Ananda Sukarlan (in Batik shirt) with some members of the G20 Orchestra INDONESIAKININEWS.COM - Last week the composer and pianist Ananda S...
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| Ananda Sukarlan (in Batik shirt) with some members of the G20 Orchestra |
Indonesiakininews.com immediately contacted this “one of the world's leading pianists … at the forefront of championing new piano music” (according to Sydney Morning Herald) to know more, and here is the result of our interview.
Indonesiakininews.com ( IKN.com ) : So, Ananda Sukarlan Award can now be joined by musicians from all Asian countries?
Ananda Sukarlan (AS) : Yes, since we are doing it online, everyone can join it without spending any time and money to travel to Indonesia. And those who reach the finals can choose, or even do both: to travel to the Chicago International Music Competition in July 2023 for the finals, and / or to Jakarta for the Ananda Sukarlan Awards in March 2023. And yeah, you can win both competitions with just one semi final round. In Indonesian we have a saying --which in fact I don't really like because it's rather cruel to animals : "To shoot two birds with one bullet".
IKN.com : Why did you decide to merge the Vocal and Piano competition?
AS : For so many reasons. But I should say again, it's now not only for voice and piano, but for any instruments including chamber music.
First, it's after I talked to so many people: musicians, bureaucrats, promotors etc., during the preparations and after the premiere at Borobudur temple of the G20 Orchestra which I was appointed as the founder and artistic director. Since the piano and vocal Ananda Sukarlan Award (ASA) competitions in 2008, we don't have shortage of pianists and vocalists that could perform at international stages, but we do need musicians of other instruments.
With the audition for the G20 orchestra, we have found some fabulous string instrument players, and I am sure that if we do the same for woodwinds and brass, we would find them as well. Maybe they are just still hiding in remote provinces and waiting to be discovered, not having the right contacts or connections. So I hope this is the platform for them.
Second, we are collaborating with several foreign institutions, private and governmental. One of them is the Chicago International Music Competition 2023 and the Institut Francais d'Indonesie who will send the grand prize winner of Ananda Sukarlan Award (as they had done since 2014) to a summer course to France.
Third, this would hopefully help the Indonesians to share and be part of the classical music world. With the new media and technology, this is a big opportunity for Indonesia to show our strength in classical music. The G20 orchestra has been watched by all over the world, as well as the performance of the individual members. If you guys would like to check our audition for the G20, just search "g20 orchestra" on youtube and you will see the performances of each of them.
IKN.com : And how does the competition work now?
AS : Everyone can send a video of their playing. The difference between solo and chamber music is, if you are a solo competitor accompanied by, say, a pianist, then the pianist is not competing. So the competitor can change the accompanist in the final round, if (s)he likes. In a chamber music group, everyone is competing so the musicians should be exactly the same in the final round. Everybody should send 2 videos performing 2 different pieces of music: one work written by me of minimum 4 minutes, and one piece by a Baroque, Classical, Romantic or 20th century work of minimum 7 minutes. The work can be in several movements.
I would like to remind that if you're a melodic instrument like a violin or oboe, that the quality of the ensemble performance is also important even if you apply as a soloist and not as a chamber music group. Although we don't judge the accompanist (mostly piano?), the accompanist's quality influences, even determines the quality of the performance. Anyway, since this is a video recording, the participants have the advantage of repeating the recording.
We will put all the complete information at our website anandasukarlancenter.com next week.
IKN.com : Who can join the competition?
AS : Any musicians who are currently living in a country in Asia, even if (s)he has a passport of a non-Asian country. Age limit only applies to the youngest: born after 1st of January, 2010. Only two categories apply : For young artists, from 13-17 years old, and professional artists, above 18 years old. No maximum age limit.
IKN.com : This is quite a revolutionary and innovative competition. Surely there will be many questions raised. Are you available to be contacted for this?
AS: Sure, please contact me through the inbox of my instagram or twitter account @anandasukarlan . Not facebook please, since I don't regularly check it anymore, although I will answer it if I happen to check it. However, there will be more collaborations with other institutions in the process, especially for promoting the winners. There are still many things open for discussions too. And by the way, I also would like to thank, and pay tribute, to the founders of those competition, Mrs. Pia Alisjahbana & Mr. Dedi Panigoro and all the board members of the Yayasan Musik Sastra Indonesia (Indonesian Classical Music Foundation) who initiated the ASA Piano Competition in 2008, as well as Ms. Patrisna Widuri and all members of the Amadeus Enterprise for the ASA Vocal Competition in 2011. I want them to be proud that what they gave birth have grown into institutions that are important to our nation's musicians as well as the classical music world.
Source : coverage of indonesiakininews.com
