Kato Havas is a Romanian born violin and viola teacher. Recently, my friend Kent Rylander gave me a book entitled Stage Fright that was passed along to him from a violinist. The author of the book is Havas. In the book, she discusses the idea that country Gypsy violinists in Romania never had stage fright like classically trained performers. In order to release stage fright, Havas believes that one should release the tension related to playing the violin. Not only will the release of tension cause more facility of technique, it will also allow the player to get rid of common stage fright. Havas shares several anecdotes in the book regarding her childhood as a performer and prodigy.
