Iskandar Widjaja Explained

Birth Date:6 June 1986
Instrument:Violin

Iskandar Widjaja (born 6 June 1986) is a German violinist and winner of numerous international competitions.

Life

Widjaja was born in Berlin. His grandfather is the Indonesian composer Udin Widjaja,[1] and his parents are Indonesian.[2] Widjaja began playing the violin at the age of four. At the age of eleven, he became a of Werner Scholz at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" and later of Joachim Hantzschk. In 2003, he moved to the Stern Conservatory of the Berlin University of the Arts to study with Uwe-Martin Haiberg and Ilan Gronich.

Concert tours have taken him to all five continents with the Berlin Philharmonie, the Aula Simfonia Jakarta, the Tel Aviv Opera House, the Hong Kong City Hall. He regularly appears as a soloist with orchestras such as the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the German Symphony Orchestra and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and the Warsaw, Munich and Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestras.

In 2013, he performed for the first time in Hong Kong[3] and played at the opening event of the APEC Summit in Bali.[4]

In 2014, he made his debut at the Münchner Philharmoniker conducted by Christoph Eschenbach.[5]

In 2007–2009, Widjaja played on a more than 150 year old violin by Nicolas Darche, which was given to him on loan as a multiple prize winner of the Competition of the German Musical Instrument Fund.[6]

He currently plays a violin by JB Vuillaume, 1875, as well as the Stradivarius "Stephens" 1690, on loan from Florian Leonhardt.

On 29 May 2016, he made his debut at the Berlin Philharmoniker with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin conducted by Christoph Eschenbach.

At the same time, he frequently performs at mass media events such as Miss World or Miss Earth, the Davis Cup, the EXPO in Milan, Fashion Week in Paris or for the world premiere of the Suite for Violin and Orchestra "Across the Stars" from Star Wars by John Williams at the Wiener Konzerthaus.[7]

Iskandar is heavily involved in educational projects for children in the Asia-Pacific region, in collaboration with UNICEF[8] and the WWF (World Wrestling Federation). With KOMPAS Gramedia, Indonesia's largest media group, he organised charities to fund musical instruments and lessons for street children.

In 2018, the hosted his first own tour of Germany[9] among others at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.[10]

Honours and awards

Publications

Quote

"When violinist Iskandar Widjaja first played in Indonesia five years ago, the audience disregarded classical music etiquette, clapping after each piece.... They just couldn't get enough".[13]

"the young violinist captivates with his sensitive attention to detail - and a charmingly youthful sense of kitsch-free, authentic romance."[14]

"Isaac Stern couldn’t have wished for a brighter spotlight. If Widjaja has been received as a sort of pop star, then he’s succeeded on a even higher level in bringing rich musical values to the marketplace than have, say, Nigel Kennedy. His versions of Bach sound like no others. He weds strong timbral individuality to comprehensive technical command and deep musical insight. Urgently recommended! A young violinist, synthesizing much of value from the past with much of value from the present. Intensely interesting—and riveting".[15]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: en . Marcel . Thee . Iskandar Widjaja celebrates each note with 'Mercy' . . 15 December 2020.
  2. Web site: en . Violinist without Borders: Iskandar Widjaja . 2020-03-21 . . 15 December 2020.
  3. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20130918014209/http://www.hksl.org/concert_schedule/concert_details/25 . Concert Schedule . 2013-09-18 . en . Hong Kong Sinfonietta.
  4. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20131015003846/http://us.dunia.news.viva.co.id/news/read/449487-biola-iskandar-widjaja-pukau-para-ceo-di-ktt-apec . Biola Iskandar Widjaja Pukau Para CEO di KTT APEC . 2013-10-15 . ViaNews . 6 October 2013 . Dunia . id.
  5. Web site: Maintz - Mozart - Beethoven Homepage der Münchner Philharmoniker . de . 2020-12-15 . 2018-08-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180815091231/https://www.mphil.de/en/concerts/2014/06/1738.html . dead .
  6. Web site: biography at deutsche-stiftung-musikleben.de . 2020-12-15 . 2011-10-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111025064254/http://www.deutsche-stiftung-musikleben.de/stipendiaten/solistenMaske.html?TID=20070321170917 . dead .
  7. Web site: Hollywood in Vienna . 15 December 2020. en.
  8. Web site: A Heartfelt Evening of Inspiring Music and Community Spirit at The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali . 15 December 2020 . en.
  9. Web site: DEAG Deutsche Entertainment AG - Singlenews . 15 December 2020 . en.
  10. Web site: Di, 25.9.2018 - Iskandar Widjaja - Elbphilharmonie Hamburg - Elbphilharmonie . 15 December 2020. de.
  11. https://web.archive.org/web/20131004084843/http://www.rheingau-musik-festival.de/rmf,en,303,2013-iskandar-widjaja,festival.html 2013: Iskandar Widjaja
  12. Book: IDAGIO is not available in your region . 15 December 2020.
  13. The Jakarta Post (18 October 2010): "Iskandar Widjaja - Fliegende Finger"
  14. News: Tagesspiegel . Der Tagesspiegel Online . 15 December 2020. de.
  15. Web site: Fanfare Magazine Archive of CD Reviews: performers widjajaiskandar . 15 December 2020.
  16. News: welt . Die Welt . 9 March 2018 . 15 December 2020. de. Gerstmeyer . Maria-Antonia .