Meeting Classical Guitar Musician; Petar Jankovic on Soochow University Campus

Petar Jankovic, the world renowned classical guitarist, visited Soochow University’s Waishuangsi Campus on 26 December 2015.  Many braved the chilling cold front and were excited because of his amazing heart-touching performance.

Petar Jankovic, who has won many awards in international guitar competitions, conquered his audience when he poured emotions into his music giving unique soul to every single song. On this night Petar Jankovic played five songs; from Heitor Villa-Lobos: Preludes No.1, No.5, and No.2, Jose Luis Merlin: Suite del Recuerdo, Isaac Albeniz: Mallorca-Asturias, Roland Dyens: Libra Sonatine, Astor Piazzolla: Three Tangos, and Joaquin Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez.

Responding to the “Bravos” from an audience who did not want to leave, Jankovic said: “Songs in the program are standard works, especially Concierto de Aranjuez which is one of the most popular works on guitar in the world.”  Petar Jankovic then played two encores.

All wonderful concerts need long preparation and practice again and again. Even though Petar Jankovic has played guitar for 40 years, he considers stage fright unavoidable when one sees hundreds of audiences’ faces, but one needs to face it and deal with it. He said: “We need to find inner peace calmly, focus on our own performances, and then we won’t disturb ourselves.”

Petar Jankovic shared with Soochow Campus Reporters that he would read books about life in order to release nervousness and anxiety in his mind before performances.  As he believes that life is vague, Petar Jankovic said: “We don’t have much to hold on to in life, we may disappear any time, and there are so many worse things in the world, so things like stage fright are not a big deal. It is better for us to enjoy those nice things.”

Petar Jankovic played music when he was eight because his father played guitar at the time.  He decided to become a classical guitarist after his high school days.  Thanks to playing guitar at a very young age, it was not difficult for him to choose to major in guitar in college.

This is Petar Jankovic’s first visit to Taiwan, and he said: “I love Taiwan, especially Taiwanese traditional food.”  Petar Jankovic expressed his appreciation for the opportunity of working along with Conductor Chiang Ching-Po, and the invitation from Professor Lee Chen-Sheng of Music Department for him to come to Taiwan and Soochow University.