"After six years of living in New York, I realize how rich Indonesian culture is," says pianist Ferdy Tumakaka.
Few Indonesians want to return after living abroad. Ferdy Tumakaka is one who has the heart, talent and dedication to come back to help his homeland. At 17, the prodigy won first prize in the 2001 Jakarta Piano Competition. He then went to New York to study at the Manhattan School of Music and was named music director for the New York Theatre Ballet. Now at age 25, Ferdy is back in Jakarta.
What is the first piece you find your hands playing when you sit down at the piano?
It’s a diplomatic answer. I’d play whatever I’m working on at the time. Right now it’s for a concert in February. I’d warm up and practice the most difficult technical passages for 30 minutes to an hour.
What about a non-diplomatic answer?
My personal answer would be pieces from the classical maestro, Schubert. His music has a sense of masculinity and subtlety. It’s not always bombastic. It’s very generous, very intimate.
If money wasn’t a problem, what would you be doing?
One of my missions in coming to Jakarta is to transpose Indonesian music to modern instruments. For example, we can create the sound of gamelan using a piano.
After six years of living in New York, I realize how rich Indonesian culture is. I want to promote Indonesian music as an international and global product. I’m brainstorming with [musician] Djaduk Ferianto and I’m going to Solo and Jogjakarta to enrich my knowledge of Indonesian instruments.
One of the pieces that I’ll be playing at the Feb. 18 concert is an excerpt from Leopold Godowsky’s Phonoramas Java Suite. Leopold was in Java in 1982, and fell in love with Javanese gamelan. His music is not Indonesian music because he has his own style, but it’s got Indonesian characteristics at its core.
I want to do something like that because now that we have all the facilities, we don’t necessarily need to keep Indonesian music as purely traditional. When is the younger generation going to realize our rich cultural heritage and promote it?
On your Facebook profile, you wrote that your religion is Johnny Walker’s Blue Ice two ice. Where can I get that here in Jakarta?
[Laughs] I haven’t found a place to enjoy that actually. But I think the most important thing about it is the company.
What do you love most about Jakarta?
The weather.
The weather that makes you hot and sticky?
Hot and sticky is better than very, very cold.
What did you miss the most when you were away?
Martabak. I tried to make it once when I was in New York but I failed miserably.
Which concert hall would you say is the best?
Actually the concert halls in Jakarta are all very nice. Salihara, Taman Ismail Marzuki and Gedung Kesenian are not much different than concert halls in New York. Lincoln Center is actually not very good .
How do you define a good concert hall?
When building a concert hall, one has to pay attention to the aspect of beauty and acoustics. It’s sometimes difficult to strike a balance between the two.
The balance defines whether a concert hall is good or not.
Have you been to the newest concert hall in Kemayoran?
No I haven’t, but I’d like to see it. I’ve heard it’s really good. I’m also anticipating the Grand Theater in Marzuki.
If you could perform with any musicians, dead or alive, who would you choose?
I’d perform with Vladimir Horowitz because of his capacity to color his music. I’d also perform with Maurice Ravel. For living musicians, Djaduk Ferianto.
People always have at least one teacher that inspires them the most. Who would that be for you?
My teacher Aisha Sudiarso Pletscher is my inspiration. She’s the one who helped me to find music and the piano. She’s the one who encouraged me to seriously pursue my passion in music as a profession. She brings out the best in me, not just in the area of music but also in living, such as humility. I believe how you are as a human being is reflected in your music.
Is it tough to be openly gay in Jakarta?
I don’t find it tough. I don’t really care about what people think. I am who I am. Being gay is just my sexual preference. It’s not my way of life or my identity. It has nothing to do with my work. Art is sexless and genderless.
Where would you like to live permanently, Jakarta or New York?
I don’t want to stay in any particular place. I dream of being a global citizen. I want to live globally.
Ferdy will be appearing in a concert called “The Wanderer” at Taman Ismail Marzuki, Feb. 18, 8 p.m. RSVP: Frida 0878 844 73155
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