![]() That concert was my introduction to an extraordinary man and his surprising talent. Here, somewhat later, she performs a Brahms violin sonata in A major.On a warm summer night in June of 1980, Leslie Lemke gave a piano concert in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The famous German violinist began lessons at five, and at thirteen played a major public concert in Salzburg conducted by the renowned Herbert von Karajan. Du Pre is credited with recording a legendary version of Elgar’s cello concerto Anne-Sophie Mutter Her performing career, and ultimately her life, was tragically cut short by multiple sclerosis. Daniel Barenboim and Sergiu Celibidache in Buenos Aires 1954 Jacqueline du Préĭu Pré began cello lessons when she was five and excelled at music schools in London over subsequent years. He has served since 1992 as general music director at the state opera in Berlin. He went on to become a chief conductor at the Paris Orchestra at aged 33. ![]() I’ll ask you one more thing.-Don’t ask me to try to forget this unpleasant thing and go play football.-Please-Sometimes I’ve been worrying about this so much that it makes me mad (not very).” Samuel Barber at the piano Daniel Barenboimīorn in Argentina, Barenboim gave his first public piano concert at aged eight in 1950. He wrote to his mother when he was nine, “I was meant to be a composer, and will be I’m sure. The 11-year-old Prokofiev already an accomplished composer plays fortepiano in 1902 Samuel Barberīarber began learning the piano at six and his first composition came a year later, a piano solo piece entitled Sadness. By his early 20s, he had already established his reputation as an extremely talented pianist. He produced his first compositions at five. Georges Bizet in 1875 Sergei ProkofievĪt four, he received his first lessons from his mother, and by aged thirteen he was accepted to study at the St Petersburg Conservatory, where he spent ten years. Bizet won several awards during his time at the Conservatoire, including the Prix de Rome. He came from a family of musicians, with both his mother and father talented in their own right. Maria and Teresa Milanollo Georges Bizetīizet was accepted at the Conservatoire de Paris at the age of nine even though it generally applied a minimum age limit of ten. She taught her younger sister Maria to play too, and she also emerged as a child prodigy. During her childhood, she also performed with Johan Strauss. Milanollo was born into a poor family and played concerts in several European countries, including Italy, England, and the Netherlands by the time she was ten. Portrait of young Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) Teresa Milanollo He went on to produce his first compositions when he was six. He began studying music theory at two and was playing the piano the following year. Frédéric Chopin at 19, by Ambroży Mieroszewski, 1829 Vincenzo BelliniĪccording to a hand-written history of Bellini’s early life, he was capable of singing an aria at eighteen months old. As a child performer, he was popular among the aristocracy in Warsaw, including grand duke Constantine of Russian Poland. His earliest surviving manuscript is from 1821 when he was eleven. Anonymous portrait of the child Mozart, possibly by Pietro Antonio Lorenzoni Frédéric ChopinĬhopin gave his first piano concert in Warsaw when he was seven, while at the same time composing his first pieces. His compositions quickly developed, and by eleven he wrote his first four piano concertos, including piano concerto no. ![]() He was playing the violin at aged four and wrote his first composition at five. Here are ten childhood prodigies who did just that. Even some musicians who began as child prodigies themselves have spoken out about the problems it can bring.īut on the other hand, it would seem unfair to restrict talented musicians from reaching their full potential. Particularly given the gruelling challenges thrown up by the modern music industry, the impact that a professional career can have on children at such a young age continues to be a subject for debate. New ways have emerged for younger performers to reach a wide audience, such as the BBC’s young musician of the year awards run in Britain. If anything, recent years have witnessed a growing number of children showing off their musical abilities, and not only in classical music. The phenomenon is by no means confined to the past. As well as Mozart, undoubtedly the most famous young talent, several other renowned composers got an early start in their musical career, including Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt and Mendelssohn to mention just a few. Stories of child prodigies in the classical genre have a long history, going back to some of the greatest composers in the 18th and 19th centuries.
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