![]() Gamelan seem to be everywhere in the United States. American composers had certainly developed a rich body of experimental pieces for gamelan in latter part of the twentieth century, but Indonesian composers had their own sprawling tradition of musical experimentation that managed to evade the attention of American listeners up until this point. The goal of the concert, according to its organizer, Jody Diamond, was part of a year-long process to challenge the problematic perception in the United States that Indonesian artists “maintain the tradition” while American composers “push the boundaries” through experimentation. The program featured the composers’ collective Gamelan Son of Lion performing new works by Indonesian composers Rahayu Supanggah and I Wayan Sadra, who wrote new pieces in collaboration with the American musicians, themselves composers with nearly twenty years of experience playing gamelan. Although Indonesian gamelan instruments were no strangers to New York City by this time, the concert presented this evening was a first of its in kind. The varied instrumentation was indicative of the music to be presented, as well as the spirit in which that music was composed. A grand piano, trombone, tam tam, violin, and Chinese erhu formed an archipelago within a sea of American-built gamelan instruments, modeled on the gong and metallophone ensembles of Indonesia. The stage hosted an eclectic assortment of instruments for this concert in New York City in 1991. ![]() ![]() ![]() “Made in the USA” Gamelan Son of Lion and American Experimental Music ![]()
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