Ménage à trois

On the 18th of this month, together with my highly esteemed friends the flutist Jaime Salas and violist Jose Manuel Saiz we'll give the world premiere of my new trio, Ménage à trois. ............................................................................................................................................. This 9-minute suite is a commission from the Concurso de Musica de Camara Ecoparque of Arnuero, Cantabria, and we have the privilige of premiering it during the opening concert of the competition. I would like to provide the trio with something light, humorous and exciting rhythmically, since most of the works in this repertoire are in "serious" mood. I have written a very short piece many years ago for this formation, right after reading Walt Whitman's "A Farm Picture" which is only 3 lines long. That poem was so atmospherically powerful that the music just popped up in my head. We played it last year as an encore, and when Antonio Margallo, the organizer of the competition commissioned me a piece for this year, I told him that A Farm Picture would be incorporated in this 3-movement suite. It becomes the second, or central movement of this so-called suite. By the way, each of the movements could still be performed separately, if any trio of this formation would need an encore. ................................................ The first movement, Scherzophrenia, is scored for only flute and viola, since I wanted to explore the possibilities of this duo. There are some nice works written for this duo in the past; I would mention those by Malcolm Arnold and the 18th century composer Francois Devienne. And the third movement, Spaghetti Western Revisited is a kind of an tribute to Ennio Morricone's music for spaghetti western from an Indonesian admirer; let's just say that I imagine a Spaghetti Western movie being made in the savanas of Indonesia! Of course some Indonesian musical modes are (unconsciously and spontaneously) present in this movement. I am so glad to learn that after I finished it, and 2 weeks before our premiere, the Maestro won his first Academy Award with 87 years of age!

A Secret Sky

I dunno how many times I've tweeted that it's wonderful to have wifi on board of the plane, but we need electric plugs! Otherwise, how do we solve the problem of the battery of our laptop, especially in long flights? .... I just arrived in Indonesia, this time I went directly to Surabaya where I gotta give some masterclasses for hundreds, yeah literally hundreds of piano students. They are mostly enthusiastic and ambitious here in Surabaya, so it's nice to work with them. On board of the plane I googled many things about Rumi, my new favorite writer, and even his writings translated in English have that strange beauty that never fail to move and inspire me. One phrase totally struck me : “This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First to let go of life. Finally, to take a step without feet.” .......................................................................................................................................... Immediately music sounded in my head: music of low notes from "low" instruments trying to reach the great heights. And there I was, in the sky, alone, lonely with the other passengers with their own past, pains and problems. I managed to write 2 minutes of the first section of my new piece for viola and piano, and its title in progress is A Secret Sky. I fell asleep afterwards, watching a nice documentary of the early days of my all time favorite rock group, Queen. They are amazing, and certainly I consider Freddie Mercury my lifetime idol. I still don't know what I will do with A Secret Sky ... but I'm sure it will have a life of her own and create her own destiny. Hopefully a viola player would commission me, and if not, it will enter into a bigger piece of mine. Her future, as ours, are uncertain. But we have our past which determines our future, and she doesn't. ............................................................................................................................................ In Surabaya I worked with many many talented young pianists, among others at the recently created Piano Institute whose founder is a most charming & bright young lady graduated from Sydney Conservatory of Music (oh my visits there were always quite memorable; there were beauty everywhere, all kinds of beauty), Catherine Tanujaya. I suffered a huge jet lag problem, so I filled my sleepless nights with orchestrating the unfinished sections of Erstwhile. I regret that I couldn't leave Spain celebrating the total finished music of Erstwhile, but as Paul Valery had said, a work of art is never finished. I guess I will baptize it as "finished" only when I send the score to the orchestra. Meanwhile, I have to do several shorter and lighter projects, including finishing the second book of Rapsodia Nusantara. I plan to have Rapsodia 6 to 10 in that book, and it's too early to give away some details for now. This week will be a "social" week : the launching of the documentary video on autistic children by the Jakarta new honest governor (when did the last time we could combine that adjective with that noun?) Jokowi, and the big thing is the gala premiere of the film Hari Ini Pasti Menang (Today We Shall Win) this Thursday the 11th. I wrote the music for both films. You can check the "pop" theme song I wrote for that film here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wnuHsn56ic&feature=share. Lots of events, interviews and ... GOOD FOOD! But meanwhile, here I am, struggling with all my pains and putting them on music paper. In my own secret sky, the sky I wish I'd never be in.