He began his compositional career in the experimental Neue Musik style but later transitioned to using elements of Indonesian music in his works, particularly the gamelan percussion instruments.

After studying the violin at the Indonesian College of Music, at 19 years old he was awarded a scholarship from the Catholic Mission to attend the Amsterdamsch Conservatorium in Amsterdam from 1957 to 1962.

Reviewing Asia Piano Avantgarde, Rob Haskins of American Record Guide described Klavierstudie as an "anxious" piece with "the nervous tic of 1960s avant-garde music".

[6] According to the Indonesian composer Franki Raden, the combination of Western influences and gamelan traditions in Soegijo's later works was termed "Musik der Neue Ursprünglichkeit" ("music of the new originality").

The composition was praised by Bintang Prakarsa of The Jakarta Post, who applauded its improvisational style and wrote that Soegijo was "as scrupulous as any Western (ethno)musicologists or composers".