第十三篇 Stage Fright1
Fall down as you come onstage. That’s an odd trick. Not recommended. But it saved the pianist
Vladimir Feltsman when he was a teenager back in Moscow. The veteran cellist Mstislav
Rostropovich tripped him purposely to cure him of pre-performance panic,2 Mr. Feltsman said, “
All my fright was gone. I already fell. What else could happen?”
Today, music schools are addressing the problem of anxiety in classes that deal with
performance techniques and career preparation. There are a variety of strategies that musicians
can learn to fight stage fright and its symptoms: icy fingers, shaky limbs, racing heart, blank
mind.3
Teachers and psychologists offer wide-ranging advice, from basics like learning pieces inside
out,4 to mental discipline, such as visualizing a performance and taking steps to relax. Don’t
deny that you’re jittery，they urge; some excitement is natural, even necessary for dynamic
playing. And play in public often, simply for the experience.
Psychotherapist Diane Nichols suggests some strategies for the moments before performance,
“Take two deep abdominal breaths, open up your shoulders, then smile,’’ she says. “And not
one of these ‘please don’t kill me’ smiles. Then choose three friendly faces in the
audience, people you would communicate with and make music to, and make eye contact with them.
”She doesn’t want performers to think of the audience as a judge.
Extreme demands by mentors or parents are often at the root of stage fright，says Dorothy
Delay, a well-known violin teawww.lindalemus.comcher. She tells other teachers to demand only what their students
are able to achieve.
When Lynn Harrell was 20，he became the principal cellist of the Cleverland Orchestra, and he
suffered extreme stage fright. “There were times when I got so nervous I was sure the audience
could see my chest responding to the throbbing. It was just total panic. I came to a point
where I thought,‘ If I have to go through this to play music, I think I’m going to look for
another job.”5 Recovery, he said, involved developing humility-recognizing that whatever his
talent, he was fallible，and that an imperfect concert was not a disaster.6
It is not only young artists who suffer, of course. The legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz’s
nerves were famous. The great tenor Franco Corelli is another example. “They had to push him
on stage,”Soprano Renata Scotto recalled.
Actually，success can make things worse. “In the beginning of your career, when you’re scared
to death, nobody knows who you are, and they don’t have any expectations,”Soprano June
Anderson said. “There’s less to lose. Later on, when you’re known, people are coming to see
you, and they have certain expectations. You have a lot to lose.”
Anderson added，“I nevwww.lindalemus.comcherer stop being nervous until I’ve sung my last note.”
词汇：
veteran / ˈvetərən / adj．经验丰富的
jittery / ˈdʒɪtəri / adj．紧张不安的
mentor / ˈmenˌtɔ: / n．指导者
soprano / səˈprprɑ:nəʊ / n．女高音；女高音歌手
cellist/ ˈtʃelɪst / n．大提琴演奏家
abdominal / æbˈdɔmənəl / adj．腹部的
fallible/ ˈfæləbəl / adj．易犯错误的
tenor /'tenə/ n．男高音
注释：
1．Stage Fright：舞台恐惧
2．The veteran cellist Mstislav Rostropovich tripped him purposely to cure him of pre-
performance panic…资深大提琴家米提斯拉夫罗斯特罗波维奇故意把他绊倒，因而治愈了他的上台前的恐
惧症……cure somebody of illness (problem)：医治好病（解决问题)
3．… its symptoms：icy fingers, shaky limbs, racing heart, blank mind…：……舞台恐惧的症状有
：手指冰凉、四肢颤抖、心跳加快和大脑一片空白……
4．Teachers and psychologists offer wide-ranging advice, from basics like learning pieces
inside out…：老师和心理学家给出了方方面面的建议，从基础的做法，比如详细地学习曲目…… inside
out：in great detail详细地，从里到外地
5．I came to a point wwww.lindalemus.comcherhere I thought，‘If I have to go through this to play music, I think I’
m going to look for another job’.：我曾经一度认为，如果演奏音乐就必须过怯场这一关的话，那我可
能得换其他工作了。
6．Recovery, he said, involved developing humility-recognizing that whatever his talent, he was
fallible, and that an imperfect concert was not a disaster.：他后来说，要克服恐惧重要的是学会谦
逊，即认识到不论自己多有才，总有可能会失误，一个有瑕疵的音乐会绝对不是世界末日。
练习：
1．Falling down onstage was not a good way for Vladimir Feltsman to deal with his stage fright.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
2．There are many signs of stage fright.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
3．Teachers and psychologists cannot help people with extreme -stage fright.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
4．To perform well on stage, you need to have some feelings of excitement.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
5．If you have stage fright, it's helpful to have friendly audience.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
6．Often people have stage fright because parents or teachers expect too much of them.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
7．Famous musicians never suffer from stage fright.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
答案与题解：
1．B 本文第一段讲的是钢琴家弗拉基米尔菲兹曼被米提斯拉夫罗斯特罗波维奇绊倒后，他的舞台恐惧
被治愈的经历。
2．A 第二段的最后一句点出舞台恐惧的诸多症状为：手指冰凉、四肢颤抖、心跳加快和大脑一片空白。
3．B 本文的第三、第四、第五和第六段都在讲老师和心理学家为舞台恐惧者提供全方位的建议。
4．A 依据第三段的倒数第二句：some excitement is natural, even necessary for dynamic playing.适
度的兴奋对于精彩演出是正常甚至是必要的。
5．C 第四段提到克服舞台恐惧的方法之一是：在观众中选择三位友好的面孔，与他们做眼光交流。而克服
舞台恐惧是否需要观众友好文中未提。
6．A 第五段讲了舞台恐惧的根源在于指导者或父母对表演者要求太高。extreme demands就是expect too
much of them的意思。
7．B 第七段讲的是：不只是年轻艺术家有舞台恐惧，钢琴家弗拉基米尔霍洛维茨和男高音弗朗科科莱
里亦不能幸免。never一词不恰当。
