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Matteo Montanari: Sharing his passion for classical music
Matteo MontanariItalian cellist Matteo Montanari believes that performing on stage gives experience that cannot be taught
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Matteo Montanari
Italian cellist Matteo Montanari believes that performing on stage gives experience that cannot be taught.
Italian cellist Matteo Montanari's love affair with Indonesia started in 2010, when he received an invitation from a music school in Tangerang to take part in a festival.
His first trip to Indonesia was originally scheduled for only two weeks but what he discovered during that time profoundly impressed him as a musician.
'I found out this country has many musical talents. This is actually a very musical country because here, everybody can sing, everybody can play an instrument and somehow, everybody really likes music,' Montanari said during an interview at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura (IIC) in Jakarta.
After discovering the significant yet untapped and raw musical talent in Indonesia, he saw an opportunity to share his passion for classical music with aspiring Indonesian musicians.
'I realized there is a need for experienced teachers [from] abroad to develop classical music in this country because there is so much talent but music schools in Indonesia are still not comparable to Western standards,' he said.
He subsequently spent a year living in Jakarta, before moving to Surabaya, East Java, where he has been based for almost two years. He has opened a music school in the city and teaches classical music in line with Western methods and standards.
His experience in fostering a love of classical music in Indonesia through his school has not been easy but he said it is a challenge he is willing to try to conquer.
'This music requires a cultural background which is necessary to understand it. But music is in the blood of everyone, especially in this country,' he said.
Born in Ravenna, Italy, the 42-year-old Montanari has all the pedigree to embark on a journey as a classical music teacher.
Starting out his musical training when he was seven years old, he recalled his first experience with the cello was a completely random event and he never thought the instrument would allow him to build a career as a musician.
'My neighbor was playing the violin and one day, I was at her house and her music teacher came and saw me. He tried the violin with me but because I am tall and my hands are big, he suggested I play the cello because it is bigger than the violin.'
As time went by, he began to fall in love with the cello and decided he would make it his main instrument as a musician.
'I love the expressive possibility of a cello because the sound of it can be very similar to a human voice. It can be very low and deep but also can be very high. So you can imitate a woman's voice but also a man's voice. Other instruments do not have this flexibility,' he said.
In 1996, Montanari, who spends between five and six hours per day practicing, graduated with perfect grades from the Musical Institute G. Verdi of Ravenna and in the same year, he also won a Rotary Prize as the best graduate musician of the year.
Three years later, Riccardo Cahily of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano appointed Montanari as the principal assistant of the orchestra group and he held the position until 2007. He later moved to Spain to join the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra.
'After that [joining the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra], I wanted to start teaching. I wanted to share the experience I had in my career and I had a chance to visit Indonesia,' he said. 'I felt the urge to help all the kids here [in Indonesia] that want to play instruments.'
Montanari does not only teach Indonesian kids to play the cello but he also likes to perform with them on stage, believing the best way to learn classical music is by being on stage.
During his performance at the institute, he performed alongside a dozen local cellists and a young Indonesian pianist prodigy, 18-year-old Jennifer Ongkowijoyo, with a number of classical compositions from renowned Italian composers, such as Vivaldi and Boccherini.
During the performance, Montanari took turns with the cellists and Jessica to perform the compositions in front of some 250 people who packed out the IIC auditorium.
Montanari admitted their performance may not have been of perfect standard but he did not mind, believing the experience they shared on stage was the most important thing. 'Real experience on the stage is something that cannot be taught,' he said.
' Photos by JP/DMR
