Koesbini

Koesbini
Koesbini in 1965
Born	(1910-01-01)1 January 1910 Mojokerto, Dutch East Indies
Died	28 February 1991(1991-02-28) (aged 81) Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Occupation	Composer
Years active	1935–1970
Notable work	"Bagimu Negeri"

Koesbini (Perfected Spelling: Kusbini; 1 January 1910 – 28 February 1991) was an Indonesian musician and composer. Born the son of a forest ranger in Mojokerto, he became interested in music at a young age and became a member of a Surabaya-based orchestra. By the 1930s he was composing his own kroncong songs and playing the violin and singing on radio broadcasts, gaining enough popularity to be contracted to Majestic Films in 1941 and score two films. During the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, he composed the song "Bagimu Negeri", later considered his most significant work. During the Indonesian National Revolution, Koesbini supported the republican government, and after the revolution concluded he operated his own music school while working for the Ministry of Teaching, Education, and Culture and continuing to write new songs.

From a young age Koesbini wrote a mixture of nationalist and popular songs, generally in the kroncong style. In his collaborations he would allow others, such as the authors Armijn Pane and Achdiat K. Mihardja, to serve as lyricists. He wrote original songs for two films, Djantoeng Hati and Air Mata Iboe (both 1941), as well as several stage plays.

Koesbini was born in Kemlagi, a village in Mojokerto, eastern Java, Dutch East Indies, on 1 January 1910, a Legi Friday. He was the third son born to Koesnio, a forest ranger, and Moesinah. He considered his childhood as the son of a ranger, constantly moving about, to have helped him develop nationalistic leanings. Koesbini began his formal schooling at a Hollandsch-Inlandsche School () in Jombang. He went on to study at a MULO in Surabaya; he continued his education at the S. de Senerpont Domis trade school.