buru. Intinya memang mau mencetak sejarah sebagai kompetisi piano untuk di-NFT-kan, sebelum keduluan orang / institusi lain terutama di negara-negara yang lebih maju. Sebagai yang pertama, semoga ini memberi kami pelajaran justru dari berbagai kekurangan yang kami telah lakukan. Kedepannya, saya berencana untuk membuat Ananda Sukarlan Award 2022 ini untuk NFT, dengan persiapan (baik oleh pihak penyelenggara maupun pihak peserta) yang lebih baik dan matang, itu sebabnya kami ingin undur penyelenggaraannya sampai paling tidak bulan Agustus mendatang. ........................................................................................................................................ Meng-NFT-kan permainan 25 pianis ini akan makan waktu beberapa minggu, terutama karena NFT itu terdiri dari partitur, rekaman dan tulisan tentang latarbelakang variasi tersebut. Saya juga bangga banget dengan Metaroid , platform marketplace karya anak bangsa 100% yang menggunakan format 1155 yang sangat mengakomodasi segala bentuk musik, karena seperti kita ketahui, NFT selalu identik dengan hal yang visual. Satu hal lagi yang membuat Indonesia menjadi pionir dalam dunia digital.

Pengalaman Bertemu Hantu pertama kali

Saya ini penggemar film horror, walaupun tidak pernah mengkoneksikannya dengan dunia nyata. Buat saya, hantu, dracula, vampires dll itu hanya di dunia fiksi, baik performing arts, film ataupun sastra, makanya itu exciting. Apalagi musiknya, Danny Elfman yang bikin soundtrack Sleepy Hollow itu keren banget, belum lagi "nguik nguik"nya Bernard Herrmann di "Psycho" itu legendaris. Eh, Psycho itu bukan horror sih, tapi shower scene-nya itu iconic banget lah. Dari dulu saya ingin ketemu hantu, dan kayaknya keinginan itu terrealisasi beberapa hari lalu. ......................................... Di Jogja kemarin saya bersama teman saya yang jadi executive producer ada keperluan meeting di sebuah hotel yang memang kalau di-google, Google sendiri autofill dengan "angker" dan "horror". Nah sambil menunggu, saya ingin ke toilet, jadi saya sendirian ke sana, sementara Nita menunggu (tapi Nita bisa melihat pintu toiletnya dari tempat dia duduk). Begitu saya masuk toilet (yang tidak terlalu besar, hanya ada 2 urinoir dan beberapa pintu untuk toilet duduk), ada bapak-bapak tua (saya tahunya tua karena beruban ---eehmmm jadi saya juga tua dong?), berbaju batik dan menghadap tembok tapi di pojok, sama seperti kalau kita waktu sekolah dulu dihukum guru. Jadi dia tidak membelakangi kita karena sedang "bertugas sebagai laki-laki" di urinoir. Saya risih dong, jadi saya bilang, "maaf pak, permisi", karena dia memang agak mengganggu karena berdirinya persis sebelah urinoir. Eh, dia cuma kayak menoleh tanpa melihat saya, terus melihat ke tembok lagi. Saya annoyed dong, dan karena saya tidak terlalu kebelet, ya udah saya keluar. Nita tanya "kok udah"? (abis cepet banget kali ya), dan saya cerita tentang si bapak. Terus saya melihat security hotel di receptionist, jadi saya ngadu soal si bapak itu. Eh sang security langsung jawab dgn ramah "oh, iya pak, sini saya antar" (padahal saya gak butuh diantar, saya butuhnya dia ngomong ama bapak tsb). Dia kayaknya ngerti banget masalah ini, terus langsung ke toilet sementara saya ogah-ogahan di belakangnya, jadi sang security masuk toilet dan tidak lama kemudian keluar dan bilang kepada saya yang sudah di dekat pintu toilet "ok pak, silakan sudah bisa". "Loh bapak itu ga mau keluar?" tanya saya. "Udah ga ada pak", jawabnya. Padahal saya tidak melihat siapa-siapa keluar, dan pintu toilet itu cuma satu. Ya udah, saya masuk, dan ternyata memang sudah tidak ada siapa-siapa, jadi ya saya melakukan tugas saya sebagai seorang laki-laki sambil berdiri tegak dan fokus (eh yang tegak dan fokus itu postur saya ya). Aman terkendali. .................................................................. Balik ke tempat teman saya, dia tanya, "si bapak gimana"? Saya jawab "udah keluar kali" tapi kok dia bilang dia nggak liat siapa-siapa keluar. Nah, gitu deh. Mungkin juga dia bukan hantu, tapi calon aktor Indiana Jones 6 yang umur 80 masih bisa escape ngelubangin langit-langit WC, tapi buat apa juga escape dari saya kan? Saya bukan FBI yang lagi ngejar dia. ......................................................... Gitu deh. Eh udah baca interview saya ama Aldo Sianturi, tokoh bisnis musik Indonesia? Nih deh http://www.aldosianturi.net/30-deep-questions-with-ananda-sukarlan/ . Ok guys, have a nice weekend!

In memoriam Brigifine Ediansyah Syams

This bloody Covid 19 has been more than a year with us, and it has taken a lot of lives dear to us all. The latest was my friend, the piano teacher Brigifine E. Syams just 2 weeks ago in July, and her mom followed her to heaven yesterday (also of Covid 19). To make the story short, her family was exposed and infected with Covid including her mom. Both Pipin (that's her nickname) and her mom were the ones with the worst conditions, and when Pipin passed away 2 weeks ago, nobody dared to tell her mom (who was still in critical condition, though conscious). I was told that her mom passed away yesterday, still without learning the loss of her daughter (good for her! She will get a nice surprise in heaven like .... "Hey! Whatcha doin' here, baby?" and they will both live in eternal happiness). ........................................................................................................................................ My last conversation with Pipin was in fact not about music, but about .... what else ... yeah, Covid 19 and how it affected (badly, obviously) the musical education. Some ex-students of her (since she started teaching, she has given birth to hundreds of pianists! And that wasn't so long ago, since she was still in her early 40s when she died) and even just her friends and colleagues have asked me if I would write any kind of piano piece so they can play it to have her in their memories. I certainly would write something, a small one hopefully before I leave again for my concert shooting tour early next week. Her good friend, Willyana Zhao (Cing Cing is her nickname) has agreed to organize something (online concert, for now) with her (ex)-students and pianists friends and suggested me to write a set of variations .... -- why oh why do small ideas get bigger?? Anyway, there are still several things in my mind to get rid of, but I promised (at least myself) to write something to cherish the memory of Brigifine, whatever it is and may become. May you and your mom Requiescat in Pace, Pipin, Requiem Aeternam.

Rapsodia Nusantara Wannabees

Not that I am over-optimistic about finishing the whole set of Rapsodia Nusantara (meaning : covering all the 34 provinces of the Republic of Indonesia), but those petitions, appeals, pleadings by (sometimes not so-) young pianists to make Rapsodia Nusantara easier to play (and for non-classical music listeners: easier to listen!) start to tickle my brain. I did write Rapsodia no. 26 (from the song "Tano Niha" from Nias Islands) which is not so difficult, but I guess people would miss the point of showing-off virtuosity if I'd make easy(-ier) Rapsies. ......................................................................................................................................... Therefore I start a new project, making shorter and easier works based on Indonesian folksongs for piano. In fact, I did already a few years ago, "Two Kaili Folksongs". At that time it was for a fundraising project for the victims of tsunami in Sulawesi, so I wanted it to be short and simple so that I could immediately finish and perform it, since I was just given a few days (practically only hours) to prepare it. And then there was the Prelude & Fugue on "Angso Duo", a folksong from Jambi, commissioned by an owner of a music school there a few years ago. ......................................................................................................................................... Last week on my flight from Jakarta to Bilbao, the plane was quite empty. There is this buzz on the Corona Virus, and people in Asia are taking it very seriously. So I wrote a polyphonic game (almost a fugue) on a theme from Ambon, "Gepe-gepe" on board after dinner was served and before I slept. Now, a few days after I landed, I made it into the final part of a kind of fantasy of about 4 minutes. I knew it's not gonna be another Rapsodia, since I have written several, quite difficult ones, based on Ambonese folksongs (no.3 based on "Rasa Sayange" and "Sarinande", no. 4 on "Buka Pintu", and no. 21 on "Goro-gorone"). So, I thought of making the "Kaili Folksongs" and this new Ambonese fantasy as the beginning of a new series of piano works. Now, do you have a suggestion for the title of the whole series? This will be quite "light" for me, mostly done as doodles in my travels like last week. I'm toying the title "Polifonia Nusantara" .... you think it's OK? The term polifonia is because usually they are ... well ... polyphonic, should they be fugues, canons, passacaglia, chaconne etc. Shortly speaking, those kinda music which are not composed anymore these days due to our degraded brains and incapability of listening to more than one melody at a time. ......................................................................................................................................... So let's do this. If I start composing a new piano work based on an Indonesian folksong, I'll keep my mind open. It might be a new Rapsodia, it might be a Polifonia (or whatever we decide to call them). But you can give up your hopes for having easy(-ier) Rapsodia Nusantara from me, ok? Number 26 will be the one and only easy one. It's perhaps the only one playable by the participants of the Junior Category of the Ananda Sukarlan Award.