OK, it's now official. Scarily official. I have started writing my next opera, this time a real mini pocket opera, and I am happy to tell about it. It will be for 2 singers (mezzo-soprano & soprano) and I (or for the future productions another pianist) will accompany it. No other instruments except some small percussions which I bring with myself. It will be produced by its commissioner, Bimasena, in October this year.
This opera is based on a very short story by Putu Wijaya, a renowned Indonesian writer who has written more than 1000 short stories. The title, which will also be for my opera, is Laki-laki Sejati (A real man), and the story is a dialogue between a mother (a (high) soprano who's wisdom is solidly based on her knowledge of men!) and her daughter in her late teens (sung by a mezzosoprano or high alto who --unfortunately-- can be (much) older than that, since it does happen, and often, in real life) who is desperate on having a boyfriend. The story starts with her asking her mom, "Mom, what is in fact a real man?" and ends with a catchy conclusion of what, or where, or how, a real man is indeed.
I spent most of the time during my flight from Bilbao to Jakarta last weekend in making the plans from Putu Wijaya's script. I am now waiting for his approval of my cuts and small editions, which will make the duration of the opera about 24 minutes. In fact I have been looking for a script with 3 characters involved, one of them a male, since I am writing this to be premiered by the winners of the Ananda Sukarlan Vocal Competition (Tembang Puitik AS) last April: coloratura soprano Evelyn Merrelita, mezzosoprano Indah Pristanti and the tenor Adi Nugroho, the latter had performed with me 2 months ago in Magelang and will again do so in Makassar, hopefully in October. After I browsed Putu Wijaya's many short stories (for a long time I've been thinking to do something with his works) I found this kind of tragi-comedy, brilliantly written by this Balinese writer, and decided to do this for now. Adi Nugroho will have to wait, but I am sure I'll get hold of a nice script for an opera for him to be involved.
It will be too soon to say more about Laki-laki Sejati, since I barely written the notes (I did start a chaconne for an introduction to an aria for the mezzosoprano on the plane), but I really would like to discover "the other side of me" with this opera, not me who people call "romantic". I refuse to be called a romantic. I prefer to be like Winnie the Pooh, a bear of very simple brain who doesn't like difficult words (nor music).
martes, 14 de junio de 2011
sábado, 4 de junio de 2011
More complete interview at Kompas Kita, May 31 (in Indonesian)
I am deeply grateful to Kompas for not editing and/or cutting the interview done by their readers to me, published last Tuesday May 31st (which is also the birthday of my favorite poet, my hero & idol, Walt Whitman). However, due to the limits of space (I mean for the printed newspaper, not the final frontier!) KOMPAS can only publish 12 questions. They sent me 16 chosen questions which I have answered, out of the more than 50 questions that were sent by the reader throughout the country. I post here my answers of those 16 questions, hence there are 4 new topic here that you haven't read at the published article. It is, naturally, in Indonesian, but in case you don't understand it you can use Google translator who gets better every time.
1. Om Ananda, saya kini berusia 13 tahun. Sejak usia 5 tahun ikut kursus piano klasik sampai hari ini. Dibandingkan prestasi Om saat usia 13 tahun, saya bukan apa-apa. Apa yang perlu saya lakukan lagi.
Kinsky Gisela Mentari, Kampung Rambutan - Jakarta Timur,
Jawaban: Bukan apa-apa? Lho, waktu saya 13 th malah abis di dropout dari sekolah musik di Jakarta. Katanya, saya nggak berbakat! Jadi prestasimu udah lebih dari saya, ya kan? Tapi saya jalan terus sampai sekarang. Dengarkan kata hati dan ikutilah. Kalau memang cintanya di musik, teruslah. Mempelajari & berkarya seni itu nggak pernah selesai, karena itu perjalanan menuju kesempurnaan. Dan kita, manusia, tidak akan pernah bisa mencapainya. Keindahan berkarya seni ada di prosesnya, bukan tujuannya.
2. 1.Mohon saran dari Mas Ananda, bagaimana cara meningkatkan minat pelajar dan mahasiswa terhadap piano dan orkes? karena menurut saya, karya piano dan orkes mulai tenggelam di kalangan muda Indonesia .
Robert, Tangerang, Banten,
Jawaban: Kenapa film Hollywood sangat diminati? Karena gedung bioskop kualitas & kuantitasnya sudah memadai. Nah, gedung konser yang berakustik bagus, dengan sistem manajemen yg juga bagus belum ada satu pun. Gedung sih banyak, tapi tanpa konsep akustik yang benar. Jika kita belum bisa menganggap gedung (dan akustiknya) sebagai sebuah instrumen musik (seperti biola, piano), kita tidak bisa memilikinya. Di satu konser piano tunggal itu ada 1 musikus (pianis) dan 2 instrumen: piano dan akustik gedung: itu mesti selalu diingat. Bukan hanya piano. Dan tiap instrumen itu ada pembuatnya, yang merupakan ahlinya. Jadi akustik gedung bukan di desain oleh arsitek atau musikus, tapi oleh ... ahli akustik!
Mendengarkan satu konser di gedung yang akustiknya memadai (dan pemain yang bagus, tentu saja) itu adalah satu pengalaman yang luar biasa, pasti akan sangat menarik minat masyarakat untuk musik sastra. Sangat lain dengan mendengarkan rekaman (apalagi kalau bajakan!). Itu sebabnya orang Indonesia berbondong-bondong ke Singapur & Malaysia nonton konser. Gedung seperti Philharmonie Berlin atau Concertgebouw Amsterdam menjadi ikon kota itu, dan akan menarik orang untuk menjadi tempat "hang-out" yang "hip & cool", selain utk mendengarkan musik juga ketemuan dan ngobrolin musik (dan lain hal), dgn aktivitas lain seperti diskusi dan masterclasses ... dan tentu saja dengan "coffee shop" di berandanya yang enak dan nyaman dong! Banyak hal lain untuk menarik minat ke musik sastra, terutama dalam pendidikan & pengenalan yg kami lakukan lewat Yayasan Musik Sastra Indonesia. Cek saja website kami di www.musik-sastra.com
3. Apa saran Anda untuk anak SMU yang berniat memilih jurusan non-eksakta? Apa pendapat Anda mengenai steretotipe bahwa anak IPA lebih sukses dari yang non-IPA?
Fransiska Ully Artha Situmorang, Duren Tiga , Jakarta Selatan
Jawaban: Dukung 100% dong! Walaupun dulu di SMA (Kanisius di Jakarta) saya anak IPA, saya kayaknya "nyasar" deh. Apalagi seni itu sama sekali tidak eksak, malah seni itu justru semakin tinggi ambiguitasnya biasanya semakin artistik, kan? Lihat saja lukisannya Da Vinci atau naskahnya Shakespeare yang penuh dengan rahasia dan ambiguitas. Ah, sukses? Kalau sukses jadi ilmuwan atau pengusaha seperti keinginan orangtuanya, tapi hatinya ada di dunia seni misalnya, apa itu namanya sukses?
4. 1.saya cukup kagum dengan prestasi yang anda miliki, saya ingin menanyakan apa langkah terbesar yang anda lakukan sehingga anda menjadi pianis terkenal?
2.mengapa anda lebih memilih untuk tinggal di spanyol daripada di indonesia
mei rosseliny gultom, medan
Jawaban: 1. Terbang 10.000 km dari rumah setelah lulus SMA untuk meraih mimpi. Kurang besar gimana langkahnya coba? Tapi setelah itu karir sbg pianis ditentukan dengan memenangkan kompetisi2 internasional sewaktu saya muda. Sayangnya itu masih satu-satunya jalan memulai karir sampai saat ini. 2. Soalnya di Indonesia masih belum bisa berkarir & mencari nafkah sebagai pianis dan komponis. Dengan segala kesempatan yang ada di Eropah setelah kemenangan saya di berbagai kompetisi, siapa sih yang mau meninggalkan itu semua? Tapi saat ini tokh saya bisa lebih banyak berbuat untuk negara di luar negeri daripada di dalam negeri, kan? Oh ya, saya juga terus pegang paspor Indonesia, walaupun saya berkewarganegaraan dobel: Republik Indonesia & Kerajaan Galau hehe..
5. Pertanyaan : Apakah faktor keturunan (Bakat) mempengaruhi kemahiran seorang musikus dalam berkarya? Bagaimana bagi mereka yang tidak terlahir dalam keluarga seniman? Bisakah mereka menghasilkan karya setara dengan yang berbakat ?
Stella Chrisfanny, Cilincing Jakarta Utara,
Jawaban: Ah, keluarga saya juga bukan seniman kok. Saya anak bungsu dari 7, ortu dan kakak2 saya tidak ada yg jadi seniman. Bakat tentu saja membantu, tapi tidak mutlak. Semua itu 1% bakat dan 99% kerja keras.
6. Pertanyaan:
Ananda sudah konser di berbagai kota di Indonesia . Berkaitan dengan apresiasi audiens terhadap karya-karya yang Ananda tampilkan, apakah Ananda bisa menangkap karakter audiens dari masing-masing kota terhadap selera lagu/komposisi yang Ananda mainkan? Bagaimana Ananda menyesuaikan dengan karakter audiens yang berbeda tersebut?
Anton Asmonodento, Yogyakarta
Jawaban: Kalau dari satu negara mungkin tidak begitu kentara, tapi kalau beda negara iya. Yang terjadi di audiens adalah psikologi massa, dimana audience menjadi satu karakter, dan itulah cara saya berkomunikasi dengan mereka: menganggap mereka sebagai satu "orang" saja, satu orang yang benar2 saya ingin sampaikan apa yang ingin saya ekspresikan. Saya tidak perlu menyesuaikan di tiap negara, karena musik sastra, seperti seni lainnya, berbicara sama kepada siapapun. Seorang performer harus menjadi "bunglon" bukan terhadap audiensnya, tapi untuk jenis musik yg berbeda-beda cara interpretasinya. Banyak ulasan tentang ini saya tulis di blog saya http://andystarblogger.blogspot.com
7. Mas Andy,
Ada niat bikin karya tentang seorang menteri yang suka ngomong (ngetwit)
sembarangan ga?
Anita, Bandung , tabbyche@gmail.com
Jawaban: Sembarangan atau sembiringan? Ah, ogah beneeur. Mendingan untuk menteri seperti alm. Fuad Hassan yg telah banyak jasanya ke dunia pendidikan dan musik sastra (termasuk mengusahakan beasiswa waktu saya mau melanjutkan ke Belanda). Karya saya utk piano solo, Etude no. 3 "This Boy's Had a Dream" saya dedikasikan ke beliau. Tentu anda tahu, siapa "boy" yang bermimpi itu. Btw, setiap karya saya yang untuk seseorang itu pasti ada "pesan rahasia" terhadapnya, yang biasanya dekat atau selalu ada di hati saya. Seumur hidup saya nggak akan pernah lupa jasa pak Fuad.
8. . Dear Ananda
1. Sebagai Pianis senior yang telah lama bekecimpung dalam dunia musik apakah Anda melihat dan merasakan adanya kesenjangan terhadap perkembangan seni musik sebagai Ilmu Pengetahuan di negeri kita ini? Terimakasih.
Christanto Hadijaya, Yogyakarta
Jawaban: Sangat! Padahal harta karun musik (terutama etnik) Indonesia adalah sumber yang tak habis-habisnya di penciptaan karya-karya baru di Eropah. Selain itu pemerintah tidak mengerti mempromosikannya ke dunia internasional, yang dapat menjadi aset negara untuk memperbaiki image bangsa serta memasukkan devisa. Contoh: kita memiliki bakat-bakat yang luar biasa. Ini saya bukan "ngegombal", saya sudah lihat sendiri, paling tidak ada 2 anak kecil : Sally Yapto (9 th) di Surabaya dan Ralf Vivaldo (10 th) di Semarang yang bikin saya terbelalak waktu mendengarkan mereka main piano. Menteri kita harusnya dalam 1 masa jabatan bisa menaruh posisi mereka setaraf Mozart di dunia internasional . Mozart itu jadi Mozart bukan hanya karena dia unik, tapi karena pemerintah Austria tahu cara "memungut"nya sebagai aset negara. Dan kita punya kok Mozart-Mozart juga.
Selain itu juga saya nggak ngerti dengan tiadanya Pusat Kebudayaan Indonesia di negara lain. Indonesia yang budayanya begitu kaya masa nggak punya semacam "Erasmus Huis" untuk Belanda atau "Goethe Institut" untuk Jerman sih?
9. apa kunci kesuksesan seorang Ananda Sukarlan? dan apa cita-cita yg belum tercapai?
akbar fauzan, Yogyakarta
Jawaban: 1. Menurut ayah saya (dan saya masih percaya walaupun beliau sudah almarhum) tidak ada 1 kunci kesuksesan, tapi ada 1 kunci kegagalan: berusaha menyenangkan hati semua orang. Itu yg saya selalu hindari. Makanya saya nggak demen politik. Soalnya menurut saya sukses adalah bebas & bisa melakukan apa yg kita senangi & kita percaya yang terbaik, bukan untuk menyenangkan siapapun. Apapun pendapat anda tentang saya adalah urusan anda, bukan urusan saya. Seni dan hiburan itu 2 hal yg sangat berbeda, demikian juga seniman dan selebritas. 2. Walaupun resminya saya Islam, saya percaya karma, dan setelah banyak mendapat berkah & keuntungan sekarang saatnya memberi dan membantu terutama ke anak2 muda dan yang kurang mampu, antara lain lewat Yayasan Musik Sastra Indonesia. Selain itu, kerja dengan anak2 muda bikin saya awet muda! Dalam segi artistik, masih ada 2 obsesi saya: Bikin lebih banyak opera, baik skala kecil maupun besar, dari karya sastra Indonesia. Yang lain adalah ingin memperkenalkan lagu-lagu rakyat Indonesia di dunia internasional, dengan cara membuat karya-karya "Rapsodia Nusantara" untuk piano yang virtuosik. Sama seperti cara kita mengenal lagu rakyat Hongaria lewat "Hungarian Rhapsodies"nya Franz Liszt. Saat ini sudah 8 nomor Rapsodia yang saya buat, dan saya berterima kasih kepada mereka yang mensponsorinya, terakhir adalah dr. Oei Hong Djien pemilik museum seni rupa yang besar di Magelang yang meminta saya membuat berdasarkan lagu rakyat Jawa. Selain itu, ehm..., buka restoran yang melayani makanan Padang DAN gudeg Jogja tapi yang benar2 asli. Itu dua makanan favorit yang selalu saya idamkan (apalagi kalau sedang musim dingin...); asik kan kalau bisa dapet 2 jenis makanan itu di 1 restoran?
10. Mas Ananda, selain musik klasik, apakah juga main musik lain? Jazz misalnya? Kalau iya, bagaimana cara mas Ananda berlatih musik jazz dan musik klasik? Terima kasih
ini inug,
Jawaban: Tidak, walaupun saya suka banget dengerin jazz. Bahkan saya nggak menganggap saya main musik, tapi melukis. Tapi kalau pelukis melukis di atas kanvas, sedangkan saya melukis di atas kesunyian. Disitu keindahan musik sastra: bukan di not-notnya saja, tapi juga apa yang ada di antara not-not itu .... dan itu yang tidak bisa lagi dimengerti dan dinikmati kalau kita terlalu banyak ke mall di Jakarta dan jadi kebal dengan bunyi musik yang bising dan terus-terusan disana.
11. Siapakah komponis musik klasik Eropa yang menjadi idola dan mempengaruhi kemampuan bermusik Mas Ananda?
Iman Sudibyo, Cirebon
Jawaban: Yg nggak saya kenal karena sudah keburu "pergi" adalah Shostakovich, Gustav Mahler, Sir Benjamin Britten (terutama opera2-nya) & Maurice Ravel (Piano Concerto-nya sudah saya mainkan puluhan kali dan masih nggak bosen!). Sedangkan yang saya kenal dan banyak belajar langsung dari mereka a.l. Sir Michael Tippett (yang saya anggap "penemu" saya yg pertama di Eropah dan merekomendasikan saya untuk disiarkan pertama kalinya di BBC di tahun 1994), Peter Sculthorpe (Australia) serta komponis Spanyol seperti David del Puerto dan Santiago Lanchares.
12. Pak Ananda Sukarlan,
Kami memiliki anak laki-laki usia 10,5 tahun. Sejak 3 tahun terakhir dia ikut kursus piano klasik di sebuah sekolah musik, atas keinginan anak tsb.
Informasi guru les nya, dia cukup cepat menangkap pelajaran yang diberikan. Yang menjadi masalah adalah, motivasi dia untuk menekuni piano klasik ini kurang konsisten. Tapi pada saat-saat tertentu dia semangat sekali. Guru lesnya dan kami sebagai orang tua yakin, kalau anak kami ini memiliki bakat di piano klasik.
Pertanyaan saya adalah: Bagaimana tetap menjaga konsistensi anak tersebut untuk tetap menekuni bakatnya, dan bagaimana kami memotivasinya dengan benar.?
Terima kasih
Salam.
Yohans Sunarno, Kota Bekasi
Jawaban: Wah itu juga sering terjadi dgn anak saya, tapi utk dia solusinya gampang. Tiap kali dia jenuh, saya bikinin dia lagu untuk dipelajari; lama2 lagu-lagu itu saya kumpulkan dan terbitkan di buku "Alicia's First Piano Book". Kalau putra anda lagi jenuh, mungkin butuh curhat ke teman? Mungkin ada masalah yang tidak dapat dibicarakan dgn orangtuanya, yang buat saya (sebagai seorang ayah) sangat wajar. Curhat ke orang lain sangat membantu meringankan uneg-uneg, terutama dengan yang memang berpengalaman di bidang yang lagi bermasalah itu. Kalau mau tweet ke saya boleh aja, twitter saya (@anandasukarlan) sering jadi "dokter konsultasi" kok, baik untuk para ortu maupun ABG. Jangan kuatir, anak saya yg sekarang 12 tahun juga suka curhat ke orang lain kok (terutama ngomongin papa-nya yang paling sebel sama Jonas Brothers yang dia kagumi).
13. - Anak umur 3 tahun,, bolehkah diikuti kursus musik ?
- bagaimana kita dapat mengetahui apakah anak kita menyukai music apa tidak ?
- alat musik apa yang mudah untuk anak anak umur 3 tahun ?
pearl priscillia, jakarta barat,
Jawaban: 1. Tentu saja boleh, tapi hati-hati pilih guru / sekolah musik ya. Saat ini terlalu menjamur & banyak yang kualitasnya tidak memadai yang efeknya akan kontraproduktif. 2. Tidak akan bisa tahu sebelum dia mulai main instrumen & mendengarkan banyak musik. Mulailah dengar musik Mozart, itu paling "bersahabat" dengan telinga anak. Lalu lanjutkan dengan "Piano Concerto no.2"nya Shostakovich dan "Peter & the Wolf"-nya Prokofiev. Dengarkan saya juga yang siaran dari Spanyol tiap Minggu malam di radio Delta atau Female FM, acara musik sastra, jadi ada "pengantar"nya dan cerita-cerita dibalik musiknya. 3. Hmm ... piano saja gimana?
14. 1) Kebanggaan terbesar apa yang pernah anda raih sebagai seorang pianis profesional?
2Pertunjukan apa yang paling berkesan yang pernah anda buat?mengapa? Nabila Azzahra Syahbani, Surabaya
Jawaban: 1. Kalau saya belum bisa membawa musik Indonesia ke taraf yang sama dengan musik komponis Eropah di dunia internasional saya belum berhak bangga deh. 2. Mungkin bukan pertunjukan, tapi pembuatan suatu karya. Misalnya lagu "Dalam Sakit" untuk tenor, permintaan dari AIDS Foundation dan saya dedikasikan ke para korban AIDS, mengingatkan kawan akrab saya yang wafat karena itu. Ia pemain biola yg luar biasa dan teman yang paling setia, dan kami pernah bercita-cita membuat duo yang terbaik di dunia. Sebetulnya banyak sekali karya-karya saya yang berdasarkan pengalaman pribadi, tapi ini yang mungkin "paling dalam lukanya" waktu menuliskannya.
15. Mas Ananda Sukarlan, Saya dengar Anda seorang Trekker (penggemar kisah fiksi ilmiah Star Trek) juga. Apa yang paling Anda senangi dari Star Trek dan tokoh siapa dalam kisah itu yang paling Anda kagumi? Live long & prosper.
Berthold Sinaulan, Jakarta Timur
Jawaban: Star Trek itu persis sama dengan musik sastra: we boldly go where no man has gone before. Dua-duanya juga mengejawantahkan satu hal yang sangat saya percaya walaupun masih dalam teori: paralel universe. Kita juga bisa tiba di satu semesta yang berbeda dalam hitungan mikro-detik. Saya pengagum pencetus ST, Gene Roddenberry: saya lebih percaya dia dan teori2nya yg berdasarkan research ilmiah daripada banyak "sejarah" misalnya: saya benar-benar tidak percaya bahwa orang sudah mendarat di bulan! Selain itu saya mengagumi Captain Jean-Luc Picard yg cocok mewakili abad 25 : seorang berwawasan luas dan sangat toleran dengan perbedaan. Saya nggak pernah ikut Pemilu karena tidak percaya kepemimpinan siapapun (saya pernah "salah" mengagumi Obama, tapi sekarang saya lihat dia ternyata "just another politician"), tapi kalau Picard jadi calon presiden saya langsung coblos deh.
16. Sebagai pianis, komponis, dan juga Trekkie, saya yakin Ananda Sukarlan ingin sekali mengisi soundtrack untuk film Star Trek tahun 2012 nanti. Sejauh manakah keinginan Anda untuk hal itu?
Ismanto Hadi Saputro, Jakarta ,
Jawaban: Wah, soundtrack Jerry Goldsmith di "Insurrection" atau Dennis McCarthy di "Generations" nggak ada yang menandingi lah. Itu sama seperti impian aktor yang ingin jadi James Bond: pingin sih, tapi setelah Sean Connery siapa yang bisa menandinginya? Saya sudah bbrp kali bikin musik buat film, dan tidak menutup kemungkinan bikin lagi (tentu saya harus merasa cocok dengan sutradaranya), tapi passion saya sebenarnya bukan bikin musik film tapi opera, karena musik film lebih mencerminkan suasana, sedangkan musik opera mencerminkan karakter orang atau tokoh. Kalau tentang Jean-Luc Picard sendiri saya bisa deh bikin musik, semacam leitmotif utk penokohannya, karena saya (dan pasti anda semua) mendambakan seorang pemimpin seperti itu. Saya yakin, Roddenberry menciptakan Picard berdasarkan apa yang digambarkan oleh filosof Plato di bukunya "The Republic". Saya kira gambaran seorang pemimpin menurut Plato itu hanya telah diejawantahkan oleh satu orang sebelum Picard: Mahatma Gandhi. Saya jauh lebih terinspirasi oleh manusia, karakter serta hasil karyanya daripada oleh suasana atau pemandangan alam, betapapun indahnya. Saya selalu melihat sesuatu yang indah di diri setiap orang yang membuat saya gampang kagum & jatuh cinta. Saya gampang jadi korban "Borg" nih: I am to be assimilated. Resistance is futile ....
1. Om Ananda, saya kini berusia 13 tahun. Sejak usia 5 tahun ikut kursus piano klasik sampai hari ini. Dibandingkan prestasi Om saat usia 13 tahun, saya bukan apa-apa. Apa yang perlu saya lakukan lagi.
Kinsky Gisela Mentari, Kampung Rambutan - Jakarta Timur,
Jawaban: Bukan apa-apa? Lho, waktu saya 13 th malah abis di dropout dari sekolah musik di Jakarta. Katanya, saya nggak berbakat! Jadi prestasimu udah lebih dari saya, ya kan? Tapi saya jalan terus sampai sekarang. Dengarkan kata hati dan ikutilah. Kalau memang cintanya di musik, teruslah. Mempelajari & berkarya seni itu nggak pernah selesai, karena itu perjalanan menuju kesempurnaan. Dan kita, manusia, tidak akan pernah bisa mencapainya. Keindahan berkarya seni ada di prosesnya, bukan tujuannya.
2. 1.Mohon saran dari Mas Ananda, bagaimana cara meningkatkan minat pelajar dan mahasiswa terhadap piano dan orkes? karena menurut saya, karya piano dan orkes mulai tenggelam di kalangan muda Indonesia .
Robert, Tangerang, Banten,
Jawaban: Kenapa film Hollywood sangat diminati? Karena gedung bioskop kualitas & kuantitasnya sudah memadai. Nah, gedung konser yang berakustik bagus, dengan sistem manajemen yg juga bagus belum ada satu pun. Gedung sih banyak, tapi tanpa konsep akustik yang benar. Jika kita belum bisa menganggap gedung (dan akustiknya) sebagai sebuah instrumen musik (seperti biola, piano), kita tidak bisa memilikinya. Di satu konser piano tunggal itu ada 1 musikus (pianis) dan 2 instrumen: piano dan akustik gedung: itu mesti selalu diingat. Bukan hanya piano. Dan tiap instrumen itu ada pembuatnya, yang merupakan ahlinya. Jadi akustik gedung bukan di desain oleh arsitek atau musikus, tapi oleh ... ahli akustik!
Mendengarkan satu konser di gedung yang akustiknya memadai (dan pemain yang bagus, tentu saja) itu adalah satu pengalaman yang luar biasa, pasti akan sangat menarik minat masyarakat untuk musik sastra. Sangat lain dengan mendengarkan rekaman (apalagi kalau bajakan!). Itu sebabnya orang Indonesia berbondong-bondong ke Singapur & Malaysia nonton konser. Gedung seperti Philharmonie Berlin atau Concertgebouw Amsterdam menjadi ikon kota itu, dan akan menarik orang untuk menjadi tempat "hang-out" yang "hip & cool", selain utk mendengarkan musik juga ketemuan dan ngobrolin musik (dan lain hal), dgn aktivitas lain seperti diskusi dan masterclasses ... dan tentu saja dengan "coffee shop" di berandanya yang enak dan nyaman dong! Banyak hal lain untuk menarik minat ke musik sastra, terutama dalam pendidikan & pengenalan yg kami lakukan lewat Yayasan Musik Sastra Indonesia. Cek saja website kami di www.musik-sastra.com
3. Apa saran Anda untuk anak SMU yang berniat memilih jurusan non-eksakta? Apa pendapat Anda mengenai steretotipe bahwa anak IPA lebih sukses dari yang non-IPA?
Fransiska Ully Artha Situmorang, Duren Tiga , Jakarta Selatan
Jawaban: Dukung 100% dong! Walaupun dulu di SMA (Kanisius di Jakarta) saya anak IPA, saya kayaknya "nyasar" deh. Apalagi seni itu sama sekali tidak eksak, malah seni itu justru semakin tinggi ambiguitasnya biasanya semakin artistik, kan? Lihat saja lukisannya Da Vinci atau naskahnya Shakespeare yang penuh dengan rahasia dan ambiguitas. Ah, sukses? Kalau sukses jadi ilmuwan atau pengusaha seperti keinginan orangtuanya, tapi hatinya ada di dunia seni misalnya, apa itu namanya sukses?
4. 1.saya cukup kagum dengan prestasi yang anda miliki, saya ingin menanyakan apa langkah terbesar yang anda lakukan sehingga anda menjadi pianis terkenal?
2.mengapa anda lebih memilih untuk tinggal di spanyol daripada di indonesia
mei rosseliny gultom, medan
Jawaban: 1. Terbang 10.000 km dari rumah setelah lulus SMA untuk meraih mimpi. Kurang besar gimana langkahnya coba? Tapi setelah itu karir sbg pianis ditentukan dengan memenangkan kompetisi2 internasional sewaktu saya muda. Sayangnya itu masih satu-satunya jalan memulai karir sampai saat ini. 2. Soalnya di Indonesia masih belum bisa berkarir & mencari nafkah sebagai pianis dan komponis. Dengan segala kesempatan yang ada di Eropah setelah kemenangan saya di berbagai kompetisi, siapa sih yang mau meninggalkan itu semua? Tapi saat ini tokh saya bisa lebih banyak berbuat untuk negara di luar negeri daripada di dalam negeri, kan? Oh ya, saya juga terus pegang paspor Indonesia, walaupun saya berkewarganegaraan dobel: Republik Indonesia & Kerajaan Galau hehe..
5. Pertanyaan : Apakah faktor keturunan (Bakat) mempengaruhi kemahiran seorang musikus dalam berkarya? Bagaimana bagi mereka yang tidak terlahir dalam keluarga seniman? Bisakah mereka menghasilkan karya setara dengan yang berbakat ?
Stella Chrisfanny, Cilincing Jakarta Utara,
Jawaban: Ah, keluarga saya juga bukan seniman kok. Saya anak bungsu dari 7, ortu dan kakak2 saya tidak ada yg jadi seniman. Bakat tentu saja membantu, tapi tidak mutlak. Semua itu 1% bakat dan 99% kerja keras.
6. Pertanyaan:
Ananda sudah konser di berbagai kota di Indonesia . Berkaitan dengan apresiasi audiens terhadap karya-karya yang Ananda tampilkan, apakah Ananda bisa menangkap karakter audiens dari masing-masing kota terhadap selera lagu/komposisi yang Ananda mainkan? Bagaimana Ananda menyesuaikan dengan karakter audiens yang berbeda tersebut?
Anton Asmonodento, Yogyakarta
Jawaban: Kalau dari satu negara mungkin tidak begitu kentara, tapi kalau beda negara iya. Yang terjadi di audiens adalah psikologi massa, dimana audience menjadi satu karakter, dan itulah cara saya berkomunikasi dengan mereka: menganggap mereka sebagai satu "orang" saja, satu orang yang benar2 saya ingin sampaikan apa yang ingin saya ekspresikan. Saya tidak perlu menyesuaikan di tiap negara, karena musik sastra, seperti seni lainnya, berbicara sama kepada siapapun. Seorang performer harus menjadi "bunglon" bukan terhadap audiensnya, tapi untuk jenis musik yg berbeda-beda cara interpretasinya. Banyak ulasan tentang ini saya tulis di blog saya http://andystarblogger.blogspot.com
7. Mas Andy,
Ada niat bikin karya tentang seorang menteri yang suka ngomong (ngetwit)
sembarangan ga?
Anita, Bandung , tabbyche@gmail.com
Jawaban: Sembarangan atau sembiringan? Ah, ogah beneeur. Mendingan untuk menteri seperti alm. Fuad Hassan yg telah banyak jasanya ke dunia pendidikan dan musik sastra (termasuk mengusahakan beasiswa waktu saya mau melanjutkan ke Belanda). Karya saya utk piano solo, Etude no. 3 "This Boy's Had a Dream" saya dedikasikan ke beliau. Tentu anda tahu, siapa "boy" yang bermimpi itu. Btw, setiap karya saya yang untuk seseorang itu pasti ada "pesan rahasia" terhadapnya, yang biasanya dekat atau selalu ada di hati saya. Seumur hidup saya nggak akan pernah lupa jasa pak Fuad.
8. . Dear Ananda
1. Sebagai Pianis senior yang telah lama bekecimpung dalam dunia musik apakah Anda melihat dan merasakan adanya kesenjangan terhadap perkembangan seni musik sebagai Ilmu Pengetahuan di negeri kita ini? Terimakasih.
Christanto Hadijaya, Yogyakarta
Jawaban: Sangat! Padahal harta karun musik (terutama etnik) Indonesia adalah sumber yang tak habis-habisnya di penciptaan karya-karya baru di Eropah. Selain itu pemerintah tidak mengerti mempromosikannya ke dunia internasional, yang dapat menjadi aset negara untuk memperbaiki image bangsa serta memasukkan devisa. Contoh: kita memiliki bakat-bakat yang luar biasa. Ini saya bukan "ngegombal", saya sudah lihat sendiri, paling tidak ada 2 anak kecil : Sally Yapto (9 th) di Surabaya dan Ralf Vivaldo (10 th) di Semarang yang bikin saya terbelalak waktu mendengarkan mereka main piano. Menteri kita harusnya dalam 1 masa jabatan bisa menaruh posisi mereka setaraf Mozart di dunia internasional . Mozart itu jadi Mozart bukan hanya karena dia unik, tapi karena pemerintah Austria tahu cara "memungut"nya sebagai aset negara. Dan kita punya kok Mozart-Mozart juga.
Selain itu juga saya nggak ngerti dengan tiadanya Pusat Kebudayaan Indonesia di negara lain. Indonesia yang budayanya begitu kaya masa nggak punya semacam "Erasmus Huis" untuk Belanda atau "Goethe Institut" untuk Jerman sih?
9. apa kunci kesuksesan seorang Ananda Sukarlan? dan apa cita-cita yg belum tercapai?
akbar fauzan, Yogyakarta
Jawaban: 1. Menurut ayah saya (dan saya masih percaya walaupun beliau sudah almarhum) tidak ada 1 kunci kesuksesan, tapi ada 1 kunci kegagalan: berusaha menyenangkan hati semua orang. Itu yg saya selalu hindari. Makanya saya nggak demen politik. Soalnya menurut saya sukses adalah bebas & bisa melakukan apa yg kita senangi & kita percaya yang terbaik, bukan untuk menyenangkan siapapun. Apapun pendapat anda tentang saya adalah urusan anda, bukan urusan saya. Seni dan hiburan itu 2 hal yg sangat berbeda, demikian juga seniman dan selebritas. 2. Walaupun resminya saya Islam, saya percaya karma, dan setelah banyak mendapat berkah & keuntungan sekarang saatnya memberi dan membantu terutama ke anak2 muda dan yang kurang mampu, antara lain lewat Yayasan Musik Sastra Indonesia. Selain itu, kerja dengan anak2 muda bikin saya awet muda! Dalam segi artistik, masih ada 2 obsesi saya: Bikin lebih banyak opera, baik skala kecil maupun besar, dari karya sastra Indonesia. Yang lain adalah ingin memperkenalkan lagu-lagu rakyat Indonesia di dunia internasional, dengan cara membuat karya-karya "Rapsodia Nusantara" untuk piano yang virtuosik. Sama seperti cara kita mengenal lagu rakyat Hongaria lewat "Hungarian Rhapsodies"nya Franz Liszt. Saat ini sudah 8 nomor Rapsodia yang saya buat, dan saya berterima kasih kepada mereka yang mensponsorinya, terakhir adalah dr. Oei Hong Djien pemilik museum seni rupa yang besar di Magelang yang meminta saya membuat berdasarkan lagu rakyat Jawa. Selain itu, ehm..., buka restoran yang melayani makanan Padang DAN gudeg Jogja tapi yang benar2 asli. Itu dua makanan favorit yang selalu saya idamkan (apalagi kalau sedang musim dingin...); asik kan kalau bisa dapet 2 jenis makanan itu di 1 restoran?
10. Mas Ananda, selain musik klasik, apakah juga main musik lain? Jazz misalnya? Kalau iya, bagaimana cara mas Ananda berlatih musik jazz dan musik klasik? Terima kasih
ini inug,
Jawaban: Tidak, walaupun saya suka banget dengerin jazz. Bahkan saya nggak menganggap saya main musik, tapi melukis. Tapi kalau pelukis melukis di atas kanvas, sedangkan saya melukis di atas kesunyian. Disitu keindahan musik sastra: bukan di not-notnya saja, tapi juga apa yang ada di antara not-not itu .... dan itu yang tidak bisa lagi dimengerti dan dinikmati kalau kita terlalu banyak ke mall di Jakarta dan jadi kebal dengan bunyi musik yang bising dan terus-terusan disana.
11. Siapakah komponis musik klasik Eropa yang menjadi idola dan mempengaruhi kemampuan bermusik Mas Ananda?
Iman Sudibyo, Cirebon
Jawaban: Yg nggak saya kenal karena sudah keburu "pergi" adalah Shostakovich, Gustav Mahler, Sir Benjamin Britten (terutama opera2-nya) & Maurice Ravel (Piano Concerto-nya sudah saya mainkan puluhan kali dan masih nggak bosen!). Sedangkan yang saya kenal dan banyak belajar langsung dari mereka a.l. Sir Michael Tippett (yang saya anggap "penemu" saya yg pertama di Eropah dan merekomendasikan saya untuk disiarkan pertama kalinya di BBC di tahun 1994), Peter Sculthorpe (Australia) serta komponis Spanyol seperti David del Puerto dan Santiago Lanchares.
12. Pak Ananda Sukarlan,
Kami memiliki anak laki-laki usia 10,5 tahun. Sejak 3 tahun terakhir dia ikut kursus piano klasik di sebuah sekolah musik, atas keinginan anak tsb.
Informasi guru les nya, dia cukup cepat menangkap pelajaran yang diberikan. Yang menjadi masalah adalah, motivasi dia untuk menekuni piano klasik ini kurang konsisten. Tapi pada saat-saat tertentu dia semangat sekali. Guru lesnya dan kami sebagai orang tua yakin, kalau anak kami ini memiliki bakat di piano klasik.
Pertanyaan saya adalah: Bagaimana tetap menjaga konsistensi anak tersebut untuk tetap menekuni bakatnya, dan bagaimana kami memotivasinya dengan benar.?
Terima kasih
Salam.
Yohans Sunarno, Kota Bekasi
Jawaban: Wah itu juga sering terjadi dgn anak saya, tapi utk dia solusinya gampang. Tiap kali dia jenuh, saya bikinin dia lagu untuk dipelajari; lama2 lagu-lagu itu saya kumpulkan dan terbitkan di buku "Alicia's First Piano Book". Kalau putra anda lagi jenuh, mungkin butuh curhat ke teman? Mungkin ada masalah yang tidak dapat dibicarakan dgn orangtuanya, yang buat saya (sebagai seorang ayah) sangat wajar. Curhat ke orang lain sangat membantu meringankan uneg-uneg, terutama dengan yang memang berpengalaman di bidang yang lagi bermasalah itu. Kalau mau tweet ke saya boleh aja, twitter saya (@anandasukarlan) sering jadi "dokter konsultasi" kok, baik untuk para ortu maupun ABG. Jangan kuatir, anak saya yg sekarang 12 tahun juga suka curhat ke orang lain kok (terutama ngomongin papa-nya yang paling sebel sama Jonas Brothers yang dia kagumi).
13. - Anak umur 3 tahun,, bolehkah diikuti kursus musik ?
- bagaimana kita dapat mengetahui apakah anak kita menyukai music apa tidak ?
- alat musik apa yang mudah untuk anak anak umur 3 tahun ?
pearl priscillia, jakarta barat,
Jawaban: 1. Tentu saja boleh, tapi hati-hati pilih guru / sekolah musik ya. Saat ini terlalu menjamur & banyak yang kualitasnya tidak memadai yang efeknya akan kontraproduktif. 2. Tidak akan bisa tahu sebelum dia mulai main instrumen & mendengarkan banyak musik. Mulailah dengar musik Mozart, itu paling "bersahabat" dengan telinga anak. Lalu lanjutkan dengan "Piano Concerto no.2"nya Shostakovich dan "Peter & the Wolf"-nya Prokofiev. Dengarkan saya juga yang siaran dari Spanyol tiap Minggu malam di radio Delta atau Female FM, acara musik sastra, jadi ada "pengantar"nya dan cerita-cerita dibalik musiknya. 3. Hmm ... piano saja gimana?
14. 1) Kebanggaan terbesar apa yang pernah anda raih sebagai seorang pianis profesional?
2Pertunjukan apa yang paling berkesan yang pernah anda buat?mengapa? Nabila Azzahra Syahbani, Surabaya
Jawaban: 1. Kalau saya belum bisa membawa musik Indonesia ke taraf yang sama dengan musik komponis Eropah di dunia internasional saya belum berhak bangga deh. 2. Mungkin bukan pertunjukan, tapi pembuatan suatu karya. Misalnya lagu "Dalam Sakit" untuk tenor, permintaan dari AIDS Foundation dan saya dedikasikan ke para korban AIDS, mengingatkan kawan akrab saya yang wafat karena itu. Ia pemain biola yg luar biasa dan teman yang paling setia, dan kami pernah bercita-cita membuat duo yang terbaik di dunia. Sebetulnya banyak sekali karya-karya saya yang berdasarkan pengalaman pribadi, tapi ini yang mungkin "paling dalam lukanya" waktu menuliskannya.
15. Mas Ananda Sukarlan, Saya dengar Anda seorang Trekker (penggemar kisah fiksi ilmiah Star Trek) juga. Apa yang paling Anda senangi dari Star Trek dan tokoh siapa dalam kisah itu yang paling Anda kagumi? Live long & prosper.
Berthold Sinaulan, Jakarta Timur
Jawaban: Star Trek itu persis sama dengan musik sastra: we boldly go where no man has gone before. Dua-duanya juga mengejawantahkan satu hal yang sangat saya percaya walaupun masih dalam teori: paralel universe. Kita juga bisa tiba di satu semesta yang berbeda dalam hitungan mikro-detik. Saya pengagum pencetus ST, Gene Roddenberry: saya lebih percaya dia dan teori2nya yg berdasarkan research ilmiah daripada banyak "sejarah" misalnya: saya benar-benar tidak percaya bahwa orang sudah mendarat di bulan! Selain itu saya mengagumi Captain Jean-Luc Picard yg cocok mewakili abad 25 : seorang berwawasan luas dan sangat toleran dengan perbedaan. Saya nggak pernah ikut Pemilu karena tidak percaya kepemimpinan siapapun (saya pernah "salah" mengagumi Obama, tapi sekarang saya lihat dia ternyata "just another politician"), tapi kalau Picard jadi calon presiden saya langsung coblos deh.
16. Sebagai pianis, komponis, dan juga Trekkie, saya yakin Ananda Sukarlan ingin sekali mengisi soundtrack untuk film Star Trek tahun 2012 nanti. Sejauh manakah keinginan Anda untuk hal itu?
Ismanto Hadi Saputro, Jakarta ,
Jawaban: Wah, soundtrack Jerry Goldsmith di "Insurrection" atau Dennis McCarthy di "Generations" nggak ada yang menandingi lah. Itu sama seperti impian aktor yang ingin jadi James Bond: pingin sih, tapi setelah Sean Connery siapa yang bisa menandinginya? Saya sudah bbrp kali bikin musik buat film, dan tidak menutup kemungkinan bikin lagi (tentu saya harus merasa cocok dengan sutradaranya), tapi passion saya sebenarnya bukan bikin musik film tapi opera, karena musik film lebih mencerminkan suasana, sedangkan musik opera mencerminkan karakter orang atau tokoh. Kalau tentang Jean-Luc Picard sendiri saya bisa deh bikin musik, semacam leitmotif utk penokohannya, karena saya (dan pasti anda semua) mendambakan seorang pemimpin seperti itu. Saya yakin, Roddenberry menciptakan Picard berdasarkan apa yang digambarkan oleh filosof Plato di bukunya "The Republic". Saya kira gambaran seorang pemimpin menurut Plato itu hanya telah diejawantahkan oleh satu orang sebelum Picard: Mahatma Gandhi. Saya jauh lebih terinspirasi oleh manusia, karakter serta hasil karyanya daripada oleh suasana atau pemandangan alam, betapapun indahnya. Saya selalu melihat sesuatu yang indah di diri setiap orang yang membuat saya gampang kagum & jatuh cinta. Saya gampang jadi korban "Borg" nih: I am to be assimilated. Resistance is futile ....
lunes, 23 de mayo de 2011
and the twain shall meet .. and shall live happily ever after?
I am thankful to the piano duo, and duet, and twin sisters Shanti & Sonja Sungkono from Berlin when they thought of, and mentioned my name when they were asked by the Berlin-Jakarta Arts Festival about which composer's music should inaugurate its event. Sonja & Shanti were asked to perform in front of a distinguished audience that include the mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit and the mayor of Jakarta Fauzi Bowo.
When they asked for music which would be a "meeting point" between Berlin and Jakarta I immediately thought of Rudyard Kipling's words : East is east and west is west, and never the twain shall meet". Well, I want to contradict his words, but not with words which I am not good at, but with music. And as a title, I would just use 5 of Kipling's : ".. and the twain shall meet".
It's funny that I can't even say whether I am "east" or "west". Even for this particular piece, I can't pinpoint which "east" element it is; it is gamelan, yes, but which? West or Central Java, or even Bali? The scales are sort of confusing. What I did in "meeting" the east and west is by juxtaposing them both vertically (one pianist is playing the "western" melody" while the other is playing "eastern" figurations accompanying) and structurally; hence there are sections which are clearly "east" or "west". The western part is quite obvious, though also dubious: it is a sort of mix between the Latin-American rhythms and Shakira's (who of course is very Latin American).
It is also rather difficult to make a virtuosic piece for 4 hands on one piano, since both pianists' hands should not bump into each other! Listening to Schubert's fantastic 4-hand piano pieces definitely helps, but not as much as I would like to. And that apparently explains my scarcity of 4-hand repertoire; until now I have just written those short and easy 4-hand "Pieces of cake" pieces to be played with my daughter Alicia. "..and the twain shall meet", after more than 35 years of pianistic life, is my first "real" piece for piano 4-hands!
"..and the twain shall meet" will be performed by Shanti & Sonja Sungkono at Admiralspalast Berlin on the 25th of June at 8 p.m.
When they asked for music which would be a "meeting point" between Berlin and Jakarta I immediately thought of Rudyard Kipling's words : East is east and west is west, and never the twain shall meet". Well, I want to contradict his words, but not with words which I am not good at, but with music. And as a title, I would just use 5 of Kipling's : ".. and the twain shall meet".
It's funny that I can't even say whether I am "east" or "west". Even for this particular piece, I can't pinpoint which "east" element it is; it is gamelan, yes, but which? West or Central Java, or even Bali? The scales are sort of confusing. What I did in "meeting" the east and west is by juxtaposing them both vertically (one pianist is playing the "western" melody" while the other is playing "eastern" figurations accompanying) and structurally; hence there are sections which are clearly "east" or "west". The western part is quite obvious, though also dubious: it is a sort of mix between the Latin-American rhythms and Shakira's (who of course is very Latin American).
It is also rather difficult to make a virtuosic piece for 4 hands on one piano, since both pianists' hands should not bump into each other! Listening to Schubert's fantastic 4-hand piano pieces definitely helps, but not as much as I would like to. And that apparently explains my scarcity of 4-hand repertoire; until now I have just written those short and easy 4-hand "Pieces of cake" pieces to be played with my daughter Alicia. "..and the twain shall meet", after more than 35 years of pianistic life, is my first "real" piece for piano 4-hands!
"..and the twain shall meet" will be performed by Shanti & Sonja Sungkono at Admiralspalast Berlin on the 25th of June at 8 p.m.
lunes, 9 de mayo de 2011
original interview with Erza S.T. for The Jakarta Post
Erza S.T., founder of Indonesian Opera Society & writer for the newspaper The Jakarta Post interviewed me on my opera Ibu, yang anaknya diculik itu. It was published on April 28th, as usual heavily cut & edited by the newspaper, so I thought to post our original interview here which contains some more information
1. What's the background story of this opera? What inspired you to start composing it?
Many things: first & foremost of course the monologue of Seno Gumira Ajidarma itself which I read in a newspaper back in 2008. After I was commissioned to do an opera of any theme of my choice by the Jakarta Opera (which is a small but significant opera company here in Jakarta) I immediately thought of this. But the idea of writing for just 1 female singer was too crazy at that time, both because it was something quite new not only for me but for the world of music, and second because I didn't really believe that a single singer would be able to do that: singing & acting for 40 minutes non stop.
But as you have seen, Aning Katamsi proved it to be possible. And then there was another example of an opera as such already in the history of music: La Voix Humaine by the French composer Francis Poulenc, which I luckily could witness live at Teatro Real, Madrid, where it was about a lady who was talking on the phone all the time. But even that opera with its similar rich themes of loss, fear & death lasts shorter than my opera.
2. Why do you choose pocket opera as the style of the opera?
The idea of "pocket" opera is an opera which can be carried easily, toured easily (like a "pocket book"). So, since I will write it only for one soprano and nobody else, I am thinking it to be accompanied by a very small group of musicians. In fact, only 2 : piano (myself) and a flute doubling piccolo. I am thinking of its practicality and low budget of its repeated production, and luckily I proved my point in this. In 3 years, this is the 3rd time this opera is produced.
3. Did you revised the opera since its premiere in 2009 for this performance now? Musically no, only Chendra Panatan (the stage, acting and lighting director) changed (I should say "improved") some things.
4. How do you describe the music in this opera? Do use some Indonesian sound in this opera?
People has been describing my music as having "Indonesian sounds written by a composer from another planet" and I think it can be applied here. You can't blame me, in spite of my Indonesian-ness, I've been living in Europe for 23 years! Now with facebook & twitter I am of course much more Indonesian than, say, 10 years ago since I am much more connected (I even know new Indonesian slangs through twitter which some Indonesians themselves don't know!), but the ghosts of European music still hangs around me.
5. Your opera is considered to have a contemporary sound and style to some. What do you think on that comment?
Well it better be. I am trying to express a theme which is very contemporary, and I am aware and do admit that musicians who perform my music were always baffled when they see the music for the first time, since many things in my music are quite new and are not to be found in earlier music, although my music is deeply rooted in those of Mozart, Puccini or Britten -- and Javanese traditional music I absorbed in my first 17 years living in Indonesia.
6. Is there any new opera that you plan to compose?
Oh yes! I love opera, and in fact, like Mozart, the only thing I want to compose in my life are operas. But I know its problems of productions, financially and artistically, so I compose other things in between. Even Mozart, who had a generous patron, couldn't do only operas (thank God for his beautiful piano concertos and sonatas!). But my real passion in music is opera, and my absolute favorite instrument is the human voice. I am working on a prequel of the opera we are talking, this time about the mother 10 years before when her husband was still alive, and it will be about the dialogue between them about their kidnapped son, Satria. It is, naturally enough, called "Satria" and commissioned by the Indonesian Opera Society, and is again based on a play by the same inspirational author, Seno Gumira Ajidarma. His genius lies in writing a play where the real protagonist, Satria, is totally absent on stage. In my opera Satria will be represented by a dancer who doesn't talk nor sing, and will be directed again by Chendra Panatan.
1. What's the background story of this opera? What inspired you to start composing it?
Many things: first & foremost of course the monologue of Seno Gumira Ajidarma itself which I read in a newspaper back in 2008. After I was commissioned to do an opera of any theme of my choice by the Jakarta Opera (which is a small but significant opera company here in Jakarta) I immediately thought of this. But the idea of writing for just 1 female singer was too crazy at that time, both because it was something quite new not only for me but for the world of music, and second because I didn't really believe that a single singer would be able to do that: singing & acting for 40 minutes non stop.
But as you have seen, Aning Katamsi proved it to be possible. And then there was another example of an opera as such already in the history of music: La Voix Humaine by the French composer Francis Poulenc, which I luckily could witness live at Teatro Real, Madrid, where it was about a lady who was talking on the phone all the time. But even that opera with its similar rich themes of loss, fear & death lasts shorter than my opera.
2. Why do you choose pocket opera as the style of the opera?
The idea of "pocket" opera is an opera which can be carried easily, toured easily (like a "pocket book"). So, since I will write it only for one soprano and nobody else, I am thinking it to be accompanied by a very small group of musicians. In fact, only 2 : piano (myself) and a flute doubling piccolo. I am thinking of its practicality and low budget of its repeated production, and luckily I proved my point in this. In 3 years, this is the 3rd time this opera is produced.
3. Did you revised the opera since its premiere in 2009 for this performance now? Musically no, only Chendra Panatan (the stage, acting and lighting director) changed (I should say "improved") some things.
4. How do you describe the music in this opera? Do use some Indonesian sound in this opera?
People has been describing my music as having "Indonesian sounds written by a composer from another planet" and I think it can be applied here. You can't blame me, in spite of my Indonesian-ness, I've been living in Europe for 23 years! Now with facebook & twitter I am of course much more Indonesian than, say, 10 years ago since I am much more connected (I even know new Indonesian slangs through twitter which some Indonesians themselves don't know!), but the ghosts of European music still hangs around me.
5. Your opera is considered to have a contemporary sound and style to some. What do you think on that comment?
Well it better be. I am trying to express a theme which is very contemporary, and I am aware and do admit that musicians who perform my music were always baffled when they see the music for the first time, since many things in my music are quite new and are not to be found in earlier music, although my music is deeply rooted in those of Mozart, Puccini or Britten -- and Javanese traditional music I absorbed in my first 17 years living in Indonesia.
6. Is there any new opera that you plan to compose?
Oh yes! I love opera, and in fact, like Mozart, the only thing I want to compose in my life are operas. But I know its problems of productions, financially and artistically, so I compose other things in between. Even Mozart, who had a generous patron, couldn't do only operas (thank God for his beautiful piano concertos and sonatas!). But my real passion in music is opera, and my absolute favorite instrument is the human voice. I am working on a prequel of the opera we are talking, this time about the mother 10 years before when her husband was still alive, and it will be about the dialogue between them about their kidnapped son, Satria. It is, naturally enough, called "Satria" and commissioned by the Indonesian Opera Society, and is again based on a play by the same inspirational author, Seno Gumira Ajidarma. His genius lies in writing a play where the real protagonist, Satria, is totally absent on stage. In my opera Satria will be represented by a dancer who doesn't talk nor sing, and will be directed again by Chendra Panatan.
sábado, 23 de abril de 2011
Surabaya Singing
A few days ago this article was published in The Jakarta Globe newspaper, edited as usual. Therefore I post here my original writing, unedited and uncut.
It's just unbelievable that in this country of 200 million people there is yet a classical music voice competition of a national scale, while there is an abundance of great vocal soloists and choirs all over the country. There is even the erroneous term "lagu seriosa" (serious songs) for the genre of classical music songs (and sometimes even opera arias), which automatically condemns the other genres (such as jazz, folk music etc) as "not serious". Sometimes it's not even applied to the genre but to a manner of singing, so that one can sing a pop song in a "seriosa" way, i.e. you should wear a Maria Callas (or even Bianca Castafiore?)-like gown and sing in an incomprehensive and loud voice that will break all the glasses around you. It was a myth in this country until very recently that classical music singers should sing words that were not meant to be understood. Just sing high notes, higher than the seventh heaven but still audible to (break the) human ears, and you'd be accepted in the "seriosa" exclusive club of high art.
Therefore it is highly admirable that Surabaya's Amadeus Performing Arts with its director & founder, that hyperactive lady Patrisna May Widuri would organize a competition of a national scale for classical vocalists. They even use the term which I and a handful of Indonesian classical musicians agreed on for this genre, "Tembang Puitik" (Poetic Songs), since most of the songs of Schubert, Mahler, Britten up to yours truly are based on existing poems and not just inventing and repeating texts as happens in pop music, such as "You're beautiful" (repeated to death) and just ends with "it's true". Let's just use this term "Tembang Puitik" for art-songs (I don't even like this English term, as if, hey, that Spanish flamenco passionate singing is not art or what?) of both Indonesian and international for the future, shall we?
In spite of the name, "Ananda Sukarlan Art-song National Competition" (Kompetisi Nasional Tembang Puitik Ananda Sukarlan), this event was neither my idea nor organized by me. It was 100% Amadeus' iniciative. I was there to serve as the head of the judge, and am honoured to sit with the other jury members Aning Katamsi (should she need an introduction, I could only say that she is Indonesia's most prominent soprano of today) and choir conductor-voice expert-former dean of the Music Faculty of the Satya Wacana University of Salatiga, Agastya Rama Listya.
Although joined by 34 highly talented vocalists from all over Indonesia, 2 cities still stood out for the quantity and quality of their singers: Jakarta & Surabaya. Medan follows behind, but it has its shortcomings: they don't have classically trained teachers to polish the singing techniques. The competition's high artistic & musical demands were the reason why it wasn't a target for beginners or "Indonesian Idol" type of singers.
Tembang Puitik Ananda Sukarlan (TPAS) is planned to be a biennal date for vocalists to meet in Surabaya, so the next one will be held in 2013. My name is used, I guess because quantity-wise I am currently the Indonesian composer who has written the most artsongs; more than 100 until now (no, no, this is by no means an achievement at all. Franz Schubert wrote more than 600 before he died at the early age of 31. And they were waaaay better). About 50 of them were sung by the participants during that weekend.
The competition was split into 2 categories : Professional and Non Professional, and the non-pro one was again split into 4 categories : Junior, Senior Male, Senior Female and Senior 2 (which meant to accomodate singers above 40 but turned out to be not so effective, since there were only 2 participants in this category. We, above 40, have lost the spirit of competitivity, I guess! The organizer, with the consent of the artistic board decided to keep this category to maintain the spirit of tirelessly learning and perfecting the techniques even at this age).
One groundbreaking thing I would like to mention is the way TPAS was introduced, socialized and managed by Amadeus. It was done almost exclusively by the social media, Facebook and Twitter. Since this does not involve a highly lucrative genre of music, most conventional media such as the newspaper, let alone TV stations turned their back on this event. The results of the competition were also announced in real time through twitter while I was announcing the results (both semifinal and final) to a live audience of just a few hundreds at the Petra University Auditorium. This time I let my twitter account @anandasukarlan being "hacked" by them, since among all of us involved I have the dubious honour of having the most followers. But I can assure you that only those few crucial minutes in my tweeting career that "my" tweets were typed by someone else since it would be annoying to the public listening to me reading the results on stage and tweeting at the same time. Apart from those moments my tweets are like my music, typed by my very own 10 fingers. Those tweets of "mine" during the announcement were then numerously retweeted all over the country, and that made me believe that twitter, not a dog, is man's best friend if he loves classical music and arts in this country.
This event, followed minute by minute by literally thousands of classical music lovers throughout the country through social media hopefully demonstrated how badly needed a concert hall is in Surabaya, even a small, decent and simple one. My heart broke when the tenor Ivan Jonathan who turned out to perform excellently had to stop and waited for more than half an hour due to the noise of the heavy rain .. and the electricity failure that "naturally" followed it. One should remember that during that period of waiting he should be always prepared to perform any minute just when the rain stopped and the lights went on, and maintaining that kind of artistic awareness in a tough competition like this is a thing which is not at all to be taken lightly.
As there are 5 categories, so there are 5 first winners in this competition, but for me personally 3 vocalists stood out -- the tenor Adi Nugroho, soprano Indah Pristanti and the coloratura soprano Evelyn Merrelita, each won first prizes in their respective categories. However, since Adi Nugroho won the best interpretation of all my works, he receives the honour (if one calls it so) of giving concerts singing my works organized by my management , accompanied --unfortunately stressful for him, I believe-- by myself.
This has been a big classical music landmark, not only in Surabaya but also nationally. It has certainly put Surabaya on the map. And in our hearts.
-----
The complete list of winners of Tembang Puitik Ananda Sukarlan National Voice Competition are :
Professional : 1. Evelyn Merrelita 2. Eriyani Tenga Lunga 3. Pharel Silaban
Non professional, cat. JUNIOR : 1. Theodora A. Beatrice 2. Vallerie Chr. Gunawan 3. A. James Sofyan
SENIOR 1 Female: 1. Indah Pristanti 2. Christine M. Tambunan 3. tied between Agatha Stella & Mariska Setiawan
SENIOR 1 Male: 1. Adi Nugroho 2. Ivan Jonathan 3. Anggana Bunawan
SENIOR 2 (over 40 years): 1. Linda Hartono 2. Natalis Sidhanta
Best interpretation & understanding of the music of Ananda Sukarlan : Adi Nugroho
It's just unbelievable that in this country of 200 million people there is yet a classical music voice competition of a national scale, while there is an abundance of great vocal soloists and choirs all over the country. There is even the erroneous term "lagu seriosa" (serious songs) for the genre of classical music songs (and sometimes even opera arias), which automatically condemns the other genres (such as jazz, folk music etc) as "not serious". Sometimes it's not even applied to the genre but to a manner of singing, so that one can sing a pop song in a "seriosa" way, i.e. you should wear a Maria Callas (or even Bianca Castafiore?)-like gown and sing in an incomprehensive and loud voice that will break all the glasses around you. It was a myth in this country until very recently that classical music singers should sing words that were not meant to be understood. Just sing high notes, higher than the seventh heaven but still audible to (break the) human ears, and you'd be accepted in the "seriosa" exclusive club of high art.
Therefore it is highly admirable that Surabaya's Amadeus Performing Arts with its director & founder, that hyperactive lady Patrisna May Widuri would organize a competition of a national scale for classical vocalists. They even use the term which I and a handful of Indonesian classical musicians agreed on for this genre, "Tembang Puitik" (Poetic Songs), since most of the songs of Schubert, Mahler, Britten up to yours truly are based on existing poems and not just inventing and repeating texts as happens in pop music, such as "You're beautiful" (repeated to death) and just ends with "it's true". Let's just use this term "Tembang Puitik" for art-songs (I don't even like this English term, as if, hey, that Spanish flamenco passionate singing is not art or what?) of both Indonesian and international for the future, shall we?
In spite of the name, "Ananda Sukarlan Art-song National Competition" (Kompetisi Nasional Tembang Puitik Ananda Sukarlan), this event was neither my idea nor organized by me. It was 100% Amadeus' iniciative. I was there to serve as the head of the judge, and am honoured to sit with the other jury members Aning Katamsi (should she need an introduction, I could only say that she is Indonesia's most prominent soprano of today) and choir conductor-voice expert-former dean of the Music Faculty of the Satya Wacana University of Salatiga, Agastya Rama Listya.
Although joined by 34 highly talented vocalists from all over Indonesia, 2 cities still stood out for the quantity and quality of their singers: Jakarta & Surabaya. Medan follows behind, but it has its shortcomings: they don't have classically trained teachers to polish the singing techniques. The competition's high artistic & musical demands were the reason why it wasn't a target for beginners or "Indonesian Idol" type of singers.
Tembang Puitik Ananda Sukarlan (TPAS) is planned to be a biennal date for vocalists to meet in Surabaya, so the next one will be held in 2013. My name is used, I guess because quantity-wise I am currently the Indonesian composer who has written the most artsongs; more than 100 until now (no, no, this is by no means an achievement at all. Franz Schubert wrote more than 600 before he died at the early age of 31. And they were waaaay better). About 50 of them were sung by the participants during that weekend.
The competition was split into 2 categories : Professional and Non Professional, and the non-pro one was again split into 4 categories : Junior, Senior Male, Senior Female and Senior 2 (which meant to accomodate singers above 40 but turned out to be not so effective, since there were only 2 participants in this category. We, above 40, have lost the spirit of competitivity, I guess! The organizer, with the consent of the artistic board decided to keep this category to maintain the spirit of tirelessly learning and perfecting the techniques even at this age).
One groundbreaking thing I would like to mention is the way TPAS was introduced, socialized and managed by Amadeus. It was done almost exclusively by the social media, Facebook and Twitter. Since this does not involve a highly lucrative genre of music, most conventional media such as the newspaper, let alone TV stations turned their back on this event. The results of the competition were also announced in real time through twitter while I was announcing the results (both semifinal and final) to a live audience of just a few hundreds at the Petra University Auditorium. This time I let my twitter account @anandasukarlan being "hacked" by them, since among all of us involved I have the dubious honour of having the most followers. But I can assure you that only those few crucial minutes in my tweeting career that "my" tweets were typed by someone else since it would be annoying to the public listening to me reading the results on stage and tweeting at the same time. Apart from those moments my tweets are like my music, typed by my very own 10 fingers. Those tweets of "mine" during the announcement were then numerously retweeted all over the country, and that made me believe that twitter, not a dog, is man's best friend if he loves classical music and arts in this country.
This event, followed minute by minute by literally thousands of classical music lovers throughout the country through social media hopefully demonstrated how badly needed a concert hall is in Surabaya, even a small, decent and simple one. My heart broke when the tenor Ivan Jonathan who turned out to perform excellently had to stop and waited for more than half an hour due to the noise of the heavy rain .. and the electricity failure that "naturally" followed it. One should remember that during that period of waiting he should be always prepared to perform any minute just when the rain stopped and the lights went on, and maintaining that kind of artistic awareness in a tough competition like this is a thing which is not at all to be taken lightly.
As there are 5 categories, so there are 5 first winners in this competition, but for me personally 3 vocalists stood out -- the tenor Adi Nugroho, soprano Indah Pristanti and the coloratura soprano Evelyn Merrelita, each won first prizes in their respective categories. However, since Adi Nugroho won the best interpretation of all my works, he receives the honour (if one calls it so) of giving concerts singing my works organized by my management , accompanied --unfortunately stressful for him, I believe-- by myself.
This has been a big classical music landmark, not only in Surabaya but also nationally. It has certainly put Surabaya on the map. And in our hearts.
-----
The complete list of winners of Tembang Puitik Ananda Sukarlan National Voice Competition are :
Professional : 1. Evelyn Merrelita 2. Eriyani Tenga Lunga 3. Pharel Silaban
Non professional, cat. JUNIOR : 1. Theodora A. Beatrice 2. Vallerie Chr. Gunawan 3. A. James Sofyan
SENIOR 1 Female: 1. Indah Pristanti 2. Christine M. Tambunan 3. tied between Agatha Stella & Mariska Setiawan
SENIOR 1 Male: 1. Adi Nugroho 2. Ivan Jonathan 3. Anggana Bunawan
SENIOR 2 (over 40 years): 1. Linda Hartono 2. Natalis Sidhanta
Best interpretation & understanding of the music of Ananda Sukarlan : Adi Nugroho
sábado, 26 de marzo de 2011
Eternal-Liz yours
As a huge admirer of the late Michael Jackson, inevitably I also admire Elizabeth “Liz” Taylor too, who remained as an idol for MJ until his death. Now that Liz died last week, and here I am alone in my hotel room in Madrid for a concert of Santiago Lanchares’ piano music on Sunday, March 27th, I feel like blogging on my thoughts on the American diva, though this is through the ideas of the absolute, irreplaceable idol of mine, Andy Warhol.
Liz Taylor, Marilyn Monroe & Jacqueline Onassis/Kennedy were the 3 icons of the 20th century, and Warhol had immortalized them in his creations. There are no royalties in the USA, but if there were, those 3 would be bestowed with those royal titles. The 3 divas achieved their aim to acclaim independence & equality of the female sex in a world of male domination. We all, with great intensity, love and hate those 3 divas, and they were the prelude of what Warhol called “the 15 minutes of fame”. Their struggle can best described in that catchy Pet Shop Boys song: “We’re shameless, we would do anything to get our 15 minutes of fame”. In case of the 3 divas, those 15 minutes were repeated constantly until the moment of their death. It was more difficult for them then, since there were no facebook and twitter as instruments to achieve popularity. Without them there would be no such madnesses of today’s Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and now it’s Justin Bieber. The iconic (if not fakely ridiculous) couples of today such as the Beckhams, Brangelina and Penelope/Javier (and even Cruise/Kidman tried, but failed) would not have existed if not modeled on Richard Burton-Liz Taylor, perhaps the most fascinating couple of the last century. Liz defied everything, from gossips to gravity with her numerous plastic surgeries, both on her face and on the story of her life.
Nothing went incalculated in the life of Liz Taylor; she planned every minute detail except her death. What will stay in our memories will be her natural ability to survive and flourish as a woman in a world of men, and as a celebrity unlike Beethoven, Van Gogh or Shakespeare we will remember her as who she was instead of what she had done. Shakespeare created great works of art, Liz Taylor was and will remain the work of art herself. Requiescat in Pace, Liz.
Liz Taylor, Marilyn Monroe & Jacqueline Onassis/Kennedy were the 3 icons of the 20th century, and Warhol had immortalized them in his creations. There are no royalties in the USA, but if there were, those 3 would be bestowed with those royal titles. The 3 divas achieved their aim to acclaim independence & equality of the female sex in a world of male domination. We all, with great intensity, love and hate those 3 divas, and they were the prelude of what Warhol called “the 15 minutes of fame”. Their struggle can best described in that catchy Pet Shop Boys song: “We’re shameless, we would do anything to get our 15 minutes of fame”. In case of the 3 divas, those 15 minutes were repeated constantly until the moment of their death. It was more difficult for them then, since there were no facebook and twitter as instruments to achieve popularity. Without them there would be no such madnesses of today’s Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and now it’s Justin Bieber. The iconic (if not fakely ridiculous) couples of today such as the Beckhams, Brangelina and Penelope/Javier (and even Cruise/Kidman tried, but failed) would not have existed if not modeled on Richard Burton-Liz Taylor, perhaps the most fascinating couple of the last century. Liz defied everything, from gossips to gravity with her numerous plastic surgeries, both on her face and on the story of her life.
Nothing went incalculated in the life of Liz Taylor; she planned every minute detail except her death. What will stay in our memories will be her natural ability to survive and flourish as a woman in a world of men, and as a celebrity unlike Beethoven, Van Gogh or Shakespeare we will remember her as who she was instead of what she had done. Shakespeare created great works of art, Liz Taylor was and will remain the work of art herself. Requiescat in Pace, Liz.
viernes, 25 de marzo de 2011
Satu satu, Aku sayang Ibu, yang anaknya diculik itu
I am writing this entry in Indonesian, since you will have to know (a bit of) Indonesian anyway if you wanna see my opera, "Ibu, yang anaknya diculik itu". But as google translator is getting more sophisticated nowadays, I kindly ask you to use that device if you wanna read this anyway (and am thankful for it).
Tanggal 16 & 17 April ini opera saya "Ibu, yang anaknya diculik itu" akan dipagelarkan lagi dengan soprano yang memperdanakannya 2 tahun yg lalu, Aning Katamsi yang dengan spektakulernya menggali segala macam emosi selama 40 menit durasinya. Sigmund Freud akan dengan antusias menganalisa keadaan Aning setelah dia selesai pagelaran!
Opera ini saya berani tulis setelah saya menonton operanya Francis Poulenc, "La Voix Humaine" yang juga ditulis hanya untuk 1 soprano saja. Voix Humaine ditulis juga berdasarkan sebuah monolog dari Jean Cocteau, tapi Poulenc dan Cocteau ada satu "advantage" yang saya tidak miliki: monolog mereka adalah seorang wanita yang "berbicara lewat telpon". Sedangkan opera saya adalah benar2 monolog seorang ibu, menceritakan banyak hal (termasuk juga menerima & berbicara lewat telpon selama beberapa menit). Jadi benar-benar monolog, bukan dialog (walaupun imajiner, lewat telpon).
Waktu itu saya kira saya akan membuat kesalahan, baik dalam proses komposisi maupun secara konseptual, karena ini sangat "experimental" buat saya : membuat musik untuk 1 soprano saja yang terus bernyanyi dan menguras tenaga selama 40 menit (hanya dengan 4 menit intermezzo di tengah, dimana sang soprano bisa keluar sebentar sementara saya dan pemain flute bermain intermezzonya). Tapi Aning Katamsi benar2 berkomitmen tinggi, dan walaupun saya tetap merasa bersalah membuat musik yang kadang-kadang ritme dan interval-intervalnya cukup ... ehm ... tidak begitu konvensional, saya tidak merevisi apa-apa lagi dari partiturnya. Kalaupun ada hal-hal yang saya tidak puas, biarkanlah ini menjadi dokumen dari "kebodohan" saya di tahun 2009. Apalagi untuk mengubah beberapa hal berarti meminta Aning untuk mempelajari hal-hal baru, dan dia sudah "rela" (oh ya?) untuk mempelajari hal-hal yang mungkin bisa disederhanakan atau diperbaiki. Jika saya harus menulis sebuah pocket opera berdasarkan monolog lagi, saya akan membuatnya dengan cara lain. Bagaimanapun, penulisan setiap karya adalah suatu proses pembelajaran buat saya, dan walaupun itu tidak menjamin bahwa karya berikutnya akan lebih baik, paling tidak saya belajar apa yang TIDAK akan saya lakukan di karya berikut. Mozart atau Britten pun tetap merelakan karya-karya awal mereka (yang juga penuh dengan hal-hal yang tidak memuaskan mereka sendiri) untuk diterbitkan. "A poem is never finished; it is just abandoned", kata penulis Paul Valery. Ganti saja kata "poem" dengan "piece of music" dan anda mengerti apa yang saya maksud. Kalau tidak begitu, setiap seniman hanya akan berkutat dengan satu karya saja seumur hidup!
Saya telah banyak bercerita tentang proses penulisan opera ini di blog ini, dalam bahasa Inggris (maaf saya kok lebih merasa mudah menulis dalam bahasa Inggris, walaupun grammarnya mungkin ada yang jeblok). Silakan cek di bulan Maret & April 2009 saja, atau silakan klik kata-kata yang menjadi "tag" dari artikel ini (IBU atau Aning Katamsi).
Ibu, yang anaknya diculik itu, akan dipagelarkan lagi tgl 16 & 17 April di Auditorium Bank Indonesia, Jakarta dengan para pemain yang sama. Selain Aning, Liz Ashford juga akan mendampingi saya dengan flute dan piccolo-nya, serta kami bersama-sama bermain beberapa instrumen perkusi juga. Silakan cek www.musik-sastra.com untuk info lengkapnya.
Tanggal 16 & 17 April ini opera saya "Ibu, yang anaknya diculik itu" akan dipagelarkan lagi dengan soprano yang memperdanakannya 2 tahun yg lalu, Aning Katamsi yang dengan spektakulernya menggali segala macam emosi selama 40 menit durasinya. Sigmund Freud akan dengan antusias menganalisa keadaan Aning setelah dia selesai pagelaran!
Opera ini saya berani tulis setelah saya menonton operanya Francis Poulenc, "La Voix Humaine" yang juga ditulis hanya untuk 1 soprano saja. Voix Humaine ditulis juga berdasarkan sebuah monolog dari Jean Cocteau, tapi Poulenc dan Cocteau ada satu "advantage" yang saya tidak miliki: monolog mereka adalah seorang wanita yang "berbicara lewat telpon". Sedangkan opera saya adalah benar2 monolog seorang ibu, menceritakan banyak hal (termasuk juga menerima & berbicara lewat telpon selama beberapa menit). Jadi benar-benar monolog, bukan dialog (walaupun imajiner, lewat telpon).
Waktu itu saya kira saya akan membuat kesalahan, baik dalam proses komposisi maupun secara konseptual, karena ini sangat "experimental" buat saya : membuat musik untuk 1 soprano saja yang terus bernyanyi dan menguras tenaga selama 40 menit (hanya dengan 4 menit intermezzo di tengah, dimana sang soprano bisa keluar sebentar sementara saya dan pemain flute bermain intermezzonya). Tapi Aning Katamsi benar2 berkomitmen tinggi, dan walaupun saya tetap merasa bersalah membuat musik yang kadang-kadang ritme dan interval-intervalnya cukup ... ehm ... tidak begitu konvensional, saya tidak merevisi apa-apa lagi dari partiturnya. Kalaupun ada hal-hal yang saya tidak puas, biarkanlah ini menjadi dokumen dari "kebodohan" saya di tahun 2009. Apalagi untuk mengubah beberapa hal berarti meminta Aning untuk mempelajari hal-hal baru, dan dia sudah "rela" (oh ya?) untuk mempelajari hal-hal yang mungkin bisa disederhanakan atau diperbaiki. Jika saya harus menulis sebuah pocket opera berdasarkan monolog lagi, saya akan membuatnya dengan cara lain. Bagaimanapun, penulisan setiap karya adalah suatu proses pembelajaran buat saya, dan walaupun itu tidak menjamin bahwa karya berikutnya akan lebih baik, paling tidak saya belajar apa yang TIDAK akan saya lakukan di karya berikut. Mozart atau Britten pun tetap merelakan karya-karya awal mereka (yang juga penuh dengan hal-hal yang tidak memuaskan mereka sendiri) untuk diterbitkan. "A poem is never finished; it is just abandoned", kata penulis Paul Valery. Ganti saja kata "poem" dengan "piece of music" dan anda mengerti apa yang saya maksud. Kalau tidak begitu, setiap seniman hanya akan berkutat dengan satu karya saja seumur hidup!
Saya telah banyak bercerita tentang proses penulisan opera ini di blog ini, dalam bahasa Inggris (maaf saya kok lebih merasa mudah menulis dalam bahasa Inggris, walaupun grammarnya mungkin ada yang jeblok). Silakan cek di bulan Maret & April 2009 saja, atau silakan klik kata-kata yang menjadi "tag" dari artikel ini (IBU atau Aning Katamsi).
Ibu, yang anaknya diculik itu, akan dipagelarkan lagi tgl 16 & 17 April di Auditorium Bank Indonesia, Jakarta dengan para pemain yang sama. Selain Aning, Liz Ashford juga akan mendampingi saya dengan flute dan piccolo-nya, serta kami bersama-sama bermain beberapa instrumen perkusi juga. Silakan cek www.musik-sastra.com untuk info lengkapnya.
jueves, 17 de marzo de 2011
1 minute for Japan
One minute can last a lifetime. And life can change completely in one minute, whether it's love at first sight ... or death. As I did with my previous piece which last for even less than a minute, the Theme for Eric & Ananda Classical Eve, I now write again for my newest one, 1 minute for Japan.
Just as Spain was commemorating the March 11 terrorist attack (and I tweeted about it in the morning of that date still in bed of my hotel room in Zaragoza; you can check my twitter timeline on that date), a huge earthquake (which turned out to be the 5th most powerful since earthquakes could be measured) and the tsunami as its consequence happened in northern Japan. I first learned about it from several tweets just after I finished tweeting about the Madrid bombing commemoration, but as the tweets got more intense, so I turned on the television. And what I saw was (an unfortunate) history.
Those days I was rehearsing with the orchestra of Cadaques; we were preparing the weird but attractive Concertino for piano & ensemble by Czech composer Leos Janacek, as well as "Bitacora", a fascinating piece for piano & strings by Spanish composer Jesus Rueda. After we performed them in Zaragoza we all travelled together by train to Madrid (Zaragoza is 1,5 hours by fast train from Madrid). On the train, 2 days after the tsunami happened, I watched on TV the terrible impact it did to the Japanese people, land and most scaringly to the nuclear reactors. Not as usual travellings with companeros musicians full of laughs & jokes, this time was a somber one; we all watched TV and talked about it. All those sufferings triggered a melancholic feeling, so I took off my earphones and isolated myself to an empty seat at the back since something in my head started to sound. It turned out to be a simple melody, and even its instrumentation isn't so exact. So I wrote it down, and "1 minute for Japan" became a tune with an accompaniment of just long notes underneath it. The first version of it is for piano left hand alone, and I might use it as a material for a bigger piece in the future.
At home several days later I copied it neatly and played it on the piano. It sounded like a strange Japanese not-so-Dorian mode. I guess the very Spanish landscape of grassy plain savannas outside the train window did influence something on the piece. There is a kind of Copland-esque open-air-ness in it. Again, as in my observation with my other pieces, this one scarily reflected candidly what I felt at that time, which couldn't be expressed by words.
Although not written in the score, I had in mind while writing "1 minute for Japan" my Japanese musician friends who have worked with me in the past, such as pianist Kazuha Nakagara who premiered 2 of my Etudes (and yes, I will keep my promise to write a 6th etude for her) and Midori Goto, the world famous violinist who commissioned and performed many times my 5-minute string quartet "Lontano", as well as many other dear Japanese friends. The real dedicatees of my piece are obviously the numerous victims out there in Japan. I would like to ask the listeners of "1 minute for Japan" to pray during the duration of the piece (which turned out to be just a bit more than 1 minute) for the souls of the victims. That's the least we can do to them. So they can Rest in Peace.
I think the score of 1 minute for Japan will be included in "Alicia's Second Piano Book", but I am giving it for free to anyone who wants to play it. Just tweet me at @anandasukarlan .
Just as Spain was commemorating the March 11 terrorist attack (and I tweeted about it in the morning of that date still in bed of my hotel room in Zaragoza; you can check my twitter timeline on that date), a huge earthquake (which turned out to be the 5th most powerful since earthquakes could be measured) and the tsunami as its consequence happened in northern Japan. I first learned about it from several tweets just after I finished tweeting about the Madrid bombing commemoration, but as the tweets got more intense, so I turned on the television. And what I saw was (an unfortunate) history.
Those days I was rehearsing with the orchestra of Cadaques; we were preparing the weird but attractive Concertino for piano & ensemble by Czech composer Leos Janacek, as well as "Bitacora", a fascinating piece for piano & strings by Spanish composer Jesus Rueda. After we performed them in Zaragoza we all travelled together by train to Madrid (Zaragoza is 1,5 hours by fast train from Madrid). On the train, 2 days after the tsunami happened, I watched on TV the terrible impact it did to the Japanese people, land and most scaringly to the nuclear reactors. Not as usual travellings with companeros musicians full of laughs & jokes, this time was a somber one; we all watched TV and talked about it. All those sufferings triggered a melancholic feeling, so I took off my earphones and isolated myself to an empty seat at the back since something in my head started to sound. It turned out to be a simple melody, and even its instrumentation isn't so exact. So I wrote it down, and "1 minute for Japan" became a tune with an accompaniment of just long notes underneath it. The first version of it is for piano left hand alone, and I might use it as a material for a bigger piece in the future.
At home several days later I copied it neatly and played it on the piano. It sounded like a strange Japanese not-so-Dorian mode. I guess the very Spanish landscape of grassy plain savannas outside the train window did influence something on the piece. There is a kind of Copland-esque open-air-ness in it. Again, as in my observation with my other pieces, this one scarily reflected candidly what I felt at that time, which couldn't be expressed by words.
Although not written in the score, I had in mind while writing "1 minute for Japan" my Japanese musician friends who have worked with me in the past, such as pianist Kazuha Nakagara who premiered 2 of my Etudes (and yes, I will keep my promise to write a 6th etude for her) and Midori Goto, the world famous violinist who commissioned and performed many times my 5-minute string quartet "Lontano", as well as many other dear Japanese friends. The real dedicatees of my piece are obviously the numerous victims out there in Japan. I would like to ask the listeners of "1 minute for Japan" to pray during the duration of the piece (which turned out to be just a bit more than 1 minute) for the souls of the victims. That's the least we can do to them. So they can Rest in Peace.
I think the score of 1 minute for Japan will be included in "Alicia's Second Piano Book", but I am giving it for free to anyone who wants to play it. Just tweet me at @anandasukarlan .
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