Erwin Gutawa Sumapraja (born 16 May 1962) is an Indonesian composer. In 1985, he started his professional music career by joining the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

band Karimata, later becoming an independent composer in 1991. As a composer, he won the 1992 Midnight Sun Song Festival in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

together with Ruth Sahanaya. In 2001 he won the

Anugerah Musik Indonesia The Anugerah Musik Indonesia ( 'Indonesian Music Awards'), also known as AMI or colloquially AMI Awards, is an annual Indonesian music award ceremony to recognize outstanding achievements in improving the quality and quantity of artists in the ma ...

award for best music arranger for his concert ''Rockestra''.

Biography

Erwin Gutawa was born in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, on 16 May 1962. As a child, he enjoyed playing

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

; during this period he also played music on ''Bina Musika'' under the direction of Agus Rusli on

Televisi Republik Indonesia TVRI (, Television of the Republic of Indonesia), legally ( Public Broadcasting Institution Television of the Republic of Indonesia) is a public television network and the oldest television network in Indonesia. Its national headquarters is i ...

. As a teen he continued playing music with his friends. After graduating high school, Gutawa earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in architecture from the

University of Indonesia The University of Indonesia ( id, Universitas Indonesia, abbreviated as UI) is a public university in Depok, West Java and Salemba, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of the oldest tertiary-level educational institutions in Indonesia (known as the Dut ...

. In the early 1980s Gutawa worked as sound arranger for the TVRI series ''Telerama''. However, his professional career began in the 1985 when he joined the jazz band Karimata as a

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

, playing along with Candra Darusman, Aminoto Kosin, Denny T.R. and Uce Hariono. Together with Karimata, he performed at the

North Sea Jazz Festival The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam. This is because the Statenhal where the festival w ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

that same year. During that period, he also worked as an

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

and producer for other singers. After Karimata disbanded in 1991, Gutawa formed his own

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

and worked as a composer. Besides composing, Gutawa also organised concerts for other artists. On 3 November 2000, Gutawa presented ''Rockestra'', a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

concert featuring

Slank Slank is an Indonesian rock band. It was founded in 1983 by teenagers in an alley street in Jakarta called Gang Potlot. The band is also known for its song which are often accompanied with political and socially conscious lyrics. It continues t ...

, Gigi, and Dewa. Involving an orchestra of 85 musicians, the concert was held at the Plenary Hall of the

Jakarta Convention Center Jakarta Convention Center or JCC ( id, Balai Sidang Jakarta) is a convention center located in Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of earliest as well as popular convention center in Jakarta. Since its inauguration in ...

. Guest musicians included

Ahmad Albar Ahmad Syech Albar ( ar, أحمد شيخ البار ') or better known as Ahmad Albar (born 16 July 1946) is an Indonesian rock musician and vocalist of mixed ethnic Arabic and Javanese descent . He is the founding member of God Bless. Biograph ...

Roni Harahap Roni may refer to: * Roni, Jigawa, a local government area in Nigeria * Roni (given name), including a list of people with the name * "Roni" (song), a 1989 single by Bobby Brown * Roni, the cursed persona of Regina Mills, the Evil Queen on season ...

Jockie Soerjoprajogo Jockie Soerjoprajogo (; Perfected Spelling: Yockie Suryoprayogo; 14 September 1954 – 5 February 2018) was an Indonesian musician and songwriter. Jockie began his musical career while a junior high school student in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. ...

, and

Nicky Astria Nicky Nastiti Karya Dewi (born October 18, 1967), better known by her stage name Nicky Astria, is an Indonesian musician. Born in Bandung, West Java, to a schoolteacher and his musician wife, Astria began singing in 1975 while the family was stati ...

. On 16 May 2002, Gutawa celebrated his 40th birthday by holding his first solo concert, Konser EG. It took place at the Plenary Hall of the Jakarta Convention Center and also featured

Chrisye Hajji Chrismansyah Rahadi (; 16 September 1949 – 30 March 2007), born Christian Rahadi (), better known by his stage name Chrisye (), was an Indonesian progressive pop singer and songwriter. In 2011 ''Rolling Stone Indonesia'' declared hi ...

, Ruth Sahanaya,

Krisdayanti Kris Dayanti Trenggono (born 24 March 1975), often written mononymously as Krisdayanti (or shortened as KD), is an Indonesian singer and actress. She is the younger sister of Yuni Shara, another Indonesian singer. She is the daughter of Trenggono ...

Sheila on 7 Sheila on 7 is a pop rock band from Yogyakarta, Indonesia. They have changed their lineup several times since their formation on 6 May 1996. Their first lineup consisted of Akhdiyat Duta Modjo (also known as Duta, vocals), Saktia "Sakti" Ari Seno ...

, and

. Since then, he has held numerous concerts, including the

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

ic-themed ''The Spirit of Ramadhan'' (2008) and a farewell concert for his daughter

Gita Gutawa Aluna Sagita Gutawa (born 11 August 1993), better known as Gita Gutawa, is an Indonesian soprano, actress, and lyricist songwriter. She is also the daughter of composer Erwin Gutawa. Although she originally studied piano, Gutawa later switche ...

entitled ''A Masterpiece of Erwin Gutawa'' (2011). In 2005, Gutawa went to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to work as a conductor at the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

. In 2010, Gutawa was selected to be one of the judges for

Indonesian Idol ''Indonesian Idol'' is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by RCTI Production Team and FremantleMedia Asia, which began airing on RCTI in March 2004 and became one of the most popular shows in the hist ...

's sixth season.

Personal life

Gutawa is married to Lufti Adriani, also known as Lulu. Together, they have two children, Aluna Sagita and Aura Aria Gutawa. He enjoys

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

and

home cooking Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric stoves, to baking in vario ...

, especially Indonesian food.

Legacy

In 1992, Erwin Gutawa and Ruth Sahanaya's song "Kaulah Segalanya" ( en, "You are Everything") won the 5th Midnight Sun Song Festival in Finland. In 2001 he won the

award for best music arranger for his album '' Rockestra''. Gutawa has been described as having "a

Midas Midas (; grc-gre, Μίδας) was the name of a king in Phrygia with whom several myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house. The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ...

touch" for music, with a sharp intuition.

Partial discography

(As arranger) *'' Kala Cinta Menggoda'' (1997, for Chrisye) *'' Badai Pasti Berlalu'' (1999, for Chrisye) *''

Konser Tur 2001 ''Konser Tur 2001'' (; en, 2001 Concert Tour) is an Indonesian album by Chrisye released in 2001 by Musica Studios. It is Chrisye's eighteenth studio album. Although the album is titled ''Konser Tur 2001'', it was not recorded live; the title "K ...

'' (2001, for Chrisye) *''

Dekade ''Dekade'' (; en, Decade) is a 2002 Indonesian pop album published by Musica Studios and Chrisye's nineteenth studio album. It is also his only cover album. Creation The idea for ''Dekade'' came when Chrisye thought about previously popular song ...

'' (2002, for Chrisye) *''

Senyawa ''Senyawa'' (; en, One Soul) is an Music of Indonesia, Indonesian album released by Musica Studios in 2004 in music, 2004. It was Chrisye's last studio album and features a Collaboration#Music, collaboration with numerous Indonesian singers and ba ...

'' (2004, for Chrisye) *''Salute to Koes Plus/Bersaudara'' (2004) *''Rockestra'' (2007) * '' Balada Shalawat'' (2010, for Gita Gutawa)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gutawa, Erwin 1962 births Indonesian composers Indonesian conductors (music) Indonesian bass guitarists Indonesian people of Malay descent Musicians from Jakarta Anugerah Musik Indonesia winners Living people Sundanese people 21st-century conductors (music)