Ana Vidović: preference

Transcript context

…As you know, you’re an extremely accurate player, but obviously, you had to get to that point. How is it that you teach yourself how to handle mistakes without falling apart or it leading to more mistakes? Is that something you practice? Or it just comes with experience, or you’re born with it? How do you do that? Well, it’s also a combination of things. When I practice at home, I’m allowed to make mistakes because nobody can hear me. I’m alone in my room. But obviously, when I’m on stage, I cannot afford that to happen. I have to find a way to make that not happen. For me, number one is the preparation, the preparation for the concert many, many weeks in advance, many months, many years. Actually, I think it’s your whole life that you’re preparing. It’s not just a week before or two weeks before. All the years leading up to this, I’ve learned things. I made mistakes, I did some things wrong, but you learn from it, and then you don’t do it the next time. Yes, number one is good preparation — finding the repertoire that fits you, that you connect with, that allows you to be honest, to be true to who you are, and then you automatically feel more comfortable. If the preparation part is not done well, then I will, of course, feel nervous, and when I sit on the stage, I will feel insecure, so I have to be 200 percent well prepared. When I practice, like I said, I go through sections. I already know which parts of the piece are giving me trouble and that I don’t feel secure enough with, and then I make sure that I practice them very well — 20, 30, 40 times — as much as it takes. When the preparation part is over, then you’re ready to go and present the piece to the audience. I never really play something that I’m not fully secure with. When you’re on stage, like I said, your mind has to be very, very relaxed. You cannot worry that something will happen because, psychologically, it will happen. If you constantly worry about making a mistake, the mistake will happen. You have to find a way to ease your mind before you go onstage and perform for the audience because the audience will sense that. Again, many, many years of experience, it’s learning. Sometimes mistakes will happen, but you have to relax and just keep going, find your way in the music. That’s where the memory comes in. Your memory has to be very secure because, naturally, we get nervous when we are in front of the audience, and it’s a completely different feeling. I have to say, 90 percent comes from your mind, so your mind has to be very relaxed. Let’s say you meet an aspiring young classical guitarist, and they obviously have musical talent, and they have a good work ethic. What else is it that you look for to see whether or not that person can make it?…

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