For inquisitive pianists—either solo or in duets/duos/triet or multiple piano ensembles—to discover, step into, and explore music for gamelan orchestra from the Indonesian island of Java—what it is, how it works, and how to begin to play it.

Karawitan is the classical music of Central Java. Gamelan ensembles consist of between c.5 and c.20 musicians on a range of tuned metal percussion and gongs, xylophone, plucked zithers, bowed string lute, bamboo flute, singers and drums. Almost every aspe...