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List of child music prodigies

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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.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1763, aged seven

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 (under 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]
William Crotch 1775 Organ, Fortepiano 3 At age 3 he played the organ of the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace.[12]
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.[13]
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[14]
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.[15]
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.[16][17]
Josef Hofmann 1876 Piano 10 [18]
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[19]
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.[20]
Franz Liszt 1811 Piano 9 Performed first major concert at age eleven[21]
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.[22]
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[23]
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.[24]
Pillar Osorio 1905 Piano 3 Performed, aged 3, in Leipzig. Step-sister to Pepito Arriola.[25]
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.
Sugar Chile Robinson 1938 Jazz 7 At age 7, Sugar Chile played to large audiences along stars such as Lionel Hampton.[26]
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.[27][28][29][30][31]
Bruno Steindel 1890 Piano 7 London debut at Crystal Palace concerts, October 9, 1897[32]
Vera Timanova 1855 Piano 9 At 11 began studying with Anton Rubinstein, and later with K. Tausig in Berlin.[33]
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]

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[34]
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.[35][36][37]
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[38]
Pio Cianchettini 1799 Composer, pianist 6[39] 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.[40]
Iris de Cairos Rego 1894 Composer, pianist 3 Starting composing and playing aged 3.[41]
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.[42]
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 [43]
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 and first ballet, ‘Der Schneemann’ at age 11. Piano sonata no.2 played by [Artur Schnabel] at 13; opera at 17.
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 [44]
Gian Carlo Menotti 1911 Composer, librettist, playwright, director 7 Started composing at 7; composed first opera at age eleven[45]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756 Composer 4 Wrote 25 symphonies, 8-9 operas and various concerti, vocal, and solo work before adulthood. At age 4 (or 5,) his first compositions were Andante (K. 1a) and Allegro. (K. 1b)[46]
Niccolò Paganini 1782 Composer, violinist 7 [47]
Sergei Prokofiev 1891 Composer, pianist, and conductor 5 Composed first piano piece at age 5. First operetta, The Giant composed at age 9 along with several other short operas.
Sergei Rachmaninoff 1873 Composer, pianist 11 First pieces from age 11+ show remarkable craft; 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 13; first oratorio performed publicly at age eleven and composed opera at age 13 [48]
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.
Clara Schumann 1819 Pianist, composer, piano teacher Composed 4 polonaises at 10, piano sonata at age 13, and premiered her own piano concerto aged 14-15.
Richard Strauss 1864 Composer, conductor 6 Composed his first song Weihnachtslied aged 6. Composed Winterreise and other songs aged 7. His first orchestral composition, an overture to the singspiel Hochlands Treue was composed in 1872/73.
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 [it] 1939 Conducting 8 Made his United States debut conducting a professional orchestra in Carnegie Hall.[49]
Willy Ferrero 1906 Conducting, Composing 4 First conducting appearance in Paris at the age of four, attended by Jules Massenet. At the age of seven, conducted an orchestra of 150 Instruments at the Augusteum in Rome, an auditorium seating 5,000.[50]
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]
  1. ^ a b c The age at which the musician had their first public performance.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Martha Argerich (Piano) – Short Biography". www.bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  6. ^ "Kit Armstrong". Freewebs.com. Archived from the original on 2010-11-21. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  7. ^ "Claudio Arrau Biography". Princeton.edu. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  8. ^ "BBC - BBC Four - Audio Interviews - Daniel Barenboim". 2007-12-17. Archived from the original on 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  9. ^ "Radio 3 – Composer of the Week – 1. Early promise". BBC. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  10. ^ Jachimecki, p. 420.
  11. ^ "Augusta Cottlow, Prodigy". Musical Courier. 80 (11): 24. 11 March 1920.
  12. ^ "Account of the Musical Phenomænon". The London Magazine. Vol. 48. London: R. Baldwin. April 1779. pp. 147–149.
  13. ^ Crimp, Bryan (1984). Solo : the biography of Solomon. Northumberland, UK: Appian Publications. p. 19.
  14. ^ Jeffrey Biegel Performer Blog (2006-01-10). "Jeffrey Biegel". Sequenza21.com. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  15. ^ Otto Hegner, Eastern Evening News, 28 March 1888, p.3
  16. ^ Leggett, Steve. "Cory Henry : Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  17. ^ Incollingo, Joe (February 25, 2016). "Snarky Puppy's Cory Henry on five organ essentials". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ "Music – Artists". BBC. Archived from the original on 2006-08-22. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  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.
  21. ^ "The Musical Times: Franz Liszt 1811-1886". Archived from the original on 2006-09-29. Retrieved 2006-02-04.
  22. ^ "Mozart family".
  23. ^ "Mozart's Vienna". Luxurytraveler.com. Archived from the original on 2010-12-04. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  24. ^ Illustrated London News, 16 July 1853, p.13
  25. ^ Hucknall Morning Star and Advertiser, 29 January 1909, p.2
  26. ^ Larkin,Colin (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Guinness Publishing. ISBN 0-85112-939-0, pp. 2111.
  27. ^ Eliza (2023-10-25). "Who's Rachmaninoff's Last Student?". Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  28. ^ "Ruth Slenczynska Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  29. ^ "Piano legend Ruth Slenczynska". ABC listen. 2020-12-05. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  30. ^ Wilson College. "Skinner Series Presents First Artist, Piano Personality, Ruth Slenczynska". The Wilson Billboard. XXXIX (5).
  31. ^ Rockwell, John (1984-11-15). "PIANO: RUTH SLENCZYNSKA". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  32. ^ Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 4 September 1897, p.20
  33. ^ Wilson, Lyle (1985). A dictionary of pianists. New York: Schirmer Books.
  34. ^ "Samuel Barber". Schirmer.com. Archived from the original on 2006-09-14. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  35. ^ 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.
  36. ^ "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.
  37. ^ "World's Smartest Kids". Oprah.com. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  38. ^ "Fryderyk Chopin: Poet of the Piano". 2008-02-09. Archived from the original on 2008-02-09. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  39. ^ Composed his Rondo for Forte Piano, aged 6. It was dedicated to the infant Prince Napoleon Charles, eldest son of Louis Napoleon and Hortense.
  40. ^ "Infant Prodigies". The Tatler. 16 Mar 1904. p. 456.
  41. ^ Musical Prodigy, Kentish Independent, 16 June 1905, p.5
  42. ^ 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.
  43. ^ "Biography". Morton Gould 20th Century American Composer. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
  44. ^ "Felix Mendelssohn Bio". Archived from the original on January 10, 2006. Retrieved February 4, 2006.
  45. ^ "Gian Carlo Menotti". Schirmer.com. 1911-07-07. Archived from the original on 2006-09-14. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  46. ^ 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)
  47. ^ "Legendary Violinists. Niccolo Paganini". Thirteen.org. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  48. ^ "Nino Rota, Un timido protagonista del Novecento musicale". EDT.it. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 2022-04-14., pp. 179-180.
  49. ^ Syracuse Herald Journal Newspaper Archives February 29, 1948 Page 14
  50. ^ Audigier, Louis Bailey (1915). "Conducting an orchestra at the age of seven". Musical America. 21 (24): 3.

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
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