Malaysia PM’s wife hints at ethnic plan for troubled orchestra
Amid the dismissal of nine foreign musicians from the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, the wife of the Prime Minister, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, has turned up at Juilliard in New York with a 13 year-old pianist, Tengku Ahmad Irfan Tengku Ahmad Shahrizal, who she claims is the first Malaysian student to be admitted to the school.
The headline in the Borneo Post clearly reflected the government’s intentions: Banking on Juilliard school to groom more Malaysian talents.
In other words, replace the orchestra’s founding blend of Europeans, North Americans and Japanese with native Malaysians.
But what kind of Malaysians? Slipped Disc’s sources in Kuala Lumpur are adamant that young Tengku is not the first Malaysian at Juilliard. The first was Tan Su Lian in the 1980s, but she’s Chinese and, as far as the Malay authorities are concerned, doesn’t count.
Malaysia is a society stratified by race, institutionally prejudiced.
Young Tengku’s new teacher is Yoheved Kaplinsky. As an Israeli citizen, she is barred from entering Malaysia.
How absurd is that? And how likely, therefore, is Juilliard to respond to Mrs PM’s call and embrace ‘any form of collaboration’?
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Rosmah said Permata Negara's early childhood education and care programme, of which she is the patron, had identified talented young artistes, aged 7 to 17, who needed international exposure under its Permata Seni or Jewel of Arts programme.
"Malaysia would be most happy to collaborate with the Juilliard School in the field of performing arts," she said during a visit to the school on Thursday.
Rosmah arrived here on Wednesday for a four-day working visit in conjunction with United Nations' 56th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
She delivered a luncheon talk at the CSW yesterday.
The Juilliard School has produced many graduates who have gone on to win prominent awards in their field.
Many of its alumni have collectively won more than 105 Grammy Awards, 62 Tony Awards, 47 Emmy Awards, 26 Bessie Awards, 24 Academy Awards, 16 Pulitzer Prizes and 12 National Medals for the arts.
Founded in 1905 as the Institute of Musical Arts by Dr Frank Damrosch, the school takes in less than seven per cent of the thousands of applicants each year. Last year, 5,000 applied but only seven per cent were accepted.
Expressing her gladness over Malaysian music prodigy Tengku Ahmad Irfan Tengku Ahmad Shahrizal, 13, on being the first Malaysian to be accepted by the prestigious school, Rosmah said she hoped that under the personal tutelage of well-known and sought-after pianist Dr Yoheved Kaplinsky, he would be able to realise his fullest potential as a pianist and become a world- renowned musician.
She said two years ago, Tengku Ahmad Irfan came to Washington and here to perform in conjunction with the "Faces of 1Malaysia" festival.
Tengku Ahmad Irfan is taking a double major in piano and composition, and an elective in conducting, under a scholarship from the school.
During the visit, two of Permata Seni's young talented violinists, Denise Mubin, 8, and Joyce Lee Rui Jing, 11, gave an impressive performance, with Mubin performing Vivaldi's Summer Concerto and Lee, Paganini's Caprice No. 16.
Tengku Ahmad Irfan gave a piano recital of his own composition entitled 12 tones variation.
Meanwhile, Juilliard School president Dr Joseph Polisi, in his welcome speech, said the school, which offers education up to the doctorate level in fine arts, currently had 800 students.
He said 650 of them were studying music and the rest, dancing and acting. He added that 30 per cent of its students were foreigners.
Rosmah, who is also president of the Association of Wives of Ministers and Deputy Ministers, was accompanied by Raja Puan Muda of Perak Raja Nor Mahani Raja Shahar Shah and the wives of several ministers. Bernama
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Yoheved Kaplinsky the Israeli Citizen is presently staying in Taman Tun. The house is worth RM1.5million, a gift from Mahathir Kutty.
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