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