Ana Vidovic - Cavatina

TEDxMidAtlantic 2009 - Ana Vidovic

15 Questions to Ana Vidovic

Hi! How are you? Where are you?
Hello, I am doing really well, thanks. I am in Carson City at the moment just getting ready to go to Las Vegas in couple of hours.

What's on your schedule right now?
I am just touring right now. I played "Concierto de Aranjuez" (one of my favorite pieces) last night with the Carson City Symphony and had a wonderful time. In the next couple of weeks I will be on the road. I am going to Las Vegas, NV, Madison, WI, Bloomington, IN and Portland, OR.

If you hadn't chosen for music, what do you think you would do right now?
I really don't know, that is a tough question. I just can't imagine my life without music. Music always had such a strong influence in my life. My brothers and I were always surrounded with it. I do have couple of other interests though. One of my biggest interest is psychology so perhaps I would have done something in that field if I had not chosen music.

What or who was your biggest influence as an artist?
So many wonderful people. I met so many talented people that really inspired me throughout my life and I am grateful for that. My brother Viktor first inspired me to start playing guitar cause he was and still is such a great musician. My parents inspired me as well. They always surrounded us kids with music. My wonderful teachers Istvan Romer and Manuel Barrueco. They taught me everything I know and again, inspired me in so many ways. Great artists like Martha Argerich, Placido Domingo, Sviatoslav Richter and many more.

What's the hardest part about being a musician and what's the best?
There are so many wonderful moments, but there are also some very hard ones. I think that is the case with everything that we do in life. I love performing for people, I really live for that. It is so rewarding to be able to share your music with your audience, touch them with it and just have that special connection with them. When I feel that connection, that to me is a successful concert. Then again, there are difficult times. Life of a musician is not easy. There are many sacrifices that you need to make, but again, it is all worth it as long as you really love what you do.

What's your view on the classical music scene at present? Is there a crisis?
I wouldn't say that there is a crisis, but things are definitely changing. It is definitely not the same as it was 40 of 50 years ago. We live in a world where we are surrounded with popular music that is so tremendously marketed and is everywhere we go. I think that we (classical musicians) have a mission to introduce our music to as many people as we can, bring more young people to classical concerts and present it in a way that it does not seem as classical music is still something that is considered so "serious or too "formal".

Some feel there is no need to record classical music any more, that it's all been done before. What do you tell them?
I don't think that is true. I think we can always do more and more. I think that every performer brings something new into their performance. It is all in the way you present something. There is so much great music out there. And also, there is a lot of new music composed and we need to present that to our audience as well. Today, many musicians from different musical styles colaborate with each other and try to find a new way of introducing music to audiences. I enjoy listening to a great jazz musician who colaborates with a classical musician.

What constitutes a good live performance in your opinion? What's your approach to performing on stage?
As I mentioned before, I really love the connection with the audience while performing. There is something very special about it. To me the most  important thing is when I feel that the audience is completely with me. You can almost feel like they are breathing with you. When I am on stage, I try to forget about everything and try to say as much as I can with the music I am playing.

What does the word "interpretation" mean to you?
There are so many different levels of "interpretation". I try to put my soul into my music and allow my feelings to come through which  is one of the biggest challenges for me. You really need to get into the core of the piece and live with it for a long time to be able to "portrait" in your own unique way. And even when you think that there is nothing else that can be done with that piece, there is always so much more that you discover with time so it is really important to live with it for a long time. It is so interesting to see how your "interpreation" changes throughout the years. I used to be concerned about how virtuostic something sounded, but today I try to bring more depth into my playing.

True or false : It is the duty of an artist to put his personal emotions into the music he plays.
True

True or false: "Music is my first love"
True

True or false: People need to be educated about classical music before they can really appreciate it.
False

You are given the position of artistic director of a concert hall. What would be on your program for the season?
I would like to have more of a mixture of musicians with different musical styles and backgrounds. You really need to find a way to introduce music to as many different audiences as you can. I'd like to have couple of really good classical players, but also some jazz and more contemporary artists.
 
What's your favourite classical CD at the moment?w3
It's hard to say. I like so many, but one of my favorites is Jacqueline du  Pre's unforgettable performance of the Elgar Concerto.

Have you ever tried playing a different instrument? If yes, how good were you at it?
Yes, I played piano for couple of years. My other brother Silvije is a pianist so he taught me how to play. I really enjoyed playing piano very much, but decided to continue with guitar. I don't remember how good I really was at it, but I do remember that I learned so much about phrasing and dynamics. That was a great experience.
 
(Picture by Michael Benabib)
(via http://www.tokafi.com/15questions/15-questions-to-ana-vidovic/

Review by David Williams

"I have nothing bad to say about the way the usual combinations of soloist with orchestra work. In the 21st century, as in the 20th, a pianist or a violinist, sometimes a cellist, maybe - rarely - a violist or wind player, plays a concerto. The world is full of gifted soloists. The repertoire is stuffed with great concertos. No complaints.

But when orchestras step into more unusual areas of the concerted literature, the results can be magical. Such was the case Friday night when the guitarist Ana Vidovic joined with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra in Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez."

Rodrigo's concerto is justifiably famous. It has been a staple of public radio stations for years, based on its ear-catching melodies and the pop-culture attraction of the guitar. But you don't get to hear it live very often, if for no other reason than guitarists have to muscle their way into concert lineups, past the never-ending line of pianists and violinists.

Vidovic muscled her way through the piece in the muscular way of ballet dancers: lithely and poised. The piece begins just with the guitar, in Spanish dance rhythm, so the soloist can really grab the audience and draw them in. She did it magically with a gorgeous sound and finely pointed rhythm.

From there it was one wonder after the next. The conductor Grant Cooper had the orchestra playing transparently (Vidovic did use a small amplifier to boost the slight instruments sound), and the woodwinds and strings were particularly vibrant in playing against the guitarist's nimble passagework and multihued timbres.

The slow movement sounded lush from Lora Snow's initially English horn solo through the piquant modernity of the central section. The wide-ranging variations that Vidovic played of the opening tune were striking.

The finale - think cubist-Stravinsky meets Bach in Madrid - had zest and dazzle from Vidovic. Cooper found extra clarity in the orchestra's playing.

If Vidovic and the Rodrigo had been alone on the program, it would have been worth a ticket. Cooper and the orchestra also played a brilliant performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's Overture: "The Great Russian Easter" and a hearty account of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in A Major."

David Williams - Charleston Gazette, review of the performance with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra

Ana Vidovic: Recuerdos de la Alhambra - Francisco Tárrega

Review by Bob Hansmann

"On Saturday night I was fortunate to catch Ana Vidovic's 10:00 PM recital at The Monkey, on 26th st. in NYC, run by Dominic Frasca. "All the promise of a moonlit night and a dry martini...". This line, stolen from the movie "Moonstruck", seems perfect as a starter to my thoughts on the very special performer that Miss Vidovic is always showing herself to be, last Saturday night included.

Beginning her program with Sor's "Variations on a theme from Mozart" ("The Magic Flute"), Miss Vidovic displayed flawless technique throughout. Her sound was powerful, and her interpretation was anything but timid. She had more than enough control of the fast passages, and handled them with ease, both with her powerful left hand, and most interesting right hand.

Moving on to Barrios's "La Catedral" proved to be equally successful. Her ability to open up with both of these works "cold" shows her to be a most capable guitarist. It was expressive and dynamically interesting, and her harmonics were gorgeous.

The "Sonatina" (Federico-Moreno Torroba) appears to be one of Miss Vidovic's trademark works, or at least to my experiences of hearing her play; and that's fine with me, it being one of my all time favorites. In her hands it came to life!

Paganini's "Grand Sonata" is, perhaps more than anything else, a display of virtuosity; or at least that's always been my feeling. Ana showed decisively that she was able to show that side of herself (as if she hadn't already in her earlier selections!), and her command of the work was solid, powerful, and more than enough to handle the task.

Stanley Myers' "Cavatina", used in the movie "The Deerhunter" and made famous by John Williams, is a delightful smaller piece that I never paid much attention to, though I have to admit that after hearing Miss Vidovic's interpretation I'm inclined to give it a second look.

Then came the "Sonatina Meridional" of Manuel Ponce. If she intended for it to be the show stopper, then she was exactly correct. Wonderfully balanced, and in total control, Ana made this work her own. Her interpretation, again, a little more straightforward than I'm used to, was refreshing in its head-on and oh, so musical approach.

For encores, Miss Vidovic played the Villa Lobos "Etude #7" and "Recuerdos de la Alhambra". Both were exquisite. The Villa Lobos Etude is just so strong a piece, and Ana took no prisoners here. It communicated with both virtuosity and nuance, and her right hand was brilliant. Her chosen tempo was perfect in my opinion. "Recuerdos..." was perfect. She had absolutely no trouble producing a flawless, dynamically controlled, and perfectly even tremolo.

A lot has been said about Ana Vidovic's looks, and I'm not going to go into that here at all, except to say that she is a stunning young woman, and carries herself well. She has great stage presence, and comes across as friendly, unassuming, charming, and warm. One thing of note was that she was using a footstool, wearing full "stiletto" heels! Most women can't even walk in them - she played in them!

I wish for Ana Vidovic all the success in her career as the promise I've seen in her since I first heard of her can bring. The show I attended was her 4th performance in two days at The Monkey - amazing!

I have only one complaint over this performance, and that's that it ended at all. The room was full of her, and then it was over. But she did graciously shake my hand after the recital, giving me just enough time to say, "You're wonderful."" 

Bob Hansmann, review of the performance at The Monkey club in New York 

Ana Vidovic - F.Sor Introduction & Variations on a theme by Mozart