T he Living Composers Project  

Sjukur, Slamet Abdul (b. June 30, 1935, Surabaya, Java). Renowned Indonesian composer of primarily stage, chamber, vocal, and multimedia works that have been successfully performed throughout Asia and Europe.

Mr. Sjukur had private piano studies from 1944-52 and then studied at the first Indonesian music school, the Sekolah Musik Indonesia, in Yogyakarta from 1952-56. In 1962-63, he studied analysis with Olivier Messiaen and organology with Madame de Chambure at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris on a grant from the French government.

From 1962-67, he studied chamber music (with V. Gentil), composition (with Henri Dutilleux), counterpoint (with Simone Plé Caussade), harmony (with Georges Dandelot), and piano (with J. Gentil) at the École Normale de Musique in Paris. After he finished those studies, he studied with Pierre Schaeffer and his Groupe de Recherche Musicale at ORTF in 1968.

His many honors include the Bronze Medal from the Festival de Jeux d’Automne in Dijon (1974), the Golden Record from the Académie Charles Cros in France (1975, for Angklung) and the Zoltán Kodály Commemorative Medal in Hungary (1983). More recently, Gatra magazine named him a Pioneer of Alternative Music (1996), he was inducted into the Millennium Hall of Fame of the American Biographical Institute (1998) and he was made an Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2000) and a life member of the Akademi Jakarta (2002).

In 1957, he founded the philharmonic society Pertemuan Musik Surabaya, which lasted until 1982 and which featured monthly concerts and lectures. In 1960, he was a founding member of the Alliance Française in Surabaya and as a sign of gratitude, the French Ambassador in Jakarta enabled him to study in France. In 1985, he was a founding member of the music foundation Yayasan Musik Laras in Surabaya and in 1994, he was a founding member of the composers union Asosiasi Komponis Indonesia and served as its chief from 1994-99.

From 1977-81, he served as Head of the Music Committee of the Jakarta Arts Council and invited numerous composers and performers to Indonesia for concerts, lectures and workshops and organized the first festival of contemporary French music in Southeast Asia. In 1987, he was a board member of the Sekolah Musik Surabaya and also gave a series of lectures for broadcast on Wereld Omroep in The Netherlands.

From 1991-97, he was the producer of two weekly contemporary music programs for Radio Suara Surabaya and in 1999, he and the Indonesian Directorate-General for Culture co-organized a conference-festival of the Asian Composers League in Solo and Yogyakarta.

He has also studied indigenous music. In 1981, he studied the Indonesian folk music named Krontjong Toegoe, influenced by the early Portuguese settlers, on a grant from the Ford Foundation and in 1989, he did research on the aesthetic affinity of Debussy with the gamelan on a grant from the French government.

Mr. Sjukur is also active as an educator. He lectured on various subjects at the Jakarta Institute of the Arts from 1976-87 and was Dean of the Music Department there from 1981-83. Since 2000, he has lectured for the post-graduate program of the art academy STSI Surakarta.

CONTACT INFORMATION

E-mail address: slakur@centrin.net.id

Street address: Mr. Slamet A. Sjukur, Komplek Diskum AD (I/3), Jl. Media-Masa, Jakarta 13420, Indonesia

Telephone: + 622 1856 1895

COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS

STAGE: Sangkuriang (miniature opera, libretto by Utuy T. Sontani), mixed chorus, 1958; Latigrak (ballet music, choreography by Frédéric Franchini), gamelan orchestra, tape, 1963; Parentheses VI, low-voiced comedian, 2 dancers, flute, 2 guitars, whistling tupies, some gamelan instruments, 1983; Migrasi (music theatre work, text by Afrizal Malna), 1993; Spiral, female dancer, flute, piano, 1993; Awang-Uwung (dance music, choreography by Suprapto Suryodarmo), 2 genders (gamelan instruments), 1994; Marsinah (incidental music, play by Ratna Sarumpaet), ensemble (specially-made instruments), 1994

ORCHESTRAL: Õm, 14 strings, 1995; Concerto, arpegina (5-string viola), string orchestra, 2002

CHAMBER MUSIC: Bulan Hijau, clarinet, piano, 1960; Point contre (players also speak), trumpet, harp, percussion, 1969; Ronda Malam, angklung ensemble, 1975 (section of Angklung; may be performed separately); Kangen, 3 shakuhachi, kokyu, Japanese percussion, 1986; Suwung, flute, 1988; Ji-Lala-Ji, 2 players (flutes, percussion), 1989; Cucuku-Cu, guitar, 1990 (also version for 5 pianos 20 hands); Lesung, synthesizer, 1992; Uwek-Uwek, 2 mouth explorers, 1-2 djembés, 1992; Minimax, variable spatial ensemble, 1993; Jawara, percussion, 1993; ‘The Source, Where the Sound Returns’, clarinet, cello, piano, 1999; Dedicace-1, arpegina/viola, 2000

CHORAL: Angklung, mixed chorus (+ angklungs), angklung ensemble, 1975 (one section, Ronda Malam, angklung ensemble, may be performed separately); Muni, mixed chorus (+ karunding [bamboo jaw harps]), 1998

VOCAL: Bunga, Weekend and Kabut (texts by Sitor Situmorang, Toto Sidarto Bachtiar), voice, piano, 1960; Mais, ces oiseaux, mezzo-soprano, baritone, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, 1967; Parentheses V (text by Chairil Anwar), mezzo-soprano, 4 celli, 1981; Gelandangan, female voice, karunding, 1999 (version of work for karunding, tape); Sunyi, soprano, 2 cellular phones, small orchestra, 2002

PIANO: Tobor, 1961; Svara, 1979; NZ, prepared piano, 1992; Cucuku-Cu, 5 pianos 20 hands, 1992 (version of guitar work); Yu-Taha, 1997

ELECTROACOUSTIC: Astral, tape, 1984; Gelandangan, karunding, tape, 1998 (also version for female voice, karunding, 1999)

MULTIMEDIA: Parentheses I-II (dance music, choreography by Denis Carrey), female dancer, suspended chair, piano, lights, 1972; Parentheses IV, 2 dancers, flute, 2 electric guitars, violin, cello, prepared piano, synthesizer, percussion, live painting, 1973; Parentheses III (dancers also speak, text by Ronald D. Laing, choreography by Samuelina Tahija), coloratura soprano, male speaker, 2 dancers, choreographed conductor, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, string quartet, large sculpture (by Elizabeth Gleason), 1975; Jakarta 450 Tahun (environmental work), unlimited sounds of Jakarta, 1977; Wangi, female dancer, gamelan orchestra, lights, 1999

FILM SCORE (DIRECTOR): Aku Perempuan Dan Laki-Laki Itu, 1996 (Aria Kusumadewa, Afrizal Malna)

(Last updated on March 24, 2003)