List of child music prodigies
Appearance
![a child (Mozart) in formal embroidered 18th century costume, left hand thrust into his waistcoat. He looks directly out of the picture, although his body is turned towards the right.](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Wolfgang-amadeus-mozart_2.jpg/200px-Wolfgang-amadeus-mozart_2.jpg)
A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain to the level of an adult expert performer.[1][2][3] This is a list of young children (around age 10) who displayed a talent in music deemed to make them competitive with skilled adult musicians. The list is sorted by instrument.
Classical
[edit]Piano
[edit]Name | Born | Instrument | Debut[a] | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Charles-Valentin Alkan | 1813 | Piano | 5 | Entered Paris Conservatoire at age 5, youngest ever admission.[4] |
Martha Argerich | 1941 | Piano | 4 | Orchestral debut at age eight[5] |
Pepito Arriola | 1896 | Piano | 3 | Performed the Beethoven C Minor Concerto at the Royal Albert Hall aged 9 with the LSO and Frederic Hymen Cowen. |
Kit Armstrong | 1992 | Piano | 5 | Concerto debut at eight; Morton Gould Young Composer Award for five consecutive years[6] |
Claudio Arrau | 1903 | Piano | 5 | Could read notes before letters[7] |
Daniel Barenboim | 1942 | Piano | 7 | [8] |
Emily Bear | 2001 | Piano | 5 | Composed and released her first piano album at age five [citation needed] |
Vincenzo Bellini | 1801 | Piano | 5 | Began studying music theory at two, the piano at three, and by the age of five could apparently play well |
Lili Boulanger | 1893 | Piano, violin, cello, harp | 6 | Attended Louis Vierne's organ classes at the Paris Conservatoire at age six[9] |
Frédéric Chopin | 1810 | Piano | 7 | Wrote his first composition, a polonaise, which is still studied and performed today.[10] |
Augusta Cottlow | 1878 | Piano | 6 | Aged 10 performed a recital which included Haydn C major fantasie; Beethoven G major rondo, op.15; Beethoven G major sonata, op.14, No.2; Chopin E flat nocturne, op.9, No.2; Chopin A minor waltz, op.34, No.2, and Les Charmes de Paris by Moscheles.[11] |
Solomon Cutner | 1902 | Piano | 8 | Performed at Queen's Hall London, June 1911, when he played Mozart's Concerto No.15 in B flat, K.450, as well as the central movement of the Tchaikovsky first concerto, and finally the Polacca by Alice Verne-Bredt.[12] |
Georges Cziffra | 1921 | Piano | 9 | Entered the Franz Liszt Academy at age nine, after some four years performing in a traveling circus |
Carl Filtsch | 1830 | Piano | 6 | Composed concerto at thirteen; died at age fourteen[13] |
Nelson Freire | 1944 | Piano | 5 | He made his first public appearance at the age of five playing Mozart's Sonata K. 331. |
Charly García | 1951 | Piano | 5 | Gave his first public recital at age five, became a music professor at age twelve. |
Clara Haskil | 1895 | Piano | 5 | Gave her first concert in Vienna in 1902. |
Otto Hegner | 1876 | Piano | 8 | Caused a sensation in London in 1888.[14] |
Cory Henry | 1987 | Piano, Organ | 6 | Began playing both the piano and the B3 organ at two years old; played a recital at the Apollo Theater when he was six.[15][16] |
Josef Hofmann | 1876 | Piano | 10 | [17] |
Ernest Hutcheson | 1871 | Piano, Composer | 5 | Gave his first public recitals aged five; entered the Leipzig Conservatory at the age of fourteen. |
Maryla Jonas | 1911 | Piano | 9 | Made her debut with the Warsaw Philharmonic in 1920. |
Evgeny Kissin | 1971 | Piano | 10 | Entered music school at age six[18] |
Raoul Koczalski | 1884 | Piano | 4 | Debut in St. Petersburg; noted Chopin exponent. |
Alicia de Larrocha | 1923 | Piano | 5 | She gave her first public performance at the age of five at the International Exposition in Barcelona.[19] |
Franz Liszt | 1811 | Piano | 9 | Performed first major concert at age eleven[20] |
Maria Anna Mozart | 1751 | Harpsichord, fortepiano | 7 | Performed all over Europe with her father Leopold and brother Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Her career was thwarted by the gender roles of her time, and her domineering father demanded she marry.[21] |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | 1756 | Piano, violin, composition | 4 | One of the most prolific composers of the Classical Era. Performed all over Europe with his father Leopold and sister Nannerl[22] |
Elisey Mysin | 2010 | Piano | 8 | At the age of eight, without a score, he performed Mozart's Concerto No. 3 in D major in Naberezhnye Chelny, Russia |
Arthur Napoleon | 1844 | Piano | 4 | At the age of four, appeared at the Philharmonic Society of Oporto. Appeared in Paris in 1853, where Hector Berlioz noted his success in the Journal des Débats.[23] |
Pillar Osorio | 1905 | Piano | 3 | Performed, aged 3, in Leipzig. Step-sister to Pepito Arriola.[24] |
Daniel Pollack | 1935 | Piano | 9 | Made his debut with the New York Philharmonic at the age of nine, performing the Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1. |
Camille Saint-Saëns | 1835 | Piano | 5 | Gave his first public recital at age five |
Ernest Schelling | 1876 | Piano, Composer | 4 | Debut at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. |
Ruth Slenczynska | 1925 | Piano | 6 | She played her debut in Berlin at age six and made her debut in Paris with a full orchestra at seven years of age.[25][26][27][28][29] |
Bruno Steindel | 1890 | Piano | 7 | London debut at Crystal Palace concerts, October 9, 1897[30] |
Vera Timanova | 1855 | Piano | 9 | At 11 began studying with Anton Rubinstein, and later with K. Tausig in Berlin.[31] |
Geoffrey Tozer | 1954 | Piano | 8 | Aged eight, Tozer performed Bach's Concerto No. 5 in F minor with the Victorian Symphony Orchestra, Australia |
Strings
[edit]- Sarah Chang, violinist (born 1980)
- Chloe Chua, violinist (born 2007)
- Mischa Elman, violinist (1891–1967)
- Jean Gérardy, cellist (1877–1929)
- Ida Haendel, violinist (1928–2020)
- Jascha Heifetz, violinist (1901–1987)
- Bronisław Huberman, violinist (1882–1947)
- Dylana Jenson, violinist (born 1961)
- Joseph Joachim, violinist (1831–1907)
- Yo-Yo Ma, cellist (born 1955)
- Yehudi Menuhin, violinist (1916–1999)
- Vadim Repin, violinist (born 1971)
- Florizel von Reuter, violinist (1890–1985)
- Joseph Szigeti, violinist (1892–1973)
- János Starker, cellist (1924–2013)
- Maxim Vengerov, violinist (born 1974)
Composing
[edit]Name | Born | Talent | Age of first composition[a] | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Samuel Barber | 1910 | Composer, conductor | 7 | Attempted an opera at age ten; attended the Curtis Institute of Music at age fourteen[32] |
Ethan Bortnick | 2000 | Composer, pianist | 5 | Ethan began playing a keyboard at the age of three and was composing music by the age of five.[33][34]"World's Smartest Kids". Oprah.com. Retrieved 2024-04-07.</ref> |
Ferruccio Busoni | 1866 | Pianist, composer, conductor, editor, writer, and educator | 7 | Composed quartet at age 11 |
Frédéric Chopin | 1810 | Composer | 7 | Began concerts and polonaises at age seven; attained notability by age fifteen[35] |
Pio Cianchettini | 1799 | Composer, pianist | 6[36] | Composed prolifically for the piano, performing a concerto of own composition in London in 1809 when he was 10. Edited Beethoven’s works for British publishers. |
Max Darewski | 1894 | Composer, pianist, conductor | 5 | Composed the waltz Le Rêve, aged 5. Conducted the massed bands numbering five thousand at Crystal Palace, aged 9.[37] |
Iris de Cairos Rego | 1894 | Composer, pianist | 3 | Starting composing and playing aged 3.[38] |
Alma Deutscher | 2005 | Composer, pianist, violinist | 5 | Composed first piano sonata at age six, first violin concerto at age nine, and first full-length opera, Cinderella, at age ten.[39] |
Carl Filtsch | 1830 | Composer, pianist | 9 | Pupil of Chopin, composed his first works for piano aged 9. |
César Franck | 1822 | Composer, organist, pianist, teacher | 12 | Attempted piano concerto at age 12 and cantata at age 13 among other various works. |
Morton Gould | 1913 | Composer, conductor, pianist | 6 | [40] |
Jay Greenberg | 1991 | Composer | 6 | Entered Juilliard school at age 10; first symphony at age 11 |
Evgeny Kissin | 1971 | Pianist and Composer | 6 | Started composing significant output at age 7 including early work, ‘Petrushka.’ |
Erich Wolfgang Korngold | 1897 | Composer, conductor | 7 | Started composing at age 7. Wrote cantata at age 9 and first ballet, ‘Der Schneemann’ at age 11. |
Franz Liszt | 1811 | Composer, pianist, conductor, teacher | 9? | Was the only child composer to write for a set of Diabelli variations at age 11, and composed opera at age 13. |
André Mathieu | 1929 | Composer and pianist | 4 | Wrote etudes and other works at age 4; piano concertino at age 7 performed with orchestra. |
Felix Mendelssohn | 1809 | Composer, conductor | 12 | [41] |
Gian Carlo Menotti | 1911 | Composer, librettist, playwright, director | 7 | Started composing at 7; composed first opera at age eleven[42] |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | 1756 | Composer | 4 | His first compositions were Andante (K. 1a) and Allegro (K. 1b)[43] |
Niccolò Paganini | 1782 | Composer, violinist | 7 | [44] |
Sergei Prokofiev | 1891 | Composer, pianist, and conductor | 5 | Composed first piano piece at age 5. First operetta, ‘The Giant’ composed at age 9. |
Sergei Rachmaninoff | 1873 | Composer, pianist | 11 | Wrote first published work, Piano Piece in D-minor at age 11; many other pieces in teen years; Piano Concerto No.1 composed from age 17-18. |
Nino Rota | 1911 | Composer | 8 | First piano composition at age eight; attended Milan Conservatory at age 9; first opera performed publicly at age eleven [45] |
Anton Rubinstein | 1829 | Pianist, composer, conductor | 11 | Composed piano etude, ‘Ondine’ at age 11. |
Camille Saint-Saëns | 1835 | Composer, organist, conductor, and pianist | 3 | Wrote first pieces at age 3 |
Franz Schubert | 1797 | Composer, pianist, violinist | Composed various works from a young age | |
Clara Schumann | 1819 | Pianist, composer, piano teacher | Composed 4 polonaises at 10, piano sonata at age 13, and premiered her own piano concerto age age 14-15. | |
Blind Tom Wiggins | 1849 | Composer, pianist | 4 | Composed music from the age 4-5 including pieces like ‘The Rainstorm’ He and was able to memorize entire speeches with nuances. |
Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga | 1806 | Composer | Wrote opera Los esclavos felices at age 14 and over 100 works before he died at age 20. Was praised as a student of Cherubini. |
Conducting
[edit]Name | Born | Talent | Debut[a] | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ferruccio Burco | 1939 | Conducting | 8 | Made his United States debut conducting a professional orchestra in Carnegie Hall.[46] |
Lorin Maazel | 1930 | Conducting | 8 | Began conducting at age 7, studying under Vladimir Bakaleinikov and made debut at age 8. He conducted the National High School Orchestra at Interlochen Center for the Arts and subsequently the New York World’s Fair. |
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Feldman, David H.; Morelock, M. J. (2011). "Prodigies". In Runco, Mark A.; Pritzker, Steven R. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Creativity (2nd ed.). Academic Press. pp. 261–265. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-375038-9.00182-5. ISBN 978-0-12-375038-9.
For the purposes of this and future research, a prodigy was defined as a child younger than 10 years of age who has reached the level of a highly trained professional in a demanding area of endeavor.
- ^ Rose, Lacey (2 March 2007). "Whiz Kids". Forbes. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
At the moment, the most widely accepted definition is a child, typically under the age of 10, who has mastered a challenging skill at the level of an adult professional.
- ^ Feldman, David Henry (Fall 1993). "Child prodigies: A distinctive form of giftedness". Gifted Child Quarterly. 27 (4): 188–193. doi:10.1177/001698629303700408. S2CID 144180264.
- ^ Conway, David (2012). Jewry in Music: Entry to the Profession from the Enlightenment to Richard Wagner. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-01538-8, pp. 222–224.
- ^ "Martha Argerich (Piano) – Short Biography". www.bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
- ^ "Kit Armstrong". Freewebs.com. Archived from the original on 2010-11-21. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
- ^ "Claudio Arrau Biography". Princeton.edu. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
- ^ "BBC - BBC Four - Audio Interviews - Daniel Barenboim". 2007-12-17. Archived from the original on 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
- ^ "Radio 3 – Composer of the Week – 1. Early promise". BBC. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
- ^ Jachimecki, p. 420.
- ^ "Augusta Cottlow, Prodigy". Musical Courier. 80 (11): 24. 11 March 1920.
- ^ Crimp, Bryan (1984). Solo : the biography of Solomon. Northumberland, UK: Appian Publications. p. 19.
- ^ Jeffrey Biegel Performer Blog (2006-01-10). "Jeffrey Biegel". Sequenza21.com. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
- ^ Otto Hegner, Eastern Evening News, 28 March 1888, p.3
- ^ Leggett, Steve. "Cory Henry : Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
- ^ Incollingo, Joe (February 25, 2016). "Snarky Puppy's Cory Henry on five organ essentials". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
- ^ "PMC ESSAYS: Zakrzewska – Pianists 100 Years Ago (2)". Usc.edu. 2000-08-08. Archived from the original on 2010-02-26. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
- ^ "Music – Artists". BBC. Archived from the original on 2006-08-22. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
- ^ "Alicia de Larrocha, Renowned Pianist, Dies at 86 - TIME". 2009-10-01. Archived from the original on 2009-10-01. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
- ^ "The Musical Times: Franz Liszt 1811-1886". Archived from the original on 2006-09-29. Retrieved 2006-02-04.
- ^ "Mozart family".
- ^ "Mozart's Vienna". Luxurytraveler.com. Archived from the original on 2010-12-04. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
- ^ Illustrated London News, 16 July 1853, p.13
- ^ Hucknall Morning Star and Advertiser, 29 January 1909, p.2
- ^ Eliza (2023-10-25). "Who's Rachmaninoff's Last Student?". Retrieved 2024-01-07.
- ^ "Ruth Slenczynska Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
- ^ "Piano legend Ruth Slenczynska". ABC listen. 2020-12-05. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
- ^ Wilson College. "Skinner Series Presents First Artist, Piano Personality, Ruth Slenczynska". The Wilson Billboard. XXXIX (5).
- ^ Rockwell, John (1984-11-15). "PIANO: RUTH SLENCZYNSKA". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
- ^ Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 4 September 1897, p.20
- ^ Wilson, Lyle (1985). A dictionary of pianists. New York: Schirmer Books.
- ^ "Samuel Barber". Schirmer.com. Archived from the original on 2006-09-14. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
- ^ By (2010-05-14). "Hollywood piano prodigy, 9, to headline benefit concert in North Miami Beach". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2024-04-07. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
- ^ "Youngest musician to headline a solo concert tour (male)". Guinness World Records. 2010-10-03. Archived from the original on 2024-01-07. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
- ^ "Fryderyk Chopin: Poet of the Piano". 2008-02-09. Archived from the original on 2008-02-09. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
- ^ Composed his Rondo for Forte Piano, aged 6. It was dedicated to the infant Prince Napoleon Charles, eldest son of Louis Napoleon and Hortense.
- ^ "Infant Prodigies". The Tatler. 16 Mar 1904. p. 456.
- ^ Musical Prodigy, Kentish Independent, 16 June 1905, p.5
- ^ Eddy, Melissa (June 14, 2019). "A Musical Prodigy? Sure, but Don't Call Her 'a New Mozart'". The New York Times. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- ^ "Biography". Morton Gould 20th Century American Composer. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
- ^ "Felix Mendelssohn Bio". Archived from the original on January 10, 2006. Retrieved February 4, 2006.
- ^ "Gian Carlo Menotti". Schirmer.com. 1911-07-07. Archived from the original on 2006-09-14. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
- ^ Cliff Eisen, Stanley Sadie, '(Johann Chrysostom) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart', Grove Music Online Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine ed. L. Macy (Accessed May 9, 2006)
- ^ "Legendary Violinists. Niccolo Paganini". Thirteen.org. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
- ^ "Nino Rota, Un timido protagonista del Novecento musicale". EDT.it. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 2022-04-14., pp. 179-180.
- ^ Syracuse Herald Journal Newspaper Archives February 29, 1948 Page 14
- "Mozart family". Grove Music Online. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
Further reading
[edit]- Musical Prodigies: Masters at an Early Age by Renee B. Fisher ISBN 0-8096-1854-0
- Musical Prodigies: Perilous Journeys, Remarkable Lives by Claude Kenneson ISBN 1-57467-046-8