Iskandar Widjaja

Picture from: violinbuenosaires.blogspot.com

His violin playing like poetic words that amaze the audience. Occasionally a gentle smile implied on his face as he walked down tone by tone of the Nicola Paganini's composition, "Cantabile for Violin & Piano ". At other times, his expression turned stern, tore apart the violin strings with tremolando and Pizzicato fast.

The sound produced by his violin’s friction, was excellent, clean and well conjured every audience who listen to it.

That is Iskandar Widjaja, who was born 24 years ago. A world-class violinist who was born in Indonesia and grew up in Germany.

Born in 1986, he began playing the violin since the age of 4 years. He learned from Ilan Gronich at UdK Berlin in years of 2005-2010. He currently receives support from the Dora Schwarzberg and worked in masterclasses along with Henning Kraggerud, Shlomo Mintz, Christian Tetzlaff and Donald Weilerstein.

His huge and continuously honed talent has catapulted Alexander obtained the First Prize in the Jugend Musiziert, Hindemith, and the Goldener Julius Postacchini Violin Competition.

No wonder, if his brilliance was soon ogled by several groups orchestra who invited him to perform on stage with them. He has appeared as solist recorded in some groups such as the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra orchestra, Jakarta Symphony, Klassische Philharmonie Bonn, das Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Babelsberg and Berlin Chamber Filmorchester soloist in Norway, Germany, Croatia, Switzerland, Indonesia, Spain, Italy, Belgium and the United States, as well as at festivals such as "Bad Kissinger Musiksommer", St.. Prex and Valdres Norway.

Thanks to the violin playing of that, Alexander had experienced playing in such prominent places in the Berlin Philharmonic, the Berlin Konzerthaus, Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, Fort Reverin, Tel Aviv Opera.

His appearance has also received high praise from media such as Strad, Dubrovacki Vesnje, and der Tagesspiegel.

His CD with live recordings from the Berlin Philharmonie has been released by Sony Music in June 2010 with works by Poulenc and Handel Halvorsen. Portrait of Alexander Widjaja has also ever shown in the RBB, Berlin TV and Film Brainworker.

Iskandar is really a unique figure. He appears more to be an icon of classical music rather than borrowing pop idioms like most young people nowadays. He went through his days with the 1793 F violin, and with the works of Geissenhof of Vienna, Mozart, Vivaldi, Beethoven, and Brahms.

His depth and totality playing of the violin gave birth to a beautiful expression on stage, like telling a story in through tones that are voiced by the violin.

"I am looking for purity of emotion. I think life is not always beautiful and happy, "Alexander said in a press conference at the Titan Theater - Indonesia.

This young man seems to believe that everything that comes from the heart must also be able to reach the hearts of the audience. And he proved it through the thunderous applause of the audience who admire his playing.