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It’s so disappointing when you see a bunch of instrumentalists walk on stage and you already know how a piece is going to sound…

Jack Sheen, composer & conductor (interview in VAN magazine)

We live in a visual world, never more so now with platforms like Instagram and TikTok feeding us images in an endless churn. Yet perhaps we forget that we don’t just hear a concert; we also see it. Today, how musicians present themselves is more important than ever. When performers walk onto a stage, the moment is a critical transition that sets the energy for the entire performance.

The visual dimension of live musical performance is incredibly significant to the audience’s experience. Before a single note is played, audiences begin forming expectations. From the moment the musicians come onto stage, they are already communicating with the audience. Posture, facial expression, energy, and clothing all speak volumes. So, if performers appear disengaged, rigid, or overly uniform, the audience anticipates a performance that may be equally lifeless or predictable. In contrast, expressive, intentional and confident body language can signal vitality, emotional depth, and interpretive individuality. In both instances, the audience’s expectations are set up before the music begins.

The disappointment referenced in the quote above stems from this sense of predictability: if performers look uninspired, listeners expect uninspired sound. Conversely, confident posture, purposeful movement, and engaged facial expression convey commitment and readiness. The violinist who breathes with a phrase or the pianist whose gestures reflect the arc of the melody communicates intention. These physical cues help bring the music to life and demonstrate that the performer is not merely executing notes but also embodying them, literally.

When I was a piano teacher, particularly when preparing students for their exams or other performance events, no matter their age or ability level, I would help them understand the importance of “stagecraft” and “presence”. These were skills which I taught myself when I was preparing for professional performance diplomas in my late 40s, having not had formal conservatoire training, and I learnt a lot by observing performers in concerts. A performer who enters the stage smiling, or at least looking pleased to be there, greets the audience with a bow or a few words to introduce the programme, immediately sets the expectation that the performance will be engaging and enjoyable.

One of the best examples of this, in my mind, is the pianist Angela Hewitt. With her broad smile and perfectly applied lipstick, not to mention a beautiful concert dress, she comes onto the stage looking as if she can’t wait to share the music with the audience. Not only does her body language convey pleasure, but it also instils confidence in the audience.

When helping my piano students understand the importance of body language and stage presence, I would ask them to “come on stage” from the hallway of my home, into the main room where my piano lived. The younger children enjoyed the “game” of this exercise and the “acting” or role-playing (of which more later) it entailed. The older ones would take it more seriously; all, I think, understood the usefulness of this exercise.

“Walk confidently and smile at the examiner when you enter the exam room,” I would say to my students. Not only is this a friendly gesture, but it also helps settle nerves. And this is another significant aspect of body language and stage presence: as performers, especially those of us who struggle with nerves or performance anxiety, our body language and demeanour can help us feel more confident, which, in turn, can influence our performance.

Performance is, in part, an act. Some acting and “playing the part” is integral to good stagecraft, but authenticity matters more than spectacle. Overly dramatic gestures can seem insincere, while stillness can suggest detachment. The goal is balance: visible expression should match the musical character. For example, a solemn adagio may require stillness and inward focus, but that stillness should feel intentional, not disengaged.

Ultimately, the opening quote underscores that musical performance is as much about presence as precision. Before a note sounds, performers tell a story through their bearing. When their body language promises energy and communication, the audience anticipates a memorable experience. Body language is a vital component of meaningful musical performance.

Evgeny Kissin

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Piano101 is a new podcast presented by Fran Wilson The Cross-Eyed Pianist with Dr Michael Low, a pianist and teacher based in South Africa.

Piano 101 aims to cover all things piano, from practising and repertoire to teachers and teaching, stagecraft and more…. Piano101 welcomes comments and suggestions for topics for future episodes.

In this first episode, Fran and Michael discuss that perennial issue for so many pianists, professional and amateur – performance anxiety

Thank you for listening!

Listen via YouTube

Or if you prefer audio only, listen via BuzzSprout

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Glenn Gould claimed to “detest” audiences, regarding them as “mob rule” and “a force for evil” (he retired from performing in public at 31), but most performers take a far more positive and generous attitude towards audiences.

Audiences – real living, breathing audiences – have been much missed over the past year with concert halls, opera houses and theatres closed for months in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Seeing performances from empty venues like London’s Wigmore Hall are a poignant reminder of how important audiences are; they’re an integral part of the concert experience and without an audience a performance isn’t really a “concert” in the truest sense of the word.

Glenn Gould had a good reason for his dislike of audiences: he suffered from stage fright and saw the public concert as a “gladiatorial” experience, the audience a hostile force, hungry for evidence of weakness or errors on the part of the performer. The fear of making mistakes in front of other people – a natural human instinct – is very common amongst performers, professional and amateur, and is one of the main drivers of performance anxiety.

We don’t want to mess up in front of other people, of course we don’t. We want our performances to be as close to perfect as possible, with just the right amount of technical assuredness combined with artistry to draw the audience into the music’s soundworld, transport them, excite and enthrall them. But perfection is a human construct, an idealas opposed to a quantifiable reality, and as such it is an impossibility. We are all human – even the most incredible musicians who enjoy almost god-like reverence – and we are all fallible. Accepting this is one of many ways we can better understand and manage performance anxiety.

Audiences don’t come to concerts hoping to see the performer fail. They are not there to spot errors or imperfections in performance; they have paid for tickets because they want to hear the musicians perform. They are there because they want to be there, to hear the music, and because they enjoy the concert experience and admire the performers. 

Performing is about connection not perfection. As musicians, we want to connect with our audience to communicate and share our music with them. It’s a sympathetic, almost supportive relationship, as the audience create atmosphere and a sense of occasion in the concert hall – and also affect the acoustic of the venue. That special relationship between musicians and audience has been much missed over the past year, and almost every musician I know cannot wait to be back in the concert hall performing to a real live audience once again.

Video

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Professional instructor and internationally celebrated pianist Matthew Xiong teaches musicians how to battle through performance anxiety

Guest article by Alexander Ross

Australian concert pianist and educator Matthew Xiong is bringing his talents to the United States, teaching musicians of all levels, as a specialist in the skill of helping pupils work through performance anxiety issues. Matthew began learning the piano at age five and went on to an internationally celebrated career. An instructor at multiple schools, including his school, Talent! Music Academy, and the well-known Merry Melody Music Academy in Boston that produces piano students who have won multiple awards at national piano competitions and performed at the renowned Carnegie Hall in Manhattan New York, Matthew began embracing the techniques and psychology behind defeating performance anxiety after battling through his own stage fright issues as a performer.

“My students’ fears are very real, and I completely empathize with their situation,” said Matthew. “Performance anxiety holds so many back from realizing their true potential. It’s a common problem, but very important that it be addressed methodically and carefully. Musicians can learn to work through these issues, but it takes slow, patient instruction from a seasoned performer who’s been through it.”

Matthew received his B.M in piano performance at the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music and holds a Master of Music degree from Boston University. He has worked with some of the most prominent piano pedagogues of this century, including John Perry, Margaret Hair, Robert McDonald, Gabriel Chodos, and Boaz Sharon. He has concertized at an international level as an artist, working at celebrated festivals such as the Kawai International Piano Masterclass Festival; the Sydney International Piano Masterclass Festival; the International Klaviersommer in Cochem, Germany; the Ian Hobson Steinway Society Festival in Puerto Rico; as well as the Beethoven Institute at Mannes, where he played works in dedication to the late composer, George Walker – the first African-American to receive a Pulitzer Prize for music composition.

Matthew was a prize-winner at several prestigious piano competitions, including the Sydney Classical Concerto Competition at the national Sydney Eisteddfod, where he won 2nd place, and he took runner-up in the Carnegie Concerto Competition at Boston University. Currently the Piano Director at Talent! Music Academy, Matthew now draws on his extensive experience in performance psychology to help scores of students overcome their fears, having first developed his teaching style while studying at the New England Conservatory. His innovative approach involves prolonged exposure to performance under pressure, by gentle, incremental intensity. By doing this, musicians slowly develop confidence on stage, without becoming overwhelmed by their fears.

“Many musicians come to me suffering from what looks like, a mild kind of PTSD. They are brilliant musicians that have been shell-shocked by the pressures of performing on stage,” said Matthew. Indeed, even the most renowned musicians have tasted the bitter fruit of anxiety that often goes hand in hand with performance. From mainstream artists such as Adele and Katy Perry to classical superstars such as soprano Renée Flemming and the legendary pianist, Vladimir Horowitz, they have all attested to feeling the claws of performance anxiety on their ankles, holding them back from their full potential. Many musicians claim that it only took one poor performance for their anxiety to spiral out of control as they become fully aware of just how vulnerable they are on stage.

Matthew holds classes with his piano studio where the students can choose just how much pressure they are willing to shoulder as to not become overwhelmed or tense. This may mean, they only play a few pages of music in front of 2 people; the student is in control of their environment. Matthew monitors the student carefully as they perform and stops them if he notices any indication of anxiety. It may be tension in the body, rushed and anxious playing, or hyperventilation, which he says is a physical embodiment of anxiety that generally doesn’t arise if the performer is calm and confident on stage. He points out what he notices to the student, and asks the student to draw their attention to the area which is showing the signs of anxiety (perhaps it’s tension in the arms, or shoulders shrugged up to their ears). The student will resume playing, and as their awareness of the part of themselves that generates the anxious response grows, the calmer they become on stage. After each performance, Matthew gives the student positive reinforcement so that they feel triumphant over their anxiety. He then keeps a log of the pressure level that each student willingly submitted to and encourages them to add a little bit more pressure in each subsequent session.

In conclusion, Matthew says, “We are often told that the act of performing is a muscle that needs to be trained to get better. Yet what happens if that metaphorical muscle is torn? – are athletes asked to push through a torn muscle? No. They go through rehabilitation to learn how to use that muscle again. Musician’s need to think the same way, performance anxiety is a trauma that is developed from psychic injury, and should be approached with the same care as a physical injury; gently and without overexertion.”

155451881_456029508784091_9056883481354279496_nMatthew Xiong is an Australian classical pianist based in Boston, Massachusetts. Born into a family with no musical roots, Matthew fell in love with classical music when he had a close encounter with Brahms’s 1st Symphony at a young age. Soon after, Matthew began his studies in piano. He has studied under many of the leading musicians of this time, among them are Margaret Hair, John Perry, Ian Hobson, Robert Mcdonald, and Ignat Solzhenitsyn. An avid chamber musician, Matthew has also worked with members of the Borromeo and Brentano quartets. Matthew received his Bachelor of Music at the New England Conservatory under the tutelage of Gabriel Chodos and Bruce Brubaker, and his Masters of Music at Boston University under Boaz Sharon.

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