Ana Vidović on Prodigies, Performance, and Perseverance

Conversations with Tyler is produced by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, bridging the gap between academic ideas and real-world problems. Learn more at mercatus.org. And for more conversations, including videos, transcripts, and upcoming dates, visit conversationswithtyler.com. Hello everyone, and welcome back to Conversations with Tyler. Today I'm here with Ana Vidović of Croatia, who is one of the world's great classical guitarists. Ana, welcome.

Thank you so much. It's great to be here.

Now, what is it about the compositions of Bach that make them such great classical guitar pieces?

It's a very good question. My love for Bach's music actually started when I was very young growing up in Croatia. It was part of our repertoire that we studied at the academy and in the school of music. I was introduced to it from a very early age, and I just connected with it immediately for some reason, you know. And throughout all these years, Bach's music is something that I always play and always continue to play. And I think it's just, you know, we're so used to hearing Bach on violin, piano, cello, but we're not so used to hearing it on guitar. And it's a completely different quality when you hear it on a classical guitar. All the voices come out very clearly. The bass line is obviously very, very important. So I think it just comes out completely more more beautiful, organic way on the guitar, you know. And I think also it has to do with the performer, of course. If you love Bach's music, if you connect with it, I think it comes through to what you do. So I think the audience recognizes that. So for me personally, there's a special connection with Bach's music, you know, from a very, very early age, and it continues to be so, so probably will always be that way, you know. So growing up, I listened to a lot of, you know, cellists, violinists, pianists, how they interpret, and I tried to apply that on classical guitar, which is not easy, you know. So just that in itself is a challenge for me. It always challenges me. Bach's music in general challenges me to become a better musician. So I think all those things together combined just makes it very special, you know. So personally, like I said, for me, it's the most beautiful music that was ever created.

But say Beethoven doesn't typically work well on classical guitar, right? So what sort of technically makes Bach feasible? For your performances? Is it the limited dynamic range or?

A lot of it also has to do with the quality of the arrangement. You know, obviously Bach didn't compose for guitar, so we have a lot of arrangements and that's when the arranger comes in. You have to be familiar with the classical guitar, how it works. So I perform a lot of arrangements by a Croatian arranger, Valter Despot, who is actually a cellist. So he comes from a different world, but he understands guitar very well. On a cello, you cannot bring all these voices out as clearly as on a classical guitar. So I think that's part of it. You know, you can bring the bass line, you can bring the middle line, you can bring the upper line very, very clearly. I think that's part of it, you know, but also as a performer, you know, you have to find ways to make it interesting, to make, like I said, all the voices come out very, very clearly. I think that's number one, you know, so obviously as a guitarist, you know, we don't have a lot of repertoire. So we have beautiful pieces that were composed originally, but mostly from Spain. You know, there's a lot of Spanish repertoire for guitar, but Bach in itself is a challenge.

Why is Benjamin Britten's Nocturnale so successful a piece for classical guitar?

It's an amazing piece. It's a fabulous piece. Very, very difficult technically, musically. I mean, you have to work very hard to make it sound, you know, beautiful. That is probably one of the most difficult pieces in guitar repertoire. So it's a challenge, I think, for every guitarist. I myself been working on it for many, many years. I still don't feel comfortable playing it, but it's a very, very challenging piece. Yeah.

Is it possible to compose well for classical guitar without being able to really play it?

I think so. You know, there's many, many pieces, beautiful pieces for guitar composed by composers that didn't actually play the instrument, but I think they understood it very, very well, or they perhaps worked, you know, with a classical guitarist. Segovia was very important in our classical guitar world. He brought many, many composers, a lot of music for classical guitar, so he was a catalyst for classical guitar. Concerto de Aranjuez by Rodrigo is one of the most famous pieces for guitar and orchestra. Personally, for me, the piece that represents guitar completely, you know, the technical aspect, the musical aspect. So, yes, it's possible. It's possible to do so, yeah.

What's the correct way to think about the actual innovation of Segovia? Because classical guitar seems to take off after he produces recordings. What exactly did he do that was a breakthrough?

He did so many things. I think he was the— I don't want to say the first or the only one. You know, there's so many great artists, so many classical guitarists that brought classical guitar to where it is now. So they're all equally important. But I think Segovia is just at the highest level. I don't think classical guitar would be here in this level and recognized by so many people if there wasn't Segovia. So we owe actually a lot to him, and through repertoire, through the level of performing, technique, you know, I think he still stays one of the, the most recognized classical guitarists of all time. So he always will be. For me personally, he was an idol, you know, it was something that I aspired to be, and I grew up listening to his recordings and many, many other artists. We grew up with him.

If you would wish for one composer to have written for classical guitar who didn't, who would that be?

Well, I mean, I, you know, like I said, I listen to a lot of Bach, Scarlatti, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff. I wish all of them composed for classical guitar. Vivaldi, you know, so I mean, we're lucky to have arrangements, but sometimes I wish that, you know, we had more repertoire to choose from, you know, for classical guitarists is difficult. So we have to rely on arrangers that arranged all these beautiful pieces. This is for us, you know, so.

You mentioned limited repertoire. For you, what are what you might call the limits of transcriptions? So there are versions of the Goldberg Variations for guitar, Kazuhito Yamashita, he's done almost everything on guitar, Mussorgsky, Stravinsky. It actually seems to work, or where is it going too far with the transcription?

Well, you have to be careful. Of course, guitar, as every other instrument, has technical limitations. So whenever you play something, and again, we're all human, so we have to try something that was composed for piano, it's very difficult to play on classical guitar, no matter how well you arrange it. Of course, you still wanna sound natural, you still wanna sound good. So obviously, Yamashita is an amazing guitarist, you know, so he can play anything he would like to play. When you choose the repertoire, you have to be very, very careful. You have to be mindful of, you know, your own limitations and what you're capable of. So for me personally, I'm very, very careful. You know, I want something that I play to sound good technically and musically. So yes, there are limitations, but I think it's everybody's choice. It's a personal choice what you would like to play. Goldberg Variations are very, very difficult. You know, it takes many, many years to get it to the level where you want it to be. So also musically, you know, dynamically, we obviously don't want to sound like a pianist, but, you know, we have to apply that into our own instrument and what we do.

Except for the G to B string, as you know, guitars tuned in perfect fourths. How much of a limitation is that? And why aren't there more alternate tunings in classical music the way you find, say, in country blues guitar?

There are, I mean, there are certain musicians that experiment with that, but I think as a classical guitarist, this is what we do. You know, we usually stay in standard tuning, so there's not many alterations, you know, but for me, it's very inspirational to listen to other styles of music, jazz, blues, even country, you know. So I learned from that. It's my inspiration to listen to not just classical music, but other styles of music, you know. But there are certain standards in classical guitar, and we must follow that.

So what do you think of playing with 7 or 8 strings like Anders Mjøllin or Göran Sölsjö, right? He plays Bach with extra strings. Why not?

Why not? I mean, yeah, I guess it's a personal choice. You know, like I said, many of them experiment, you know, with alternate things. But for me personally, I think 6 strings are enough, you know. So I try to stay within that limit.

You mentioned in one of your interviews that you were working on transcribing some Beatles for classical guitar. What might you transcribe, and why would you pick that piece?

Because I do love Beatles. I think everyone loves Beatles, of course, and there's some beautiful songs. Of course, "Yesterday" is one of my favorites. I played that piece, that song, arranged by Toru Takemitsu. He arranged a book of, you know, different songs, not just by Beatles, but other artists as well. So, but I chose that one. There's another one, "Here, There, and Everywhere." You know, I'm not so skilled in that regard, so I try to do it, but I leave it to the people that actually know how to transcribe well. And like I said before, you know, the arrangement part is very, very important, you know. So if the arrangement is bad, obviously it's not going to sound so good. So I would rather leave that to someone that, you know, actually knows how to do it. But I experimented a little bit with that.

Mark Prendergast, in his book on ambient music, makes the argument that a lot of earlier classical guitar works—Rodrigo, Villa-Lobos—that they're really anticipating very recent trends in ambient music, and they're much more pathbreaking than classical music critics had realized even up until now. What do you think of that argument? There's something about this creation of a hovering sound world that, say, Villa-Lobos did that we still haven't caught up to fully in our musical understanding. And it's a precursor of Brian Eno, say, among others.

Yeah, I mean, you know, whenever you choose, you know, repertoire, a piece that you like to play, I think it's important you have to study and learn about the composer and what they were trying to do. And a part of it that I think we still struggle as guitarists is analyzing the music is very, very important. Looking at the score, you know, understanding what is going on. I think pianists and violinists, cellists are taught to do that from a very, very early age. We as classical guitarists don't fully understand that. Yet. So I think that's a very, very important part. Also, you know, learning about the composer, learning about the history, when they lived, why they composed in a certain way. So going into the background is very, very important, you know. So I think as classical guitarists, we still have to learn how to do that. So it's an important part. Guitar is a very interesting instrument. I think sometimes we just want to sit and play and not so much go into the depth of the actual piece and learning about all the aspects of the piece. You know, like I said, the background is very, very important. And then, you know, the music that you play comes out differently. You know, it's a different quality when you actually know what the composer was intending to do.

What can you learn studying the score without a guitar nearby or without touching the guitar? What happens in your mind?

You just see everything much clearer. I think it's good to do that before you actually start learning the piece. What I just started doing recently is just, you know, look at the score, look at the notes, write things down, and Maybe I'm just a visual person that kind of understands music more that way. And then when I actually pick up the guitar and play it on the instrument, again, it's a different quality, you know, because you understand more where all the ups and downs are and how the music moves. And it's a very important part of, you know, studying the score. And even, you know, visualizing the music and memorizing it that way without the actual instrument is important as well. It makes you learn the piece in a more secure way. And again, you know, it's a very, very important part of what we do, and studying the score is important.

You once said that you don't practice past 7 hours a day. What would happen in that 8th hour if you were to go there?

I would probably go crazy.

But is it mental? Is it physical, or—?

I just had a conversation with a friend of mine about that, how the— amount of hours are actually not important as much as the quality of the practice. So as a child, I used to practice many, many hours because I didn't know, you know, I didn't find the way, kind of experiment over the years. So at this age, you know, I finally learned that it's more about concrete work, you know, focused work, working on things that give you trouble, either if it's technical or musical. And then you practice in sections that takes less time. You practice very slowly before playing fast, and then you put it all together. But it just takes a lot of years to get to a point where you kind of know what you need to work on. So 2 or 3 hours of focused practice is more efficient than, you know, 7 or 8 hours, because sometimes there is a danger of just playing the piece through and not really working on sections and things that we should work on. I think at the 8th hour, I think we should all stop.

What's the main physical constraint on what you do? Is it the wrist, the back? Concentration, memory? What gives out first, so to speak?

It's all of those things together. I think, of course, as we age, you know, there's physical limitations. Our mind decreases as well. So, but you can, you know, be careful and be vigilant about that. And for example, our body, of course, cannot sustain, you know, 7 or 8 hours of continued practice. I mean, it's just too much. You know, there's injuries that happen. So people have to be very, very careful. You also have to make sure that your posture, posture is correct, you know, your back is straight and your shoulders are relaxed, your hands should be relaxed. So that's a very big part of it. You know, our body decreases as we age, so we have to find a way to compensate that. Also, you know, our mind is a very, very important part. Actually, I think it's more important than the physical because everything comes from your mind. You know, if your mind is relaxed, if your mind knows what it's doing, then everything else will kind of fall into place. So, you know, for example, when you perform live, your mind has to be very, very relaxed because if your mind is constantly worrying, that creates a lot of tension in your hands, in your shoulders, in your back. So everything has to come together. But again, that's something that takes many years of experience. So learning how to, as we talked about, efficiently practicing how to relax on stage. But, you know, there is a way to preserve that, you know, over the years. And I think as you age, there is a different quality. You mature, your music starts sounding different, more mature. So, but it's a good What's the hardest thing about keeping your nails in shape? You know, I really don't worry that much about it. I try to keep them short as possible. I don't like to have them too long because they tend to break when they're too long. So, every year they seem to get shorter and shorter. So, I just use a nail file, you know, and file them a little bit, maybe every few days. And so, when I practice, I try to practice practice not too loud because that damages the nails. So you have to be careful. Sometimes I take vitamins, you know, to make them stronger, but I really don't do anything special with it. It's just keeping them short. I find it's very helpful. Also gives you, you know, larger sound when you perform. But other than that, I really don't do anything. Yeah.

Now, 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 leading to more mistakes? Is that something you practice or it just comes with experience or you're born with it? Or how do you do that?

It's also a combination of things. When I practice at home, I'm allowed to make mistakes and because nobody can hear me, I'm alone in my room. So obviously when I'm on stage, I cannot afford that to happen. So I have to find a way to make that not happen. For me, number one is the preparation. You know, 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 2 weeks before. So all the years leading up to this, I've learned things, you know, I made mistakes, I did some things wrong, but you learn from it and then you don't do it the next time. So yes, the number 1 is good preparation, finding the repertoire that fits you, that you connect with, that allows you to be honest, you know, to be true to who you are. Are, and then you automatically feel more comfortable. And then, you know, 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% well prepared. So when I practice, you know, I go through sections. I already know, you 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, you know, until they're 20, 30, 40 times as much as they take. So when the preparation part is over, then you are ready to go and present the piece to the audience. So I never really play something that I'm not fully secure with. And then, you know, 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. So you have to find a way to ease your mind mind before you go on stage and perform for the audience, because the audience will sense that. And again, many, many years of experience, you know, it's learning. And sometimes, yeah, 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, you know, and it's a completely different feeling. So I have to say 90% comes from your mind, so your mind has to be very relaxed.

So 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?

I think you kind of sense when someone has something special. In the past, I've judged competitions, and I guess because it's my life and, you know, I do it since I was 5, I just know when I see someone that has, you know, something special. Of course, there's always an aspect of a natural talent, but some people are just more prone to being talented for music, you know, or for a certain instrument. But a lot of it is also, you know, the commitment, perseverance. That's a very, very important part if somebody wants to be a professional artist or professional musician. I mean, even if they're not, you know, as talented, they can still find the way to make it work. So I think working hard, having a good working habit, and making sure they're very disciplined discipline is important. So I don't know how, but I just know when I see, you know, that natural technical ability and somebody that plays with ease. But again, there is really no guarantees in this industry, you know. Sometimes you have to work for many, many years to get to a certain point where, you know, you feel comfortable performing in front of the audience. And so I think it's just everybody's different, you know. You just have to find your way to navigate through this maze Yeah.

How does your approach to teaching differ from what other classical guitarists do? I love teaching.

Yeah, I love teaching.

So you do a lot of master classes, right? You must have students also.

Yeah, I usually do. If I play at a university, I'll do a class with the local students or, or local university. I do love it, and I wish I could dedicate a little more time to that. I think I've learned a lot from just teaching. It's amazing. You know, sometimes when you have to explain something to a student, you learn automatically yourself.

When you do teach, what is it you do that's different from what other classical guitar teachers might do?

Well, I think, you know, number one is to make the student feel comfortable because a masterclass setting is a very nerve-wracking setting. I know from my own experience when I used to play in front of artists in school, you know, I always felt nervous. So I try to, you know, just put them at ease so that they can learn and register what I'm saying more easily. And you can just see the difference. I mean, and I also like for them to ask me questions, either technical or musical, and the message that I want to convey to them has to be very, very clear. So I try to be as clear as possible. Usually a masterclass lesson is about 30 minutes, so you don't have a lot of time. So you have to try to give them as much information as you can in that short amount of time, you know, which is not easy. So you try to connect with them in those 30 minutes as much as you can. But I think, you know, number one is to just make them feel comfortable.

What's the best piece of economic advice you could give to a talented young person who wants to make classical music their career? Not musical advice, economic advice, like don't go on streaming or give as many concerts as you can or whatever.

That's a very good question. You know, when I started, the world looked very, very different. So the world has changed. I think today everything is online. You know, it wasn't like that when I started and when my, you know, you know, some of my colleagues started. Today they really have to— actually, all of us, we have to learn how to present ourselves online, and there's many, many different aspects of that world. So from my own experience, you know, I always wanted to have a touring career, you know, so I focused on that. You know, I didn't focus so much on recording. I just wanted to be out there and perform as much as I can. So I did that, you know, and then, you know, the YouTube came, and I had to find a way how to present myself online. I don't do too many online performances. I do a few because I still want to continue to perform and tour and play live for the audience, you know, because there's nothing that compares to that. You know, online is great, you can present yourself to the listeners, but you still have to be successful performing live, you know, in front of people. So most of my performances online are live, you know, they're not pre-recorded. Because I find that, you know, when you play live, this is who you truly are. There's one take and that's it. So it sounds natural, and that's what I like to do personally, but it's everybody's choice what they want to do, you know. So the only thing is that, of course, you have to make a living with this, you know, so you have to learn, you know, a few tricks. I mean, they're not tricks, but it's just you have to find your way to navigate. But for me, still, number one thing is to work on my ability, you know, my craft, and I always want to get better. And because the audience, the listeners, they always expect more. Every time you perform, you have to be better, and I respect my audience. They're very loyal to me, and so I'm loyal to them, and I always try to do, you know, the best I can. So that always comes first.

Now, if I type your name into Spotify, only 7 pretty short items come up. How do you think about that decision? Because streaming doesn't pay much, right? No. And it's maybe a substitute, or does it enhance the demand to see you in concert, or do you prefer people watch you on YouTube?

I think, you know, over the years, I find it that people like to see and to hear. Of course, YouTube is amazing. I mean, you know, everything is on there. So I remember 2005 was the year that I played one of my first concerts in the States, you know, and that's where kind of the YouTube was just starting out, and they put up that video on YouTube. YouTube. And it's amazing what happened since then, you know. So I'll focus on live performing. I'll just go out there, you know. I'll maybe release, you know, one video a year because I still want the people to come to the concerts, come to the live performance, you know. I don't want them to just be at home and look at the video. So I still want to have that connection with my live audience. So maybe, you know, it's not good to do too much, you know, not to have too many videos, not to have too many recordings, because you still want the audience to come and see you in You have to find the way to balance that. But, you know, the recording was never my priority, also because honestly I don't really, you know, enjoy the recording in a studio that much. Again, I prefer to be live, you know, in front of the audience. There's nothing quite like it. But I mean, no, I'm not saying no to the recording completely, of course. It's just I think we just live in a different time, you know, when the videos are perhaps more appealing to the listeners, you know, because classical guitarists also like to watch the hands. They like to see what the right hand is doing, what the left hand is doing. So, you know, I think the visual and the audio is equally important, you know. So if you ever were to do an explicitly crossover album, what would it be? I thought about it.

As you know, classical charts are often dominated by crossover albums.

Yeah, I mean, there's some really good crossover albums. Yeah, I mean, if I would do something, I thought often just playing with like a, you know, rock guitarist, or I mean, it's something that to merge those those worlds would be interesting, you know, maybe collaborate with, I don't know, there's so many great, you know, electric guitar players. I think it would be interesting to merge those two worlds, classical and electric. So that's perhaps something that, you know, will come in the future. But one has to be careful with a crossover. I think that was perhaps more popular, you know, a few years back. This was a kind of a new term that came, you know, crossover music, and then everybody was doing a lot of that, but perhaps now it's not as popular as it used to be. So, because there's a lot of crossover recordings, so you also have to be careful to do something interesting, something different. You know, there's that aspect to consider, but I still have to do what I feel most comfortable. You know, I don't want to do something just because I want to sell a lot of records. It's not what I want to do. You know, it's just not my personal choice. I want to do what feels right. What I give to my listeners. I cannot do something that's off the charts, even though it would be fun, maybe in the future.

How do you know when a concert hall is too large?

Well, I know when the guitar doesn't project well. Guitar is a very soft instrument, even though my guitar is a bit louder than the regular. It's just the way it was built, the wood that was chosen, and the technique of building. So it's a bit louder. It projects very well. For guitar, the ideal hall is about 500 seats, and that's already pushing it, you know. So when you have a hall that is 1,000, you have to use amplification. I mean, it's impossible to play without amplification. We have some beautiful systems today where you don't even know that the guitar is amplified. So I have no problem using amplification as long as it's natural. But of course, for guitar, it's the best to hear it without amplification. The most natural sound, you know, which is up to like 500 seats. So we have rehearsals before the performance, we try out the hall, there's always somebody listening in the audience, so there's a lot of time that is spent doing that. And then you just make a decision, either you will play without the amplification or with the amplification, but, you know, it has to be natural.

Although you are young, you've been playing professionally for quite some time. Over that time period, how have audiences changed?

Hmm, that's a good question. Well, it's interesting. In the past 2 years, I've noticed a change. You know, when I went back to playing live after a while, after, you know, the pandemic started, I feel more appreciation. I feel that they're kind of hungry for live performances. I feel that they listen more attentively. I feel that, I don't know, it just feels different. So this is just in the past 2 years. I wouldn't say that they changed. What is interesting is that depends where you're performing, you know, every culture is different. So if you're performing in Europe, the audiences are usually very serious and, you know, very quiet and they listen very, very carefully. And in the States, you know, they're also of course very appreciative, but after the performance they either stand up and they're very responsive, you know, they appreciate as an artist, it's very very special to feel that attention after the performance. So we clap more, Americans? Yeah, I mean, in the States, people are just— it's beautiful. I mean, at the end of the concert, everybody's happy, you know, and you can feel that, you know. I love that feeling. And the Japanese? In Asia, they're more— they don't really feel comfortable doing that, but they're also very, you know, attentive. And I think more of it just depends where you play. You know, so which country and which culture.

If I listen to classical guitarists from the early to mid-20th century, they seem to me far more subjective in terms of tempo, phrasing. Segovia, he's playing the right notes, but you can be surprised fairly often by what you hear in terms of how he presents the music. Do you feel today that guitar competitions have led to too much homogeneity of style amongst younger guitarists, that they're technically perfect picked, but you're surprised less often. It might be.

I think when you listen to Segovia, even if somebody else puts it on for you and it wasn't you, you just know when you hear it. And when you hear Bream, you just know it's Bream. When you hear Williams, you know it's Williams. So perhaps that is a little bit lost today. I don't want to be a judge, but I think it's important for each of us to find, you know, something unique about our way of playing And all these things that we talked about, studying about the score, about the background, about the artist, about the composer, all these things are important. You know, working on our sound, the quality of our sound, and experimenting with a lot of different things. You know, all this makes us unique. There's no one way to play guitar. With competitions, they're an important part of building a career, but there's a little bit of danger with that. It's because in a competition setting, it's not a concert setting, it's a competition. So all these young artists, perhaps they feel like they have to play in a certain way, you know, to win the first prize. So as long as that doesn't interfere with what you still want to accomplish and what you still want to develop, it's okay, you know. So you just have to be careful for the competitions not to be a part of your life. It's not everything. The first prize is of course great, but it doesn't mean always that you're the the best, you know. So the individuality of the performer is very important. So for me personally, you know, I stopped doing competitions very early for that reason, because I didn't want to just be someone who will, I don't know, go to competitions, you know. I wanted to develop my own way of playing. So I hope, you know, that, you know, young students still find a way to develop their own way of playing. It's very important because at the times of, you know, Segovia and Bream, it was a different time. They they had to develop their own way, you know, to find their own way, you know, it was just a different time that they were living in, so.

What would you change in conservatory education for classical guitarists?

I wouldn't necessarily change anything, I mean, you know, we have some great places in the States, wonderful guitar departments with great teachers, and, you know, many, many young students come from there, and the guitar in the States is very strong, also in Europe. I wouldn't change, I just, the only thing I would it would be helpful. Once you graduate, it's kind of difficult because you're on your own. You have to find your way, you know, so at least for me personally, it was like that. So I had to find ways to decide what I'm gonna do, either have, you know, teaching career or performing career. So it would be nice to have a little bit of help that way after you graduate. Another thing that is important is that in a conservatory setting, we don't learn so much about what needs to be done, you know, in a live performing setting, you know, how to how to deal with your nerves, how to relax, you know, all those things are important. So I think we don't talk as much about that in a conservatory setting. And then again, when you graduate, you're kind of on your own, so you have to learn from your own mistakes. That would be helpful, I think, for, you know, every young student that would like to pursue a performance career.

Other than your father, who's your favorite electric guitarist?

There's many. Of course, my dad comes first. I listen to Stevie Ray Vaughan, I listen to Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, many others. Malmsteen. I mean, it's just, I love like electric guitar.

So someone like Malmsteen, he'll sometimes play like Bach or Paganini riffs. Do you get anything from that or is it just amusing to you or do you learn something?

You know, there was a time when I listened to him a lot because I really appreciate that he loves Bach's music and you can tell in his playing, you know, sometimes it's just, I think it's fascinating, you know, he's actually someone that I would like to collaborate. I mean, it might never happen, but it's just interesting to me, you know, because perhaps we share this same love for Bach's music, and it would be interesting to, you know, collaborate with someone like that. So yes, I do learn, I do get a lot from, you know, people like that. You know, it's interesting because electric guitar and classical guitar are completely different, so you would think like, okay, is there anything common? But yes, there are, there are things you can apply in your own playing. Playing, you know, so absolutely. I mean, I learned a lot from these people. Yeah.

So if Paul McCartney plays Blackbird and that's taken in part from Bach, do you get something from that or you're just chuckling? What does he bring to that?

I think not just him, you know, but everybody that is trying to create something, I learned from that. I don't know, it gives me inspiration. There's other examples, of course, but it just makes me think in a wider way, more interesting way, you know. If I was just listening to classical music all day, my mind would be just kind of restricted, you know. So I don't know, anything, anything. There's so much great music out there, you know, and sometimes I hear something in the background and then I think, oh, you know, maybe I should apply that into what I do because it opens up your horizons. I don't know, maybe it's just my imagination, but I think you just play differently. So you have to surround yourself with a lot of music, you know. Classical music is not the only type. There's many, many, many other music. So Yeah, so that's just one example. You know, I listen to it, then I listen to it again. I think, you know, what is he doing? Why is he doing that? And it just gives me inspiration. Severina, do you like Croatian pop?

Yeah. Oh, great.

You know about her. You did some research. No, yeah, I do love pop music. Yes. Croatian music. Yes. Like Oliver Dragojević. I love him. He's a beautiful singer. With probably the most Croatian hits ever. And when I feel a little nostalgic, I'll listen to Croatian music. Severina, yes, she's very famous and, you know, so is many, many other musicians. They're all great, you know, because I come from that part of the world. It also means a lot to me.

Do you ever think of yourself as somehow bringing a Croatian perspective to classical music? Because Croatia, it was in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Mozart, but in a way it's slightly outside of the normal classical tradition. There's not a famous Croatian composer. And has that shaped what you've done, that you're Croatian?

I think so. I think coming from that part of the world, I think a certain way of you perform and you play music. I mean, yeah, there's not perhaps one, you know, major composer, but it's just the culture that I was brought up with. And even though I lived in the States for 20 years, I still have that. In me, you know. So perhaps I, you know, perform music in that way. It's just natural, it's just who I am. So I think it's more that, just coming from a certain culture, you know, studying and learning about the music the way I was taught. And it was a very— I don't want to call it rigid, but it's a negative word— but, you know, we were taught from a very early age to work hard. You know, I was taught in the right way. I had, you know, great teachers. So all that kind of shaped me who I am, you know, and to be serious about what I do, you know, and to be be completely focused on it. So I think perhaps all this comes through a little bit, you know, through my music and what I do. But we have a lot of beautiful music, many, many beautiful artists, and then it's a long tradition of classical guitar in Croatia, long, long tradition. So, you know, many, many guitarists come from that part of the world. I'm proud of that, you know.

Given that YouTube is such a wonderful instructional medium, can you imagine America developing more of its own, like house music tradition, you know, house MUSIC, as the Germans said. Is that in the cards? How is YouTube going to change guitar playing and classical guitar instruction and performance?

Well, I think it has changed it already a little bit. I think we just have to be careful not to have too much of it in our life, you know. I think sometimes I find myself even personally, like, you know, looking for videos and watching, and then I have to stop and say, oh, I still have to go back to what I do. Of course, every influence Balance is good, but if it's too much, then it's not so good. And you still have to preserve what you're doing and stay true to that. So, you know, I think sometimes I meet students that, you know, don't have a teacher, so they learn from YouTube. And then sometimes they learn in the wrong way, which is— it's a mistake, you know. It's something that if you learn in the wrong way, it's very, very difficult to change it and fix the mistakes later, you know. So you have to be careful what you search for on YouTube. And from whom you learn, and because there's so many videos, you know. So for me, I think there is a little bit of danger in that, you know. So because in Europe, you know, you usually had one teacher and you would work with him for many, many years, and there was no YouTube. We had live concerts that we would go to, and that's how we learned, you know, but we didn't have outside influences. Sometimes it's very difficult to even conceive that, you know, we live in a world that now everything is just there, you know, you just type it in and it's there. So it's great, it's wonderful, but again, we still have to be true to who we are and develop our own way. So I don't know what's going to happen. I think it will be there for many, many years. You know, YouTube is a very important part of our lives. For me personally, it has helped me a lot, and you know, in my career, and I just hope I think the people still would want to, you know, go out and visit live concerts and be there in the same room with the artists, you know, so.

Laszlo Polgar once said, quote, "Geniuses are made, not born." Now, if you think of yourself, your brother's an excellent guitarist, your father an electric guitarist, one of your brothers is a pianist, there's yourself, all from the same family. How do you think about this? Is it common training? Is something in the water? Genes? What's your take? Well, perhaps many things together.

I think there is something about that, yes. I think there were times when I wasn't sure if this is something what I want to do. I think, you know, growing up and starting very young is difficult because you're always looked at, you know, someone talented, and then there's a danger that you won't develop your talent to the full extent. You know, sometimes the term child prodigy is not always always true. You have to kind of outgrow that. You have to still develop your talent. Talent is not enough. I'm fully convinced that is not enough. You have to work hard throughout your whole life to develop whatever you were given. Yes, if you have a little bit of natural talent, of course it's helpful, but you have to work at it, you know. So I think from your 20s and further, you have to work hard. I mean, you have to find ways to always develop your natural ability. It's something that never really stops. So I think it's true.

As you made the transition from prodigy to adult and professional performer, was there a moment where you deliberately recommitted yourself and decided you weren't going to quit, or was it just inertia, you kept on going? What was the key moment there?

I think there were a few. I think, yeah, there was definitely a point where I decided, okay, I know this is going to be difficult, but I have to continue. That's all I know. I mean, my whole life, that's the only thing I know. You know, I never really had a chance to do anything else in my life. So, you know, of course I love it. It's great to have music in your life, but you have to make a commitment. You know, you can't just say, "Oh, I'll see what happens." You know, it's a commitment because it's a difficult profession. Like I said before, there's no guarantee. Sometimes you won't make it. You know, sometimes you'll work hard and then nothing happens. And there were times like that when I thought, "Nothing is happening. Am I doing something wrong?" But you keep going, you know, you keep going. And I never really looked back. There were difficult times, but I guess I made a decision, okay, I have to do this, you know, there is no other way. I will do this and take necessary steps. And the perseverance is very important part of what we do. You have to keep going. But I think that came kind of in my teenage years when I said, okay, I'm doing this. I'm probably going to do this for the rest of my life. So whatever comes, I'm going to have to deal with it. That, you know, so yeah. But I think for everybody it's different, you know, but for me personally, it was that way. I had to really, like, consciously make a decision. The last two questions.

First, what will you do next?

You mean long-term or short-term?

Well, each, and then I'll still ask you one final question.

Christmas is gone. I'm taking a little break because the last concert was on December 4th. So usually during the holidays we have a break. So just getting ready for the New Year's and Next year, you know, everything starts again. So I'm gonna have to prepare for my concerts and for my tour, start practicing very, very focused work, and have a nice lineup of concerts that I look forward to. And I very much was excited to be back on the road, you know, and to perform because I really, really missed it during these 2 years. I think every artist missed it. So that's coming up next year. And I'm trying not to make any long-term plans because it's just impossible to do that right now. You know, I'm taking every day or month at a time. And see what happens. So speaking of recordings, you know, I would like to release a new recording in the next year or so. Hopefully that will happen. But the main goal is, you know, just keep performing and touring if it's possible. We'll see what happens next year and if the venues are still comfortable doing live performances.

Now, I saw you live in concert last month at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, and I very, very highly recommend to all of our listeners listeners that you absolutely go see Anna live. That's the single best thing you can do and see her more than once. But most generally, if a listener or reader, they want to learn more about you, hear your music, what should they do? Where should they start? Final question. Tell us all what to do.

The two main places are my website and then YouTube. You know, if they would like to hear me live, there's a lot of performances on YouTube and my schedule is on my website. And if they would like to hear it live, that's where everything is posted. So, those are the two most important places where all the information comes from. Then, you know, of course, I'd love to see the audience back in the halls, you know, that's a great, great feeling. So, we hope we have more, and of course, with, you know, restrictions and being very careful at this time, but I'd like to see the audience back in the halls, definitely.

Ana Vidović, thank you very much.

Thank you so much, this was wonderful. Thank you.

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