May the best win ... but what about the rest ?

In the early 90s as a young and ambitious pianist I was active in the competition world as a competitor, and I always wonder how would it feel to be on the other side, sitting as one of the judges. My parents were not so well off, they couldn't act as my producer, sponsor and manager for my musical career (they didn't even know anything about this crazy artistic business), so that was the only way I could earn money back then. Now already about a decade I've been sitting, watching, listening and judging various competitions, both in Spain and in Indonesia. Naturally since then I have heard and received, directly and indirectly, protests or just insatisfaction from those who don't win, or even don't pass the first preminilary round(s). Not only protesting against the result, but later on they attack the system, infrastructure and even the very existence of an artistic competition.

I've always expressed my disagreement about competitions for the arts. Naturally I don't protest when I won a competition, but I do think that competitions could pick the "survival of the fittest" only up to a certain level, which is the technical point. So it's just about making sure if a pianist can play the running scales and octaves in a refined manner, a violinist plays in tune all the way from beginning to end or whether a young composer's harmony and counterpoint reflects his good ear and that he's not just writing, as we say, "paper music". But after that, do we have the right to judge a good pianist's interpretation of a Prelude & Fugue by Bach ? If I do it differently, would MY interpretation receive a higher point than his or hers ? And imagine a competition where both young Shostakovich and young Stravinsky participated, to who would you give a higher mark?

But why do I join the "competition club" ? Simply because I cannot think of a better base for a young artist to build a career on. Now in Indonesia, where the number of pianists is growing (incredibly) rapidly, voices start to go around how competition is bad for the arts. It is obviously an old issue (but still talked about) here in Europe, without anybody finding its solution. Of course those critical voices in Indonesia come from those who have joined and "lost" (I hate that word), either in a national, regional competition or by those who have participated abroad and ... well, you know the result. Now I tell you one thing, folks. I was really lucky to have won my first competition, but I have had my share of losing a couple as well. It is not a rule that if you win in a competition, you'd win in another, and the same can be said about losing. You just gotta do your best ! And stop talking and stop criticizing ! A successful person is not the one who never failed ; it is he who can get up and do it again after each failure. And success, my friends, is built on many failures. And if competitions are so bad .... can you give a better suggestion to what a young pianist, or any other artists should do to start their career ?? Nothing Machiavellian, I mean.

If you can, that's great. Because I can't.

Thanks, Alicia!

"When you give, you don't lose. You gain more by giving." That's what my mom always told me. I didn't understand it until many years later, and the latest example happened last week.

I judged a couple of piano competitions in a space of less than 1 month. The latter, in Bandung, used my new book “Alicia’s First Piano Book” as the obligatory pieces; hence each participant should choose one among the 35 solo pieces to be played in the semifinal round. I was touched how they treated my piece as anything BUT obligatory. In fact, after the competition finished, so many people (teachers, participants—including the ones who didn’t win any prizes, and people among the public) came to me and said how they enjoyed the pieces and thank me for my contribution to the piano repertoire for the young. And I discovered that many piano teachers have used them for teaching purposes, nothing to do with the competition.

Now, of course I am honestly happy that my book has sold hundreds of copies (in fact Chendra my manager is gonna re-publish a second edition of 1000 copies very soon). Another happy discovery is that apparently no Indonesian composers have done explicitly pieces for the young, so this is the first Indonesian “Album for the young”, “Children’s Corner” or “Mikrokosmos” or whatever you wanna call it. But the thing that made me happy the most is that I have given something which made those children enjoy playing the piano. And this is all thanks to my little daughter, Alicia. It was her who made me write all those pieces. In fact, one piece in that book called “12 Haiku” was commissioned by her … for 1 euro! (I think I wrote about this in this blog, you can check it out in my previous entries about 1 year ago). Apart from that, all the pieces are written without any money involved. That’s what you call, literally, “for the love of it”.

And I must confess, there is another thing that made me happy, but let me tell you one thing first. A few years ago, the ABRSM commissioned many composers from many countries a short piece to be compiled in their book “Spectrum”. I contributed a very short and easy (well, that was the requirement of the commission) piece called “Gentle Darkness”. Later on the commissioner told me that my piece is among the most popular & often played by students ….but none of them who played my piece is Indonesian!! Indonesian young pianists always choose other composers’ pieces from that book. So that shows my (un-)popularity in my own country ….and my narcissist instincts told me that it is not because my piece is inferior than the other pieces in that book!
But my book (or shall I say Alicia’s?) proved it wrong.

I have had fantastic performances of my music. Some of them sound even better than what I had imagined. But nothing, I tell you, nothing gives greater happiness than your own daughter playing your own music, especially music written especially for, and with her in our minds (or sometimes even sitting on my lap). And I have a hunch that she will inspire “Alicia’s SECOND piano book” (at least, there are already several pieces written for the next book).

When the black turned white (RIP Michael Jackson)

This morning, woken up and chased by the deadline of my piece for percussion and piano to be performed at the Meloritmos Festival in 3 weeks time, I am deeply saddened by the news of the passing away of my idol, Michael Jackson. He has certainly done to the 20th century world of music what Gustav Mahler did for the 19th century. Yeah, they are 2 different genres of music, but who is more influential to the music world in the fin-de-siecle period? How many composers (I mean "classical" ones) have been influenced by MJ ? I remembered talking passionately about MJ's music with 2 great figures, the late Sir Michael Tippett and Louis Andriessen (both of whose music have also influenced mine and my way of thinking). If you hear the "rap music" section in Tippett's opera NEW YEAR, well that was thanks to MJ. And I made my own version of rap music in my opera IBU--yang anaknya diculik itu, also thanks to MJ, in particular his Smooth Criminal. Two different versions, two different interpretations. Just two. I imagine there might be another ..10? 100? That is, I guess, what Stravinsky called "Music about music". And that proves just how rich MJ's music is and how he performed them, with his particular voice, body movements and style.
I can't help thinking about who, in my opinion, is the greatest figure of music in the second half of the 20th century. I won't agree if it were the Beatles, since their music is just "nice" and "beautiful" (which are 2 important elements as well!), but I doubt in the strength of the impact in the artistic world. You know what I mean, this posh circle of operas and contemporary classical music. If Mahler and Britten and especially Stravinsky were still alive, they won't be that immune from the strong influence of MJ, I bet you.
MJ's music has boldly gone where no man has gone before. RIP, Michael Jackson. I will always love you. And your music.

Missed!

It's been exactly 1 month since I last blogged. Many things have happened, which in normal circumstances should have made me happy, but am still having doubts about those changes in my music. I even have doubts in doing something so easy, such as "cutting and pasting" my music to make my Dance Remix no.1, to be performed in Meloritmos Festival in Palencia, next July. That involves "revisiting" my old pieces, and though the task is just reworking them for a new instrumentation, I can't help doubting my previous works.

I am this kind of composer which one normally can call "prolific", and many times I do set aside the issue of "repeating oneself", since I see that all composers of the past did repeat themselves anyway. And all this change in my music is not my intention. It just happened. Just like when you reach puberty, you know what I mean ?

Anyway, am totally immersed in Pramoedya Ananta Toer's "Mangir" these days. I can identify my musical language with his "colour", somehow. Can't help admiring him more and more.

Well, I AM repeating myself about "change". What a bore, eh? I guess this is my speciality, trying to say something new with the same old words.

So here I am, in the middle way, having had twenty years—
Twenty years largely wasted, the years of l'entre deux guerres
Trying to use words, and every attempt
Is a wholly new start, and a different kind of failure
Because one has only learnt to get the better of words
For the thing one no longer has to say, or the way in which
One is no longer disposed to say it. And so each venture
Is a new beginning, a raid on the inarticulate
With shabby equipment always deteriorating
In the general mess of imprecision of feeling,
Undisciplined squads of emotion. (TS Eliot, Four Quartets)

Now, just change "words" into "notes" and you'll know what I am going through ...

To boldly CHANGE that we can believe in

Now that's very fine, Mr. President, what you said about change. Most people are so conservative that they are afraid of any changes. In fact, one gets older in order to get settled down, and "well-established" instead of "seeking change, new life and new civilations". If one is comfortable with something, why change it, right? But what about this thing that happens to me now ? I am feeling a kind of change ... in my music. And it's not me who wanted this change. Now, that's ok, considering that I've been in and out writing music for the last 20 years, and I did have some changes in my musical language in the past. I do envy Rachmaninov who had been so consistent throughout his life. Even all his 4 piano concerti ends in the same manner: pam papapam !! (as if there are no other ways to end a piece of music). Oh yeah, I just finished my Rapsodia Nusantara no.4 a few days ago, and I was making sure that the ending is different from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd he he ..

Now back to change .. the thing is that I think I like my music more and more. I still am a Britten and Stravinsky wannabe, but hey, I write music because I want to listen to it and nobody has written it, that's why I write it down, right ? And then I know that many people also likes my music, and although I keep on telling this bulls**t to myself that "artists write not for people, but to express what they believe", I do feel flattered every time I realize that my music can "move" someone. Together with this change in my musical language, I also realized that I like new kinds of music which I wasn't really fond of previously. Two "H" composers have been my favorite lately : Hindemith and Hans Werner Henze. In the latter case, I even know him personally, and still wasn't a big fan of his music. Until recently, for the last few weeks.

So, what kind of change is happening ? First of all, with my 4th Rapsodia, I did something, an experiment if you like to call it so, which I never did before. I wrote about my method of composing in this blog about last month. At last it has 10 variations, but I couldn't avoid feeling rather jittery when I finished writing the variations, having 10 pieces of puzzle to construct. Even some silly questions popped up, such as "Why should the bare & naked theme appear in the beginning?" I still don't know if my "4th" would work as a solid construction, but that's the risk if one wants to "change". A work of art is never finished, said Paul Valery, and this phrase could serve as a big consolation in times like this ..

Another change is the harmony in my music : it's getting darker, and even thicker. Now usually when one gets older, his music tends to be simpler, more transparent. Just listen to all those guys : Beethoven, Liszt, oh well, most of them. And the bad news is ... I think you won't like it, folks. It's less "accessible", and shall we say, more "difficult listening" (in need for a better opposite of "easy listening").
Oh well, enough for now. Let me just go and boldly change. To seek out new music and new ideas .. Make it so, Number One! Energize !!

Cinta bung, bukan kebencian

Kali ini saya harus mencoba menulis dalam bahasa Indonesia, karena saya mengharapkan "mereka" membaca. Dan "mereka", saya yakin, tidak bisa bahasa Inggris. Dan kalaupun membaca dalam bahasa Indonesia, semoga mereka tidak salah interpretasi. Soalnya, membaca itu juga adalah suatu yang harus dibiasakan dan dilatih, bukan semata-mata bisa membaca alias tidak buta huruf.

Tulisan saya ini mengenai tiga hal, dan keduanya menyangkut salah interpretasi dari kegiatan kami yang menyangkut film "Romeo - Juliet", dan terkait pula dengan kejadian pemukulan terhadap sutradara dan beberapa anggota tim R-J di Bandung Sabtu lalu. Inilah tiga hal yang sekarang sering disebut-sebut oleh banyak emails ke kami :

1. "R-J adalah tentang konflik dan kebencian". Bukan! Begini bung, di setiap kisah atau karya seni itu harus ada kontras. Lukisan itu tidak bisa hanya satu warna.Untuk menonjolkan satu warna, harus ada warna yang kurang menonjol, atau "dikorbankan". Musik itu tidak bisa hanya satu melodi. Nah, di satu cerita itu juga harus ada kontras. R-J itu ingin mengisahkan sebuah kisah cinta. Jadi elemen kontrasnya, yaitu kebencian, ya terpaksa harus ada! Tapi fokusnya tetap saja ke cinta. Tapi kalau anda memang sudah penuh dengan kebencian dan sampah-sampah lain di dalam diri anda, ya pastilah anda hanya lihat hal-hal tersebut saja. Yang paling penting, yaitu cinta 2 sejoli itu, malah nggak kelihatan. Cinta itu ada, bung. Cinta itu eksis, dan kalau dicari pasti dapat (wong nggak dicari aja dapet kok !) .
Jadi, R-J itu bukannya mau menyebarkan kebencian, tapi justru kebalikannya. Ya tentu saja harus diperlihatkan sisi konfliktif dari dua grup itu, kalau tidak, bagaimana penonton mau mengerti ?

2. "Film R-J Andibachtiar Yusuf itu plagiat !" Nah, betul sekali ! Anda memang sangat intelek ! Memang itu plagiat, nyontek abis. Cerita itu sudah ditulis oleh pujangga terbesar dunia, William Shakespeare di abad 16 (silahkan google saja kalau tidak percaya). Dan setelah itu buuuuaaanyak sekali yang mengambil cerita itu dan diadaptasi seenaknya. Soalnya, kisah ini sangat penuh dengan metafora, dan sangat mencerminkan kehidupan siapapun. Mungkin itu adalah kisah cinta yang paling lengkap yang pernah ditulis.
Nah, yang nyontek itu bukan hanya penulis, sutradara film atau teater setelah Shakespeare. Bahkan komponis pun banyak yang nyontek! Coba google saja nama-nama Hector Berlioz, Tschaikovsky atau Prokofiev (aduh, 2 nama terakhir itu kok susah bener ya. Belum lagi nama penulis aslinya, Shakespeare), mereka pernah bikin karya yang sama persis judulnya. Tapi, soal contek-menyontek di dalam dunia seni itu adalah satu hal yang kalau dibicarakan nggak akan habis dalam 7 hari 7 malam dengan minum kopi satu gentong. Jadi ... gimana kalau saya pribadi mengakui saja .. ya kalau anda bilang ini nyontek, ya terserah deh bung!

3. "Andibachtiar Yusuf itu digebukin untuk promosi". Nah, kalau ini salah besar, bung. Kami semua yang terlibat di produksi ini memang berharap bahwa film ini ditonton oleh orang banyak, dan kami mengadakan promosi masing-masing. Cuma saja kami tidak segitu "putus asa" (desperate, dalam bhs Inggris) sampai sang sutradara rela digebuki supaya filmnya ditonton. Ini kecelakaan, bung! O ya, kalau saya ke Jakarta, jangan digebukin juga ya?

Nah, untuk anda semua yang doyan ngritik, kami sangat berterimakasih atas segala masukan anda. Tapi, jangan harap bahwa karena anda doyan ngritik dan doyan nggebukin sutradara film, kami anggap anda tuh "macho" loh ! Nggak keren deh ! Buat saya pribadi, lebih keren bisa bikin film lah! O ya, saya punya jawaban untuk para kritikus saya "O, jadi anda bisa bikin yang lebih bagus ya? Wow, salut, bung! Tapi kok nggak bikin?"
Kami hanya minta satu hal : tonton dulu filmnya, bung ! Baru boleh ngritik atau nggebukin sutradara ...

Ananda Sukarlan
penulis musik untuk "Romeo-Juliet"

Too much death, too many deaths

Difficult compositional period these days. Too much death, and too many deaths involved in my music. My second cantata which is supposed to deal with "Libertas" (hence the title) turned out to be depressingly pessimistic : instead of liberty, it deals with its deprivation. Mea culpa : I am using poems about dead heroes fighting for liberty. Even the word "libremente" (freely) was used by Luis Cernuda in his last phrase ".. permite a tus amigos , en un rincón pudrirse libremente" (allow your friends, in a corner to rot freely). It is a poem about the death of Federico Garcia Lorca and his anti-Franco colleagues (whose bodies, as you know, were never found) ! So there you get your freedom ... afterdeath. What a coinci.. I mean contradiction : it is commissioned for the celebration of Indonesia's Independence Day in August. I wouldn't have so much doubts if it hadn't been for this occasion. Anyway, that's how the music turns out.

My previous works lately were also closely involved with death. The film Romeo - Juliet obviously was, and my opera IBU (which I just finished a few weeks ago) is about a mother whining about her dead son AND husband, for more than half an hour, from beginning to end. And at the end of the day, though it's not my favorite theme, it just gets on my nerves. Perhaps I'm just too much attached to my own works. I dunno ...

I have also started sketching my opera, Damarwulan. I work with Eka Budianta as the librettist (whose poems I always deeply admire, and have set some to music) who concentrates in the version of Sanusi Pane (a great Indonesian writer during the first half of the 2oth century) who wrote his own interpretation of this Javanese legendary hero. In Pane's version, Damarwulan was executed in the end, and Eka Budianta is going to take it further with his libretto for my opera that it should be the Queen Kencana Ungu who was supposed to be blamed for the death of Damarwulan. She is this kind of femme-fatale : "If you don't love me, then you die. (And slowly and painfully.)" Wow, now THAT I like. Oh and I'm fascinated myself with the transformation of her feelings, from her love at first sight, obsession and fixation towards Damar turning into extreme hatred. Wow that's like real life, eh ?
We still differ in opinions about how Damar should be executed ; Eka Budianta would like it to be truthful to the past period with its strict Javanese tradition, while I'd like to bring the whole scene to the present (or even future ; what do you expect from a Trekkie, eh?). Let's kill Damar with a laser beam, shall we ? But what we have agreed upon is that Damar will undergo a lot of suffering before he is executed. So, I can realize my dream of writing my "Bolero" for his pre-execution scene. I've been wanting to write my own version of Bolero since I heard it the first time (you know when ? It was when I was a teenager in Indonesia, during a show "Holiday on Ice" of dancing ice-skaters. It was the first time that I heard music with just one melody and one rhythm, repeated again and again !).

Hey, am I exercising plagiarism ? Of course not. I am just taking Ravel's concept. Yeah, when you hear my Damarwulan later you might say that, but what if I write a sonata ? Am I copying Mozart and Haydn ?

Talking about plagiarism, there was a guy who aggressively criticized in his facebook page on our film Romeo - Juliet : "Hey, Yusuf (the director) is committing plagiarism. I know that story before ! Even the names of the protagonists were, as I remember, the same ones."
Gosh, I hope that guy won't come to see my opera .... "Opera ? Hey, that's not original! I knew someone has made a show called opera before ! I believe he was Italian !!"
You're mistaken, pal. It's a she, and she's American. Her last name is Winfrey.

Personal inventory

This entry is in fact for myself. During this tranquil week, while I was writing my 4th Rapsodia Nusantara "en forme de variations" (which goes very well, in fact. I did 7 variations in 4 days) I scrambled through my manuscripts to --at least, that was the original intention-- throw away my "early pieces". But then I found some pieces, all dating from early 1990s, that I thought should be "ok" and not too shameful to be performed in front of an audience. So, after throwing away some rubbish, here are some rubb .. I mean, pieces, which I've decided to keep to be revised later when opportunity arises for them to be performed :

1. Whitman Landscapes (2 short pieces for wind quintet)
2. Piano Trio no. 2 16' (my longest "early piece")
3. Piano Trio no. 1 (only exists in its first 4 minutes. I guess this didn't work out then, so I began anew and did my no.2. Now with my more "accomplished" technique, I think I know what to do with this)
4. String Trio
5. 2 Songs for soprano, clarinet & piano (I'd revise them and perhaps add more songs later)
6. "Strings", a 5-minute piece for string orchestra
7. 4 Whitman Songs
8. Two short pieces for cello solo