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 !!
jueves, 21 de mayo de 2009
domingo, 3 de mayo de 2009
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"
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"
miércoles, 29 de abril de 2009
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.
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.
viernes, 17 de abril de 2009
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
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
miércoles, 15 de abril de 2009
Rectifying Rossini's Record
Whew ! At last I finished my "pocket opera", IBU, a few days ago. Just sent the score to the musicians last nite. Now I gotta immediately start composing my second cantata, LIBERTAS.
I've broken my own record of the shortest time period in composing IBU. I did sketch its formal, harmonic & rhythmic structures last year right after I received the text of the monologue from Seno Gumira Ajidarma himself, but practically I started writing its actual notes on the plane carrying me back to Spain on the 10th of March this year. Then there was a one-week "black-out" period, plus some small travellings until at last I wrote its last note on the 11th of April. So, about 4 weeks of intense composing IBU. In between, some notes and sketches of LIBERTAS had also been done, even a number has been completed (I intended it to have 9 numbers, each based on a poem by a.o. Walt Whitman, Hasan Aspahani, Sapardi Djoko Damono, Ilham Malayu, WS Rendra).
Not that I wanted to break Rossini's record being the world's fastest scribbler ; I did it because of the scheduled World Premiere which will be on the 7th of June ! It will be programmed for the Jakarta Opera's Festival at the World Theatre of the British International School. And Aning Katamsi, the one and only singer of the opera, would certainly like to have it as early as possible. If I were her, I'd kill the composer for doing this to her ...
Now to LIBERTAS. My second cantata (my first was Ars Amatoria, which I will conduct again right 1 week before the premiere of IBU in Jakarta) will have approximately the same duration of IBU : a bit more than half an hour, but it will demand bigger forces : a baritone solo, a mixed choir (Joseph Kristanto will be the soloist together with the ITB Choir conducted by Indra Listiyanto) accompanied by 8 instruments. Commissioned by Bimasena, it is scheduled to be premiered in August this year for an audience which will include the president of Indonesia and some ministers.
But gimme a break ! Another big piece to write ? No way. I wanna have some days of "relax composing" as I always say, which means writing something completely different and unburdened (does that word exist? Anyway, I wanna say no deadlines, no commissions). I have started doodling on a new Rapsodia Nusantara no. 4 this morning. Am excited about it for 2 things : 1. It will be in variation form, a form which I never had explored & exploited thoroughly or explicitly. I will just write 1 variation a day, and put them in order after I decided that they should be enough (let's see .. perhaps 7 or 8 variations ?). 2. I have promised my friend Henoch Kristianto to dedicate it to him. He is a fine & brilliant pianist whose playing I admire so much (he studied & graduated in the US, but hey .. nobody's perfect). In fact, it was his playing of the Saint Saens 6th Etude which inspired me this morning to write a "light" variation. My Rapsodia won't sound like Saint-Saens, but sometimes my secret love to a certain composer come to the surface ...
By the way, d'you have something to do next weekend (24th of April) ? If not, you might like to have a date with your loved one to go to the cinema (if you live in Indonesia) and watch Romeo & Juliet. You won't regret it. I don't say it because I wrote the music for that film, I just think it's a very fresh & original look at the greatest love story of all time.
I've broken my own record of the shortest time period in composing IBU. I did sketch its formal, harmonic & rhythmic structures last year right after I received the text of the monologue from Seno Gumira Ajidarma himself, but practically I started writing its actual notes on the plane carrying me back to Spain on the 10th of March this year. Then there was a one-week "black-out" period, plus some small travellings until at last I wrote its last note on the 11th of April. So, about 4 weeks of intense composing IBU. In between, some notes and sketches of LIBERTAS had also been done, even a number has been completed (I intended it to have 9 numbers, each based on a poem by a.o. Walt Whitman, Hasan Aspahani, Sapardi Djoko Damono, Ilham Malayu, WS Rendra).
Not that I wanted to break Rossini's record being the world's fastest scribbler ; I did it because of the scheduled World Premiere which will be on the 7th of June ! It will be programmed for the Jakarta Opera's Festival at the World Theatre of the British International School. And Aning Katamsi, the one and only singer of the opera, would certainly like to have it as early as possible. If I were her, I'd kill the composer for doing this to her ...
Now to LIBERTAS. My second cantata (my first was Ars Amatoria, which I will conduct again right 1 week before the premiere of IBU in Jakarta) will have approximately the same duration of IBU : a bit more than half an hour, but it will demand bigger forces : a baritone solo, a mixed choir (Joseph Kristanto will be the soloist together with the ITB Choir conducted by Indra Listiyanto) accompanied by 8 instruments. Commissioned by Bimasena, it is scheduled to be premiered in August this year for an audience which will include the president of Indonesia and some ministers.
But gimme a break ! Another big piece to write ? No way. I wanna have some days of "relax composing" as I always say, which means writing something completely different and unburdened (does that word exist? Anyway, I wanna say no deadlines, no commissions). I have started doodling on a new Rapsodia Nusantara no. 4 this morning. Am excited about it for 2 things : 1. It will be in variation form, a form which I never had explored & exploited thoroughly or explicitly. I will just write 1 variation a day, and put them in order after I decided that they should be enough (let's see .. perhaps 7 or 8 variations ?). 2. I have promised my friend Henoch Kristianto to dedicate it to him. He is a fine & brilliant pianist whose playing I admire so much (he studied & graduated in the US, but hey .. nobody's perfect). In fact, it was his playing of the Saint Saens 6th Etude which inspired me this morning to write a "light" variation. My Rapsodia won't sound like Saint-Saens, but sometimes my secret love to a certain composer come to the surface ...
By the way, d'you have something to do next weekend (24th of April) ? If not, you might like to have a date with your loved one to go to the cinema (if you live in Indonesia) and watch Romeo & Juliet. You won't regret it. I don't say it because I wrote the music for that film, I just think it's a very fresh & original look at the greatest love story of all time.
sábado, 4 de abril de 2009
Dichotomy
No, that's not a title of a new piece. It's what I have been thinking these days, writing my new opera.
Let's face it, my (and many of other artist's) taste is not (always) the common public taste. Nobody has heard even one note of my new "pocket opera" IBU (oh, by the way, this word means "Mother"), but many questions, opinions and even protests (!) have been sent to me regarding my article about my creative process (see my previous entry). Most of you expressed concern about this surrealistic idea of mine of writing "unfinished" arias in my new opera. And now that it is 99% finished, I can see that I am truthful to my original idea about "unfinishing" arias, recitatives, even its overture and instrumental intermezzi. Basically, most of your reaction is simply "Hmmm ...Andy, I don't think it's a good idea ..."
"Unfinished" is my way of symbolizing the underlying theme of IBU : What really happened to my son ? And it also expresses this kind of strange sadness. If you have an unanswered (and very important) question in your life, I guess that's what happened. Everything keeps hanging in the air. But one thing is symbolism, another thing is being artistic. Will the public stand an opera, sung by one and only one singer (Aning Katamsi will be spectacular in her singing and acting, I can assure you, but this lasts for 35 minutes non-stop !), singing broken arias all the time ?
But hey, writing with this technique could perhaps make an "Indonesian identity". You see, Indonesian public likes to clap (which is nice, I know. Imagine a public who does NOT like to clap !), especially between movements and even before a piece is finished. I always regret them clapping right before the coda of my song, "Dalam Doaku". This coda was very difficult to write, and I think I succeeded in its timing and placement. But Indonesian public never heard it because they always clap right before the coda arrives ! So, "broken arias" might be a solution to avoid them clapping, he he ...
I have done some "dangerous" artistic experiments in my life. Some failed, some succeeded, as usually happened in any kind of experiments. I lost count on the amount of music I wrote that ended up in my dustbin. The last time I did this kind of experiment was in the film "Romeo & Juliet" by film director Andibachtiar Yusuf, already received its world premiere at the Hongkong International Film Festival a few weeks ago, and due to be premiered in Indonesia on the 25th this month. Some say it's outrageous, some say it's brilliant, but I will let time to tell the ultimate truth. Which means that in a few years time, when I am older (and hopefully wiser) I will look at it again and see whether I did a brilliant thing or I was just exercising an idiocy.
Some artist friends always told me that the public is not my business. But then I believe, with several other artists friends, that I am part of the public. Whatever the truth is, for many many years now I've been holding on to this catchy phrase of my favorite painter Piet Mondriaan : "Art has to be forgotten, beauty must be realized".
World Premiere of "IBU -- yang anaknya diculik itu" will be held at the World Theatre of BIS ( British International School )
Bintaro Jaya Sektor IX, Jl. Raya Jombang
Ciledug, Pondok Aren
Sunday, June 7, 2009 at 4 p.m
Performers will be : Aning Katamsi, soprano as IBU
Elizabeth Ashford, flute
Ananda Sukarlan, piano
BIS Children Choir dan JCOM Children Choir
conducted by Elizabeth Ashford dan Mirta Hartono
Let's face it, my (and many of other artist's) taste is not (always) the common public taste. Nobody has heard even one note of my new "pocket opera" IBU (oh, by the way, this word means "Mother"), but many questions, opinions and even protests (!) have been sent to me regarding my article about my creative process (see my previous entry). Most of you expressed concern about this surrealistic idea of mine of writing "unfinished" arias in my new opera. And now that it is 99% finished, I can see that I am truthful to my original idea about "unfinishing" arias, recitatives, even its overture and instrumental intermezzi. Basically, most of your reaction is simply "Hmmm ...Andy, I don't think it's a good idea ..."
"Unfinished" is my way of symbolizing the underlying theme of IBU : What really happened to my son ? And it also expresses this kind of strange sadness. If you have an unanswered (and very important) question in your life, I guess that's what happened. Everything keeps hanging in the air. But one thing is symbolism, another thing is being artistic. Will the public stand an opera, sung by one and only one singer (Aning Katamsi will be spectacular in her singing and acting, I can assure you, but this lasts for 35 minutes non-stop !), singing broken arias all the time ?
But hey, writing with this technique could perhaps make an "Indonesian identity". You see, Indonesian public likes to clap (which is nice, I know. Imagine a public who does NOT like to clap !), especially between movements and even before a piece is finished. I always regret them clapping right before the coda of my song, "Dalam Doaku". This coda was very difficult to write, and I think I succeeded in its timing and placement. But Indonesian public never heard it because they always clap right before the coda arrives ! So, "broken arias" might be a solution to avoid them clapping, he he ...
I have done some "dangerous" artistic experiments in my life. Some failed, some succeeded, as usually happened in any kind of experiments. I lost count on the amount of music I wrote that ended up in my dustbin. The last time I did this kind of experiment was in the film "Romeo & Juliet" by film director Andibachtiar Yusuf, already received its world premiere at the Hongkong International Film Festival a few weeks ago, and due to be premiered in Indonesia on the 25th this month. Some say it's outrageous, some say it's brilliant, but I will let time to tell the ultimate truth. Which means that in a few years time, when I am older (and hopefully wiser) I will look at it again and see whether I did a brilliant thing or I was just exercising an idiocy.
Some artist friends always told me that the public is not my business. But then I believe, with several other artists friends, that I am part of the public. Whatever the truth is, for many many years now I've been holding on to this catchy phrase of my favorite painter Piet Mondriaan : "Art has to be forgotten, beauty must be realized".
World Premiere of "IBU -- yang anaknya diculik itu" will be held at the World Theatre of BIS ( British International School )
Bintaro Jaya Sektor IX, Jl. Raya Jombang
Ciledug, Pondok Aren
Sunday, June 7, 2009 at 4 p.m
Performers will be : Aning Katamsi, soprano as IBU
Elizabeth Ashford, flute
Ananda Sukarlan, piano
BIS Children Choir dan JCOM Children Choir
conducted by Elizabeth Ashford dan Mirta Hartono
miércoles, 18 de marzo de 2009
Flirting fingers and a desperate housewife
One thing I notice about the public of a piano concert. Everybody wanted to have a seat at the left side of the hall, "where I can see the fingers of Ananda". That's what the majority of the people told Chendra, my manager, when they reserved the tickets for my only solo piano recital in Jakarta this year. (By the way, the last time I did another solo piano recital in that city was in 2006. Time flies ! At that time it was at the (still) beautiful old building Gedung Kesenian. The director(ress) was just appointed then, in 2004. Since then, the building and its management became a big mess, no more audiences, and therefore no more concerts these days (I saw in their Calendar of this (or last?) month,and there were only 3 events in a month). The most important artists of Indonesia don't want to perform there anymore. I'm not important, but I also don't feel like going there again under this management.)
Now I am back home, writing my pocket opera, "IBU". It is commissioned by Jakarta Opera to be performed in Jakarta on June 7th this year. The libretto is based on a monologue by Seno Gumira Ajidarma, and it is a sequel to "Mengapa Kau Culik Anak Kami". 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. That's the idea of "pocket" opera : an opera which can be carried easily, toured easily. I am happy that my friend, the excellent soprano Aning Katamsi has agreed to do it.
I am trying to do something terrifying in this opera. I mean, terrifying to myself. I am going to write lots of "arias" , but all of them will be without a finishing cadence. In fact, even sometimes without reaching a climax. The idea is to evoke desperation of a mother whose husband and son has gone. No hope is fulfilled. It is all dark, sadness and gloom. And anger.
I wonder how people will react with arias which just start and do not continue. Look, the whole idea of the original text is not meant to entertain. Seno Gumira wrote a very dark monologue. So, I treat this as one BIG aria, from beginning to end. Will I succeed ? I dunno. But one has to try things at least once in their lifetime.
domingo, 15 de febrero de 2009
Who's afraid of the number 5000? (More facts about facebook)
This is the continuation of my entry about facebook earlier this year.
Last week, seeing that the number of friends in "Ananda Sukarlan's friends" group at facebook is reaching about 4.500, I had the idea of giving a gift to the 5000th friend. The gift would simply be a free ticket to my solo piano concert at Goethe Haus, Jakarta on the 4th of March*. Both Chendra and me have discovered that the number of friends grows approximately 40 to 80 every day in that group, so I guess that in about a week from that date the group will reach 5000.
But now, instead of celebrating the 5000th, it turned out to be a disaster. A second disaster, to be precise. First of all, last year my personal fb could not accept anymore friends due to its maximum number, 5000. Now, the group (whose number is supposed to be unlimited) has said that fb CANNOT send messages to the members since the number has surpassed 5000. In fact, since a few weeks ago every time that Chendra or me sent a message to all members of the group, fb did it with a note "Your message is delayed since you are sending to a large group of people", and we realized that it took 2 to 3 days to reach the destinations.
So we made a quick decision of making another group, "Ananda Sukarlan's friends 2" (I can't believe that I am emulating Harry Potter, Indiana Jones or the dinosaurs at Jurassic Park) . The problem now is to get my friends at "1" to move to "2" . Even as owners and administrators of the group, we cannot decide who enters or who leaves the group. We can just invite people, or report people if they violate anything in the group, but it's all up to the fb big brothers to do it. So, may I ask you, friends, if you are a member of "1" to "move" to "2" ? Please make sure you MOVE, (which means that you get out of group "1") and not just be another member of 2, because then you are giving more problems !
Oh, some friends have suggested that we create a Fan Page for me. Now, that's against my will, since I don't feel I have fans. I am not a celebrity, I am simply a composer. There is nothing celebrational or glamorous in putting those beansprouts on music paper on a table.
* My concert at Goethe Haus will be on Wednesday, 4th of March at 7.30 pm. Its program triply celebrates the 200th year of Joseph Haydn's death, 200th year of Felix Mendelssohn's birth and 60th year of Jaya Suprana (one of Indonesia's prominent composer)'s birth. I will also give the first performance of my Rapsodia Nusantara no.3 .. if you wonder about no.2 , I will write about it in this blog later this (or next) week (or month) ..
Last week, seeing that the number of friends in "Ananda Sukarlan's friends" group at facebook is reaching about 4.500, I had the idea of giving a gift to the 5000th friend. The gift would simply be a free ticket to my solo piano concert at Goethe Haus, Jakarta on the 4th of March*. Both Chendra and me have discovered that the number of friends grows approximately 40 to 80 every day in that group, so I guess that in about a week from that date the group will reach 5000.
But now, instead of celebrating the 5000th, it turned out to be a disaster. A second disaster, to be precise. First of all, last year my personal fb could not accept anymore friends due to its maximum number, 5000. Now, the group (whose number is supposed to be unlimited) has said that fb CANNOT send messages to the members since the number has surpassed 5000. In fact, since a few weeks ago every time that Chendra or me sent a message to all members of the group, fb did it with a note "Your message is delayed since you are sending to a large group of people", and we realized that it took 2 to 3 days to reach the destinations.
So we made a quick decision of making another group, "Ananda Sukarlan's friends 2" (I can't believe that I am emulating Harry Potter, Indiana Jones or the dinosaurs at Jurassic Park) . The problem now is to get my friends at "1" to move to "2" . Even as owners and administrators of the group, we cannot decide who enters or who leaves the group. We can just invite people, or report people if they violate anything in the group, but it's all up to the fb big brothers to do it. So, may I ask you, friends, if you are a member of "1" to "move" to "2" ? Please make sure you MOVE, (which means that you get out of group "1") and not just be another member of 2, because then you are giving more problems !
Oh, some friends have suggested that we create a Fan Page for me. Now, that's against my will, since I don't feel I have fans. I am not a celebrity, I am simply a composer. There is nothing celebrational or glamorous in putting those beansprouts on music paper on a table.
* My concert at Goethe Haus will be on Wednesday, 4th of March at 7.30 pm. Its program triply celebrates the 200th year of Joseph Haydn's death, 200th year of Felix Mendelssohn's birth and 60th year of Jaya Suprana (one of Indonesia's prominent composer)'s birth. I will also give the first performance of my Rapsodia Nusantara no.3 .. if you wonder about no.2 , I will write about it in this blog later this (or next) week (or month) ..
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