But, as Vidovic strides out, she destroys any remote possibilities of an Andres Segovia flashback. Young, beautiful, and dressed in an elegant white gown and high heels, she sits down to tune her guitar as a cell phone starts to ring.

“Oh, I forgot to shut my phone off,” says Vidovic, very un-Segovia like, as the audience laughs and applauds. “I guess I better do it now.”

Then, the 26-year-old student of students of Segovia proceeded to win the hearts and minds of the Herbst crowd with every piece she played. By the end of the evening—where Vidovic earned a sustained standing ovation—few would be surprised to learn that she had already performed more than 1,000 concerts throughout the world, had won various international competitions, and has released five CDs. Those wishing to experience the Vidovic phenomenon for themselves can seek out her Mel Bay DVD, Ana Vidovic: Guitar Virtuoso, or her upcoming Naxos of America CD of all Tórroba material.

You play a Jim Redgate guitar. What drew you to that instrument?
One of my friends played a Redgate, and he gave me the guitar to play a little bit. I liked it immediately—it’s one of the best instruments I’ve ever played. I was looking for a loud, powerful guitar, but I was also looking for a guitar that had a clean, warm, and beautiful sound that could be used to create many different tonal colors. I’ve found that it’s tricky to find a loud guitar that also has a very nice sound, but the Redgate has both.

What strings do you play?
I play Galli Titanium strings.

What is it about these strings that you like?
Galli strings last very long. I perform and practice a lot, so I need a string that will last a long time. If you are on tour, you really can’t change your strings that often because they need time to adjust. Each guitar has a different string that fits it well, and I feel that Galli is a good match for the Redgate.

You started playing guitar at the age of five, and you had already given your first public performance when you were seven. How did you manage to have the discipline and patience to sit and practice?
My father was the first one who saw that I had a talent. He made sure that I practiced, because it was hard for me to sit down for an hour. When you’re five years old, it’s very difficult. But I also remember that I wanted to play. Gradually, I would play for an hour and a half, and then two hours. By the time I was 11, I was playing for three or four hours. My brother Viktor was also sitting there with me, making sure I practiced well. He was my first teacher.

What did you practice?
When I started, I think I did a lot of Sor etudes. Later, when I started working with my teacher Istvan Romer in Croatia, he emphasized etudes and technical exercises. We also did Villa Lobos etudes, and a lot of exercises for the left hand and right hand. Eventually, we worked on musicality, but he emphasized technique a lot at that time.

What pieces were you playing?
I played a lot of Spanish repertoire—Tárrega, Albéniz, and some Scarlatti. I started playing Bach when I was 12, but my favorite was always Tárrega. I also liked playing Adelita, Lágrima, and Capricho Arabe.

You took private lessons for violin and cello in Zagreb. Were you actually playing these instruments?
No—I was just working with the teachers. Istvan encouraged me to do that, because he thought I would learn a lot about musicality and dynamics with those teachers.

Did you play guitar pieces for them?
Yeah. I worked a lot with the cello teacher on the Cello Suite by Bach, and it was really great to hear his opinions on how a cellist would interpret that piece. With the violin teacher, I worked on a couple of duos with violin. I don’t think I ever worked with him on guitar music. I was doing a lot of chamber music at that time, so he was just coaching me.

You attended master classes with David Russell, John Williams, and the Assad brothers. What did you learn from working with these individuals?
It’s just amazing to be around those people. I had maybe an hour lesson with all of them. With David Russell, we worked on Bach’s Cello Suite. He told me that I should always think in terms of music—that I should never let my technique get in the way of playing musically well. I thought that was good. With Williams, I had just a short conversation, and I played a little bit for him. He was very nice, and he had a lot of comments. I played a Tórroba piece for Odair Assad, and he worked a lot on musicality and dynamics. It was great to sit next to these people. You just remember that for the rest of your life.

What did you gain studying at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore with Manuel Barrueco?
It’s very hard when you’re studying with someone like him to process everything. He was very challenging to work with. He really pushed me to develop my musicality. We did not work much on technique. He really wanted me to analyze music. I didn’t pay that much attention to musicality before I came there. We also talked a lot about live performing, how to deal with nerves, anxiety on stage, and how to relax. I still learn from the things he said to me. It’s always a learning process.

How do you care for your nails?
I try to eat healthy, and I take some vitamins for nails. But I really don’t do much with my nails—I just try to file them every day to make them stronger. I try to keep them as short as possible, because I feel that I get a larger, stronger sound if I have shorter nails. I also feel like I have more control over dynamics.

What do you play on your upcoming CD?
It’s going to be all Tórroba music. I’m going to play “Castles of Spain,” “Puertas de Madrid,” and a couple of short pieces. I’ve never done that before, so I’m excited about it. I love Tórroba.

Do you have other favorite composers?
Oh, yeah. I love Bach. Bach is probably my favorite. I also like Rodrigo very much. I like Piazzolla, Leo Brouwer, and Scarlatti.

What is it about Bach that you particularly like?
There’s just something about Bach’s music. There’s nothing else like it out there. It’s very deep, and very challenging music. Every time I play Bach, I always feel that there’s something new to discover. It’s really fascinating just to analyze it.

Do you have any advice for aspiring classical guitarists?
One of the most important things is that our technique should not get in the way of our music. We are still a little bit impressed and concerned about how fast we play something, or how impressive it is. I think we should aim more towards playing as musically as we can. Music should come first. Of course, technique has to be there, but I think musicality is more important. You must also listen to the music a lot, look at the notes, and analyze the music—you can’t just sit there with the guitar.