{"id":3737,"date":"2021-09-09T06:53:31","date_gmt":"2021-09-09T06:53:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/standout\/?p=3737"},"modified":"2024-04-22T06:15:40","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T06:15:40","slug":"success-stories-ignasi-cambra-concert-pianist-plays-by-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iese.edu\/standout\/success-stories-ignasi-cambra-concert-pianist-plays-by-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Ignasi Cambra, concert pianist, plays by heart. Success stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ignasi Cambra began playing the piano at the age of six. At 17, as he prepared to embark on a degree in business administration, he was awarded a scholarship to study piano in the U.S. He went on to earn a Master\u2019s degree at the Juilliard School in New York, one of the world\u2019s finest music schools, and has played in concert halls across the globe. Throughout, he has provided an inspiring example of the human capacity to transform life\u2019s challenges into strengths.<\/h5>\n
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While excelling in music, Cambra has maintained his belief in the impactful potential of business. In 2021, coming full circle from his plans at age 17, he completed an Executive MBA at IESE.<\/h5>\n

<\/blockquote><\/span><\/div>[vc_column_text css_animation=”bottom-to-top”]It\u2019s been a tough year, but Barcelona-born pianist Ignasi Cambra<\/a> remains upbeat. With almost all his 2020 concerts canceled, he used the time to discover he also had an ear for business. Here he reflects on life, art and entrepreneurship…<\/p>\n

Music is what I\u2019ve always enjoyed<\/strong> since I began musical studies at age six, and it ended up being my profession without me ever really planning it. The music world is highly competitive. Like sports, many people try to do it professionally but very few actually make it. It\u2019s also extremely unfair. Admission rates at the world\u2019s top music schools are lower than for business schools. Many talented people who don\u2019t get in are just as good as, or even better than, those who do. Like many other professions, luck plays a part.<\/p>\n

Talent is important, but it\u2019s not everything,<\/strong> and neither is constant work. It\u2019s one thing to sit at the piano and play the notes, and another thing to practice in a way that\u2019s useful and where you\u2019re actually making progress. For me, if I practice more than five or six hours a day, I\u2019m just wasting my time, and if I keep going, I\u2019ll create bad habits. That took some time for me to understand.<\/p>\n

People always think it\u2019s incredible that I play by memory,<\/strong> except all pianists, sighted or not, play by memory. What\u2019s different is that they may learn the score by reading it through first, but they\u2019ll still have to memorize it. I learn by ear, which may be slower, but then I\u2019m memorizing it at the same time, so in a sense it\u2019s slightly more efficient.[\/vc_column_text]

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