Sudharnoto

(b Kendal, Java, 24 Oct 1925). Indonesian composer. Having studied gamelan music and wayang kulit (Javanese shadow puppet theatre) from an early age, the gift of a gramophone sparked his interest in a wide range of Western music, from European classical and American film music to Hawaiian steel guitar music and kroncong, a popular Indonesian music originating from Portuguese song. Between 1936 and 1939 Sudharnoto played the guitar in a number of popular Hawaiian groups; he was also studying the piano and classical music and playing gamelan. After a year of medical studies at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta, he left his course to become a musician at Radio Republik Indonesia, where he was able to study composition and orchestration with Amir Pasaribu and R.A.J. Sudjasmin and with Dutch professional classical musicians. Promoted to head of music at Radio Republik Indonesia, he strongly encouraged development in all forms of music in Indonesia. He became involved with the People's Cultural Institute (affiliated with the Indonesian Communist Party), a political stance which enabled him to broaden his musical outlook through visits to Eastern Europe and Russia in the 1960s. His many small-scale compositions of the time were written in a tonal idiom influenced by classical and Romantic music. Sudharnoto became a political prisoner in 1966, when the Sukarno regime collapsed. On his release from prison he became active in writing music for films. His scores for the films Kabut Sutra Ungu and R.A. Kartini won the Citra Prize in the Indonesian Film Festival. Occupying a unique position in Indonesia's political life, Sudharnoto has made an inestimable contribution to the development of Indonesian music.

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FRANKI RADEN