Pallavi Mahidhara: On Practicing for Flexibility, Not Perfection

Playing for other people, whether it’s an audience of one, a dozen, or several hundred, can be a stressful thing! So it’s easy to focus on the negative aspects of performance, like how to manage nerves and avoid mistakes. But performing can also be a real thrill, and one of the most satisfying and meaningful things we do in music. So I thought it might be fun to explore performing and practicing from this more positive angle as well. My guest today is pianist Pallavi Mahidhara. A prizewinner at the Geneva International Piano Competition and the International Prokofiev Competition in Saint Petersburg Russia, Pallavi has performed across five continents, and at festivals such as Marlboro and Verbier. She also hosts the “Conscious Artist” podcast, which promotes mental health awareness for performing artists, and is often invited to give workshops and master classes at universities and summer programs as well. In this episode, you’ll hear Pallavi describe how practicing and performing are separate, how practicing and performing are connected, how she is able to look for the good rather than the bad in each piano she plays, how she is able to be present and trust herself in performance, and why it’s helpful - both in music and in life - to have no regrets. Get all the nerdy details right here: Pallavi Mahidhara: On Practicing for Flexibility, Not Perfection More from The Bulletproof Musician Get the free weekly newsletter , for more nerdy details and bonus subscriber-only content. Pressure Proof : A free 7-day performance practice crash course that will help you shrink the gap between the practice room and the stage. Learning Lab : A continuing education community where musicians and learners are putting research into practice. Live and self-paced courses

You can listen to Pallavi Mahidhara: On Practicing for Flexibility, Not Perfection online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Pallavi Mahidhara: On Practicing for Flexibility, Not Perfection is an episode from The Bulletproof Musician by Noa Kageyama.

This episode is 48:29 long.

This episode was published on Nov 30, 2025.

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