VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOInews, Jakarta: To enliven the celebration of 70 Years of Bilateral Relations between Indonesia and Austria, the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia (KBRI) in Vienna presented a Keroncong Jam Session through Zugabe Band’s show at the World Museum (Weltmuseum). Indonesian Ambassador to Austria, Slovenia, the UN, and International Organizations in Vienna Damos Dumoli Agusman said that Austria and Indonesia have similarities in cultural interests such as music.

"Entering the 70th year of their bilateral relations, Austria and Indonesia have many similarities, including a love of music as an expression of the rich culture of the two countries' civilizations. "Austria has classical music, while one of the riches of Indonesian traditional music which has Western elements is the Keroncong genre," said Damos in an official statement received on Thursday (21/3) in Jakarta.

The Indonesian Embassy in Vienna said that the performance in the spectacular area of the Columned Hall in one of the famous ethnographic museums in the city of Vienna was attended by around 200 invited participants from diplomatic circles from ASEAN countries, the Austrian government, as well as friendly countries and partners.

Damos believes that the reason the Indonesian Embassy in Vienna presented a keroncong music performance was that keroncong music is a combination of traditional Eastern music which contains western music elements.

“Why Keroncong music? Because it is one of Indonesia's musical heritages which combines elements of traditional Eastern music such as Arabic, Indian, and Indonesian music, along with Western music elements, especially European such as Portuguese and Spanish. "Over time, Keroncong has also evolved with various music genres from pop to dangdut," he said.

Meanwhile, one of the visitors, a Viennese citizen, Htun Aung, admitted that he was amazed and did not expect that the person performing Keroncong music was an Indonesian diplomat because he put on a very good performance.

“A Spectacular performance by the Zugabe Band. The quality of the musicians' playing and vocals doubts that they are Indonesian diplomats. "The full support of all the staff of the Indonesian Embassy/PTRI in Vienna and the entire Indonesian community shows the intrinsic strength of Indonesia," said Htun Aung, a resident of Myanmar in the city of Vienna who was also present to enjoy the Keroncong performance. (Ranov)