As many of you may know, people don't get a lot of chance to appreciate good concerts (especially for jazz and classical music) in Indonesia. Therefore, a cultural event like Printemps français could become an oasis for orchestra lovers. Michael Cousteau came back for the second time to lead 60 members of Nusantara Symphony Orchestra. Together, they presented Frédéric Chopin, Claude Debussy, Sergueï Prokofiev and Henri-Joseph Rigel's piece. Balai Sarbini became so packed that night, as the concert started at 8 pm. My friend who attended the previous NSO concert said that usually there are enough extra seats for you to move around during the play. Well, maybe since the conductor was from France, many European came to watch it.
We got nice sitting angle at Silver I (H row), but I just need to comment about the chairs. Inside a concert hall, those plastic chairs are just ridiculous. But I will let that go. I have a bigger concern regarding the whole concert hall. The sound system is definitely not set to the max. The stage and lighting on platform looked a bit tacky, because they didn't maintain it very well and they only play with Freshnell lights. I look up, and saw so many PAR lights and they didn't use it anymore. I know they're trying to put the focus on the players, but the lighting didn't flatter the orchestra at all. Plus, my eyes were bothered when I saw that the platform looked old and shabby here and there. Come on! It's Balai Sarbini gitu lho! I am so disappointed. But performance wise, I like the mellow song and the fable story that they have interpreted using different instruments. I didn't quite enjoy "the mix of East and West" that they were trying to pursue, by bringing Nyi Ronggeng and Jaipong dancer into the stage. My curious mind also wondered, why is it that Gendang player always sits on the floor? It looked so incompatible with the orchestra team. Apart from that, I surely feel this concert was not-so-memorable and cold. After they handed flowers to the stage, there was no standing ovation, encore or anything. The light just went up and people were heading home just like after they watch Twilight on theater. Oh well.
You can visit printemps-francais-asie.org for more info. Le Printemps will end on July 25.
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