Gesang

Über Gesang

Gesang Martohartono wrote Bengawan Solo in 1940 from his home in Solo, central Java, and gave Indonesia its most exported song. The keroncong ballad about the Solo River was recorded by Japanese soldiers during the occupation, sung across Asia in dozens of translations, and made Gesang a quietly celebrated national figure for the rest of his life. He recorded sparingly but the songs he did write became standards.