Memory Slip: Stage Fright and Performing Musicians.

This paper discusses stage fright as seen primarily in classical music performers. A confluence of narcissistic sensitivities, developmental issues, shame dynamics, physical injury and pain, and terrors pertaining to both psychic and bodily disintegration can fuel anxiety reactions in many people but hold particular relevance for the performing musician. Two classical music performers who struggled with stage fright are discussed: one was in treatment with the author; the other is the author herself, reflecting on her own performance anxiety as revealed through her analysis and her countertransference to her patient.