A dreamy and very sweet sound which immediately evokes Asian panoramas and tranquillity. Music that fascinates and excites. All this emerges from the performances and recordings of a great artist, Ngartini Huang.

Indonesia is a land about which very little is known here in the West, despite having more than 275 million inhabitants spread across an archipelago of over 17 thousand islands. A presidential democratic republic of Islamic culture and religion, but made up of an infinite number of ethnic groups.A very rich and complex musical culture also because it is influenced by a variety of sources, including Western, Arab, Indian and Chinese music. From orchestral and percussive gamelan to the krongong of Portuguese origin, from Arab-style dangut pop to Jamaican reggae, the panorama is quite varied.

IMEX World music Expo, Bali 2024. Photo Ngartini website

Among the few Indonesian artists who have made themselves noticed outside their homeland (and also on Western scenes) is Ngartini Huang. Born in Medan, she quickly became one of the most prominent virtuosos of an instrument typical of the Asian area: the guzheng which originated in China and from there spread to many Asian countries.
It is an instrument that belongs to the zither family, with a rectangular wooden body and strings that are plucked with the right hand using four plectrums applied to the fingers.
The left hand is instead used to press on the strings to change the pitch of the sound of this instrument which, with its 3000 years of history, is among the oldest in the world.
Ngartini’s passion for the guzheng blossomed during her childhood, inspired by the fascinating sounds she encountered in Chinese films and television series. Even if the instrument was only introduced to Indonesia in the last century, especially by Chinese immigrants, it has become increasingly popular in recent years, thanks to the efforts of musicians and teachers like Ngartini Huang.

Ngartini Huang in concert. Photo Ngartini website

Its dreamy and very sweet sound immediately evokes Asian panoramas and tranquillity, and a passage of time infinitely distant from the frenzy of the West. All this emerges from Huang’s performances and recordings, marked by extraordinary virtuosity and yet always exciting and never academic. It is important to note that Ngartini is not only an appreciated instrumentalist, but also a teacher at the University of Sumatra, and in 2022 she brought her art and her passion for dissemination to Indonesia’s Got Talent.
Just type her name on her website to enter her musical world, discovering the harmony, grace and delicacy with which she passes from the ears to the hearts of those who listen to her. (Photo:The guzheng has its origins in China.123rf)

Franz Coriasco