Biography of Ivana Marija Vidovic

 (Photo by Elk Tauten)

 Born in Dubrovnik into a family of mother and a brother musicians.

  

(Photo by Zeljko Tutnjevic)

First contacts with music were a part of Ms Vidovic’s life before she even learned how to walk. Her mother is a music teacher at the school “Luka Sorkocevic“ in Dubrovnik where Ivana got her first education and her brother was a hyper talented and versatile musician. The most common tounge of their childhood was music. At the age of four Ivana started her piano studies at the Music Conservatory in Dubrovnik. Her first teacher was L. Cobenzl who was later succeeded by Vesna Miletic and completed her studies in 1991-1992 during the war in Croatia. She subsequently continued her musical education at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, Slovenia, with Tatjana Ognjanovich and graduated with honours in 2002. During her student years Ivana performed frequently.

   

(Buenos aires – photo by Vera Bolkovic)

Despite suffering a serious car accident in 1996 she pursued her musical studies and literary interests. In 1997 she returned to the Dubrovnik stage with the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra and for her interpretation of the Mozart concerto in F-Major, KV 459, won the “France Preseren” award from the Academy of Ljubljana in 1998. Meetings and work with Evgenij Timakin; Naum Starkmann (Moscow); Alberto Portugheis (Argentina/London)and Eugen Indjic (Paris) had a great impact on Miss Vidovic’s playing and creative development. In the last year Miss Vidovic was invited to study with maestro Lazar Berman until his sudden death.
At this moment Miss Vidovic is ocasionally studying with Alicia De Larrocha in Barcelona who describes Ms Vidovic like this: “….young pianist with great natural instinct, a beautiful musicality, lovely desire to express herself artistically, with taste, poetry and extroversion…“

   Miss Vidovich has got a very intense international carrier. Some of her most eminent concerts in Croatia have been held at the Rector’s Palace, Sponza and Revelin Fort in Dubrovnik, Glazbeni Zavod in Zagreb, An Anniversary concert of the Croatian woman composer Dora Pejacevic in her native town, Našice, when she played on the composer’s piano which is a museum treasury. In abroad she has appeared at the Regent Hall Festival in London, Steinway Hall, St Martin-in-the- Fields, St James Piccadilly (organisation of European Beethovem Society) all in London. Ms Vidovic had also toured Argentina in 2006 (Buenos Aires, La Plata), appeared in the Small hall of the Slovenean Philharmonic in Ljubljana, etc.
Miss Vidovic is often a guest of some most prestigious Festivals like Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Sorrento-Dubrovnik festival in Sorrento, Epidaurus Festival, “Due sponde un mare“ in Termoli etc. She performs regularly with Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra and has played under button of Ivo Dražinic, Tonko Ninic, Zlatan Srzic, Marko Vatovec and has collaborated with few other eminent musicians like Alberto Portugheis, Fatos Querimaj, Pavel Berman etc.
Several contemporary Slovenian composers have dedicated to Ivana their compositions, notably Primož Ramovš, Gregor Pirš, Žiga Stanic, Croatian composer Pero Šiša and English composer Peter Seabourne.

And a Poet
In addition to being a musician, Ivana has been writing poetry since her early youth. In 2003 she published her first book of poetry in Croatian rich, resonating selection, representative of her works. Ivana’s poems express the variety and intensity of her literary experience, encompassing youthful and vividly picturesque verses, to deeply personal love poems and haunting laments. The same has been translated into Italian and Slovenian, published under the title “Srecno otroštvo” (Happy childhood) in January, 2006. In September 2006 Miss Vidovic published a new book dedicated to Dora Pejačević under the title a “Flower’s life”, after the same named cycle of miniatures for piano, op. 19, by Dora Pejacevic. This book is sponsored by Pejacevic’s native town, Našice, in Northern Croatia and is translated into four languages. In May 2007. her first book of poetry appeared also in Italy (Akkuaria Edition) under the title “Infanzia felice” in Italian language. She therefore became a member of Akkuaria Association and also joined an Anthology of many contemporary poets called “Con gli occhi di un gatto“ (With cat’s eyes) published in the fall of 2007. She donated her “Trilogy on four legs“ as an aid to the abbandoned animals. Other publishments for Akkuaria are soon beeing planned and expected.
Ms Vidovic is the creator and the artistic director of the Epidaurus Festival in Cavtat, Croatia since September, 2007

www: www.ivanavidovich.com