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The Missoulian
May 9, 2011
JOE NICKELL
After the brief overture, the orchestra was joined by Vidovic, who glided onto the stage in a floor-length dress of swirling black and white. For much of the first movement of Joaquín Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez," her playing seemed to reflect her color choices: high in contrast, sharp in definition. Her eyes cast down on her speeding fingers, she bobbed her head to the beat, at times overemphasizing the driving pulse of the music.
The concerto's jaunty and melodically thin first movement calls for more than just good articulation - and the orchestra gave much in that regard, providing a colorful and nuanced accompaniment. Still, as seems often the case in performances of this piece, the movement ultimately seemed little more than a prelude to the justly famous second movement.
But any sense of perfunctory playing in the first movement was completely swept aside in the ruminative, flowing music that followed. As Vidovic stretched and twisted the guitar's dreamy melodies, the orchestra wafted around her like a halo. English horn soloist Jennifer Gookin Cavanaugh responded sensitively to Vidovic's every searching gesture; and the orchestra's strings provided beautiful echoes and elaborations throughout, climaxing in a gorgeous utterance of restrained longing before fading to breathtaking silence.
Against that standard, almost any performance of the third movement - which, like the first, lacks for strong thematic material - would seem anticlimactic. Yet both orchestra and soloist gave it a strong reading, with snappy and seemingly effortless articulation of the tricky rhythms.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -9 March 2009
by Johabbes Hillje
ISTANBUL - The audience at the opening of the "Guitar Days" at the Akbank Art Center in Istanbul on Thursday could see her passion without any doubt. One of the youngest and most talented virtuoso guitarists in the world, Ana Vidovic from Croatia, gave an outstanding performance.
One of the youngest and most talented virtuoso guitarists in the world, Ana Vidovic from Croatia, opened this year's "Guitar Days" at the Akbank Art Center in Istanbul on Thursday.
The audience at the opening could see her passion without any doubt. Her face expressed the total surrender to her instrument as she presented her different styles. Having started with a Spanish repertoire including Federico Moreno Torrobo, Vidovic continued with modern pieces by William Walton and Rex Willis. She mastered all these styles with her sensitive treatment of the strings of her guitar.
Vidovic started to play the guitar at the age of 5 and performed for the first time in front of an international audience when she was 11. Later she became the youngest student at the National Musical Academy in Zagreb and at the age of 21 she had already won an impressive number of prizes and international competitions around the world. These include first prizes in the Albert Augustine International Competition in Bath, England, and the Fernando Sor competition in Rome. To date, Vidovic released six CDs and one DVD.
Musical family
In an interview with Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, Vidovic said her musical environment in her youth was a driving factor for her career. "My whole family was musicians, so things developed naturally from the beginning." Soon, her older brother Victor, who is now a well-known classical guitarist too, became her idol. She said seeing him play inspired her to play her own songs.
"At a certain point I had to make a decision," Vidovic said. "Becoming a professional guitarist means no normal childhood, no going out and of course, lots of practice. But I felt that this is what I really want to do."
Introducing the new
Although classical music is not particularly popular among European youth, growing up in Zagreb supported her musical development. "Classical guitar is quite popular in Croatia and therefore I could already visit many concerts during my youth." At 28, however, Vidovic still faces the stereotype that classical music is just for a certain class and age. "I say, just come and listen. Classical music is not about education or behaving and dressing in a certain way," she said.
By presenting a repertoire that mixes styles such as blues and rock, Vidovic said she tries to bring something new to her genre and overcome these prejudices. "It's a huge task, but through the way you act on stage, change is possible."
Since Vidovic moved to the United States and graduated from the Peabody Conservatory, where she worked together with the influential Cuban guitarist Manuel Barrueco, the petite guitarist has been touring the world. Having performed in most European countries as well as in South America and many places in the United States, recently Vidovic has been playing with orchestras. She said performing in Russia and more collaboration with orchestras are her future dreams.
Vidovic's desire for the guitar seems to be everlasting. "I cannot image not playing the guitar one day. It gives me something really special. When I'm playing, it feels like I'm in a different place," she said.
The Saturday Gazette-Mail
Jan. 31, 2008
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."
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.
Ana Vidovic is an extraordinary talent with formidable gifts taking her place amongst the elite musicians of the world today. Ms. Vidovic has given over one thousand public performances since first taking the stage in 1988. Her international performance career includes recitals in New York, London, Paris, Vienna, Salzburg, Rome, Budapest, Warsaw, Tel Aviv, Oslo, Copenhagen, Toronto, Baltimore, San Francisco, Houston, Austin, Dallas and St. Louis. Equally impressive is the fact that she has already recorded 6 CDs. Mel Bay Publications released Ana Vidovic's most recent DVD in 2009 entitled "Guitar Artistry in Concert," a journey through the the music of Torroba, Piazzolla and Pierre Bensusan, Sergio Assad, Stanley Myers, Villa-Lobos and Agustin Barrios Mangoré. "Guitar Virtuoso," her performance of works by Bach, Torroba, Paganini and Walton, was released on DVD by the Mel Bay label in 2006.
Ms. Vidovic continues to broaden her repertoire and maintains an ongoing performance schedule in the United States and abroad. Her Summer 2011 performance at Vienna's Musikverein is followed by her return to Japan in 2011-12 with the Zagreb Soloists, her debut in Australia with recitals in Sydney and Adelaide, as well as numerous engagements throughout the U.S. including recitals at the Virginia Arts Festival, La Guitarre Festival (San Luis Obispo, CA) and Portland, OR; with concerto performances with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Erie Philharmonic and Dearborn Symphony (MI).
The 2010-11 season was highlighted by Ana Vidovic's New York recital debut at the 92nd Street Y as well as her Boston recital debut, and her first performance at the Strathmore Music Center (MD). She also performed recitals in Portland (OR), Pasadena, Pensacola, Austin, Erie and Baltimore in addition to concertos with the Asheville, Missoula and Westmoreland symphonies, and Tacoma Philharmonic. Recent season engagements include Monterrey (Mexico), Dublin, Bulle (Switzerland) and the Interlochen Music Festival in Michigan; recitals in Paris, Brazil, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany and Mexico; Spivey Hall (Morrow, GA), Richmond (VA) and Mobile (AL); and performances with the West Virginia Symphony conducted by Grant Cooper.
Ms. Vidovic has won an impressive number of prizes and international competitions including first prizes in the Albert Augustine International Competition in Bath, England, the Fernando Sor competition in Rome, Italy and the Francisco Tarrega competition in Benicasim, Spain. Other top prizes include the Eurovision Competition for Young Artists, Mauro Giuliani competition in Italy, Printemps de la Guitare in Belgium and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York. In Croatia the guitarist has performed with the Zagreb Soloists and the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra and with Symphony Orchestra of the Croatian Radio and Television, as well as having been featured in three television documentaries by the eminent Croatian film director Petar Krelja.
Ana Vidovic comes from the small town of Karlovac near Zagreb, Croatia, and started playing guitar at the age of 5, and by 7 had given her first public performance. At the age of 11 she was performing internationally, and at 13 became the youngest student to attend the prestigious National Musical Academy in Zagreb where she studied with Professor Istvan Romer. Ana's reputation in Europe led to an invitation to study with Manuel Barrueco at the Peabody Conservatory from which she graduated in 2003.
I just wanted to let you know what a pleasure it was to have guitarist Ana Vidovic with us for our season opening concert this past weekend.
Thank you for the work you did to bring Ana to Interlochen again this summer. She is, without doubt, one of the finest classical guitarists performing today. She has been recognized in the past for having incredible technical facility, which she still has, but now she has really emerged as a sensitive, thoughtful artist as well. Her performance of the Castelnuovo-Tedesco to open her concert was simply breathtaking! That is a very challenging work for both the performer and the audience and I have never heard it played better. To shorten the email, I will say the the rest of the program followed suit! Overall, I felt that her playing leaves nothing to be desired. Beautiful tone, precise technique, well defined phrasing, and extremely thoughtful artistry and musicianship. Then, she really added a lot to our panel discussion. She was there along with several seasoned performers and had responses to the audience questions that were well crafted, to the point, and very enlightening. She was the same in the masterclasses - all the students who performed were very impressed. Because she is young, I didn't honestly expect the classes and panel discussion to be one of her strengths, but she was very comfortable and really had a great deal to offer.
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