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Orchestra concerts aren’t usually my thing, especially not the patriotic kind. But that night at Taman Ismail Marzuki’s Teater Jakarta, somewhere between a jazzy “Juwita Malam” and a surprise Wieteke van Dort medley, I found myself unexpectedly moved.
It was just five minutes past 7 p.m. when I flung open the rear door of my car, batik coat rustling from the slight rush on my stride as I made my way to the theater after being stuck in traffic for the past half-hour.
I was running late for the Jakarta Philharmonic Orchestra’s Satoe Indonesia. The concert, carried out in collaboration with Jakarta’s Culture Agency, is built on the momentum of the Youth Pledge Day and Heroes Day, and part of a series of events in the run-up to the former capital’s 500th anniversary in 2027.
As someone raised by Dutch-educated grandparents and possessing a lifetime’s worth of exposure to international pop culture, I’m usually not one for nationalism and all the other aspects of nation-building, especially on a rainy Saturday evening.
Still, the idea of hearing songs I only half-remember from Independence Day celebrations more than a decade ago was quite novel, which certainly was worth making the journey.
As my luck would have it, the late arrival of some VIPs delayed the concert long enough to allow me to find my seat with a modicum of dignity intact.
Down memory lane
Satoe Indonesia’s hook was its tribute to Indonesian independence with all the requisite patriotic pieces: a violin solo of the national anthem at the beginning, Mochtar Embut’s Betawi-tinged overture “Varia Ibukota” and the lively reinterpretation of “Bangun Pemudi-Pemuda” courtesy of rock band /rif that closed the evening on a high note.
By all counts, not my usual fare. But the nostalgia train unexpectedly arrived at Jatinegara Station.
Gabriel Harvianto’s jazzy rendition of Ismail Marzuki’s “Juwita Malam” had all the traits of a romantic jaunt down the streets of 1950s Jakarta, vivid enough that I could envision the song playing on the radio as my grandparents drove home after a candlelit dinner uptown.
With Galabby and Endah Laras’ medley of “Tuan & Nyonya” and “Nasi Goreng” by Wieteke van Dort, it was as if the year was 2004, Chanel No. 5 was on the air and I was in a stately house in South Jakarta while my grandmother gossiped with her sisters in Dutch so that the young ones wouldn’t catch on.
Perhaps if she was still alive, she too, might have appreciated Galabby, Endah and Lea Simanjuntak’s take on “Tiga Dara” from the 1956 musical of the same name, which evoked the swing and sisterhood she might have had back in the day.
I suddenly found myself wondering: Was my appreciation of these beautifully performed tributes genuinely mine, or did my upbringing play a part in conditioning my love for the concert?
Satoe Indonesia’s set list was quite the departure from my playlist of Magdalena Bay, Kylie Minogue and CupcakKe. Though the performances were immaculate, I wasn’t sure I would have willingly sat through two hours of traffic and another two in a theater if my grandparents’ love for the orchestra was not imprinted on my young self.
Building a momentum
While still lost in thought, I scanned the theater crowds for other youngish faces. Many of them seemed to be friends and acquaintances of the orchestra’s young musicians. This, it seems, bodes well for the future of the national music scene.
When I spoke to Aminoto Kosin, the orchestra’s music director, a few days earlier, he said he believes a lot of the younger generation are genuinely enthusiastic about orchestra performances, both as musicians and listeners.
The orchestra used to play more of the usual classic works, such as those by Wagner and Mussorgsky, he said, which are “nice, but not really our thing.”
“The fact is that a lot of the young people who major in music composition just don’t have a lot of platforms to play Indonesian works,” he said.
“If we play international music, then people would think that it’s good, but it’s the Indonesian works that really wows the crowd.”
It’s not exactly a case of regeneration, he continued, but more about showing that we have genuinely good music worth celebrating.
Still, I wouldn’t be lying if I say that my other exposure to orchestral music came from pop culture. I’ve lost count of the number of films and shows featuring snippets of classical music I’ve come across, while games like Genshin Impact spotlight original compositions that are varied enough to warrant their own concert series.
Amin agreed these crossovers can be a good way to draw in the younger crowd, noting that the orchestra has survived and even flourished for centuries, even when new genres of music pop up.
“It’s a beautiful thing, and I see it as an alternative. Not that I’m saying that pop is bad, but this is something different that is beautifully performed.”
With the way “Juwita Malam” is still on my mind every time I get on the night train, I’m inclined to agree.
