List of music prodigies

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This is a list of music prodigies, young children (at or under age 12) who displayed a talent in music deemed to make them competitive with skilled adult musicians. The list is sorted by genre and instrument.

Contents 1 Classical and opera 1.1 Piano and organ 1.2 Strings 1.3 Winds 1.4 Composing and conducting 2 Non-classical genres 2.1 Bagpipes 2.2 Country and bluegrass 2.3 Folk and world music 2.4 Blues 2.5 Jazz and jazz-fusion 3 Post-war genres 3.1 R&B, soul,hip-hop, and funk 3.2 Pop 3.3 Alternative and rock 4 Indian Artists 4.1 Hindustani-Classical Music 5 See also 6 Further reading 7 References

[edit] Classical and opera

[edit] Piano and organ

Name	Instrument(s)	Debut[1]	Notes
Charles-Valentin Alkan	Piano	12	Entered Paris Conservatory of Music at age five, debut at age twelve
Martha Argerich	Piano	4	Orchestral debut at age eight [1]
Kit Armstrong	Piano	5	Concerto debut at 8; Morton Gould Young Composer Award for five consecutive years [2]
Claudio Arrau	Piano	5	Could read notes before letters [3]
Daniel Barenboim	Piano	7	[4]
Enrique Batiz	Piano	5	Now a conductor [5]
George Li	Piano	4	Pianist and prodigy, Carnegie Hall debut age 11, performed with numerous national orchestras around the world
Georges Bizet	Piano	9	Entered the Paris Conservatory at age 9
Victor Borge	Piano	8	Won a full scholarship to the Royal Danish Music Conservatory at the age of nine [6]
Lili Boulanger	Piano, violin, cello, harp		Attended Louis Vierne's organ classes at the Paris Conservatoire at age six [7]
Cameron Carpenter	Organ	11	Performed J. S. Bach's complete Well-Tempered Clavier from memory at age 11.
William Crotch	Organ	3	Became a composer and first Principal of the Royal Academy of Music [8]
Georges Cziffra	Piano		Entered the Franz Liszt Academy at nine, after some four years performing in a traveling circus.
Per Enflo	Piano	7	Won the Swedish competition for young pianists at age 11 in 1956 (and again in 1961). As a mathematician solved fundamental problems.
Richard Farrell	Piano	4	Made his first radio broadcast at age 4. At 7 he played his own composition, a lament on the death of an archbishop, in a public concert with the Wellington Symphony Orchestra. [9] [10]
Carl Filtsch	Piano	6	Composed concerto at thirteen; died at fourteen [11]
Felix Hell	Organ	8	Became a church organist at 8; won competitions at 9; began recording and touring shortly thereafter.
Józef Hofmann	Piano	10	[12]
Helen Huang	Piano	8	Performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age 8[2]
Evgeny Kissin	Piano	10	Entered music school at age six [13]
Aimi Kobayashi	Piano	3	Played concerts at 3 and with orchestras at 7, performed at Carnegie Hall, etc.
Lang Lang	Piano		Began playing at age two; entered Beijing Conservatory at age eight; won international competitions at age thirteen [14]
Ingmar Lazar	Piano	6	Solo debut at age 6 at the Salle Gaveau in Paris
Franz Liszt	Piano	9	Performed first major concert at age eleven [15]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart	Piano, violin	6	One of the most prolific composers of the Classical Era [16]
Leo Ornstein	Piano		Entered Saint Petersburg Conservatory at age ten [17]
Ronaldo Parrales	Piano	4	Entered the Royal Conservatory of Music at age eight. [18]
Sergei Prokofiev	Piano		Composed opera at age nine
Camille Saint-Saëns	Piano	5	Gave his first public recital at age 5.
Ernest Schelling	Piano	4	Began studies in Europe at age seven [19]
Philippa Schuyler	Piano	11	[20]
Ruth Slenczynska	Piano	11	Played with a full orchestra at age eleven; writer of Forbidden Childhood [21]
Alicia Witt	Piano	7	Won several piano competitions in the years after her debut [22]

[edit] Strings

Name	Instrument(s)	Debut[1]	Notes
Linda Brava	Violin	11	World-wide tours at age eight, leader of the prestigious Helsinki Juniorstrings at thirteen [23][24]
Guila Bustabo	Violin	9	Performed with the Chicago Symphony at age 9; made Carnegie Hall debut at age 15
Sarah Chang	Violin	8	[25]
Jacqueline du Pré	Cello	8	[26]
Midori Goto	Violin	11	[27]
Ryu Goto	Violin	7	[28]
Ida Haendel	Violin		Prizewinner in Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition at age six [29]
Jascha Heifetz	Violin	7	[30]
Yo-Yo Ma	Cello	5	Performed for audiences at 5; performed for John F. Kennedy at 7; appeared on TV at 8
Saundra (Berkova) Maazel	Violin	5	[31]
Yehudi Menuhin	Violin	7	[32]
Anne Akiko Meyers	Violin	7	[33]
Stefan Milenković	Violin	10	First international award at age seven [34]
Alma Moodie	Violin	6	Entered Brussels Conservatory at age 9; premiered concertos by Kurt Atterberg, Hans Pfitzner and Ernst Krenek[3]
David Oistrakh	Violin	6	[35]
Gloria Perkins	Violin	10	Played the Mendelssohn Concerto with the National Symphony in Washington at 10 years of age. [36]
Gregor Piatigorsky	Cello		Entered the Moscow Conservatory at age eleven; headed a quartet at age fifteen [37]
Michael Rabin	Violin	10	Could "keep beat" at age one [38]
Florizel von Reuter	Violin	10	Graduated from Geneva Conservatory at age 11, 1901 [39]
Ruggiero Ricci	Violin	10	Began international tours at age fourteen [40]
Clara Rockmore	Violin, theremin	9	Entered the Imperial Conservatory at age five, the youngest ever student [41]
Frank Peter Zimmermann	Violin	10	[42]

[edit] Winds

Name	Instrument(s)	Debut[1]	Notes
Raphael Severe	Clarinet	11	Played Mozart clarinet concerto in China three years only after starting to learn the clarinet.[43]

Lennertz

[edit] Composing and conducting

Name	Talent	Debut[4]	Notes
Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga	Composer	11	Composed a two-act opera at age thirteen [44]
Samuel Barber	Composer, conductor	7	Attempted an opera at age ten; attended the Curtis Institute of Music at age fourteen [45]
Georges Bizet	Composer		Entered the Paris Conservatoire at age ten [46]
Frédéric Chopin	Composer	7	Began concerts and polonaises at age seven; attained notability by age fifteen [47]
Ruth Gipps	Composer	8	[48]
Morton Gould	Composer, conductor	6	[49]
Jay Greenberg	Composer	12	Entered Juilliard School at age ten; composed five symphonies by age twelve [50]
Erich Wolfgang Korngold	Composer, conductor	11	[51]
Lorin Maazel	Conductor	7	[52]
Felix Mendelssohn	Composer, conductor	12	[53]
Gian Carlo Menotti	Composer	7	Composed first opera at age eleven [54]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart		5	His first compositions were Andante (K. 1a) and Allegro (K. 1b) [5]
Olli Mustonen		?	Composed a Divertimento for piano and orchestra at the age of 12, and his piano concerto at the age of 14. [55]
Niccolò Paganini	Composer, violinist	7	[56]
Alex Prior	Composer, conductor	8	[57]
Josef Rheinberger	Composer	7	Entered the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München at age twelve [58]
Nino Rota	Composer	11	Composed an oratorio at the age of 10, conducting performances in Italy and Paris.
Julian Scriabin	Composer	c. 9–11	[59]
Edgard Varèse	Composer, conductor	12	Composed first opera at age 12.[6]
Wendy Vo	Composer	8	[60]

[edit] Non-classical genres

[edit] Bagpipes

• John Burgess began playing at the age of four before turning professional at the age of sixteen. He was known as the 'King Of The Highland Pipers'.

[edit] Country and bluegrass

• Billy Gilman: Had a hit single and a platinum album at age eleven [61]; was nominated for a Grammy Award against adult competition at age twelve[62]
• Alison Krauss: Won local competitions at age ten and was named the most promising Midwestern fiddler at age twelve [63]
• Brenda Lee: Debuted at age ten [64]
• Doug Sahm: Played with Hank Williams at age eleven; released an album by age fourteen [65]; later helped form the rock band Sir Douglas Quintet and the Tejano music related Texas Tornados
• Ricky Skaggs: Mandolin virtuoso; performed with Flatt and Scruggs at age seven [66]
• Chris Thile: Cofounded Nickel Creek at age eight [67][68]

[edit] Folk and world music

• Areti Ketime: Debuted at age six; performed at the 2004 Summer Olympics at age fourteen [69]
• Adán Sánchez: Released first album at age eleven [70]

[edit] Blues

• Joe Bonamassa: Mastered Guitar at age 11, opened for B.B. King at age 13.
• Kenny Wayne Shepherd: Began at age seven; performed onstage with professionals at age thirteen^[7]
• Quinn Sullivan: Began playing guitar at age 3; has performed onstage with B.B. King and Buddy Guy^[8]
• Derek Trucks: Began playing with The Allman Brothers Band at age 11

[edit] Jazz and jazz-fusion

• Shelly Berg: Entered the Cleveland Institute of Music at age six; was a professional musician at age thirteen [71]
• Andy Bey: He played at clubs at 5, By age 12 he performed at the Apollo Theater with Louis Jordan[72] and had his first recording.[73]
• Francesco Cafiso: He worked with Franco D'Andrea at age 11 or 12.[74]
• Terri Lyne Carrington: Awarded a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music at age eleven [75]
• Dennis Chambers: began playing drums at age three, was professional at 9, was an 'in demand' drummer on the NYC music scene at the age of 14, and was a member of Parliament-Funkadelic at the age of 18.
• Cyrus Chestnut: Entered the Peabody Institute at age nine [76]
• Cy Coleman: Played in Carnegie Hall at age seven [77]
• Eldar Djangirov: "Discovered" at age nine; became the youngest musician to appear on Piano Jazz at age twelve; released his first CD at age fourteen [78]
• Taylor Eigsti: Opened for David Benoit at age eight and played with Dave Brubeck at age twelve [79]
• Herbie Hancock: Performed on piano with the Chicago symphony at age eleven; began playing jazz later in college [80]
• Buddy Rich: Began playing drums at 18 months old; was a bandleader by age eleven [81]
• Hilton Ruiz: Performed at Carnegie Recital Hall at age eight; played in an accordion symphony at age nine [82][83]
• Consuelo Velázquez: Began playing at age four [84]; performed piano concerto at age six [85]; wrote Bésame Mucho at age sixteen
• Mary Lou Williams: Taught herself piano before age five; played professionally by age thirteen [86]

[edit] Post-war genres

[edit] R&B, soul,hip-hop, and funk

• Michael Jackson: Joined his older siblings in the Jackson 5 at age five; his dancing, singing and performing abilities soon surpassed his older siblings; He had his first No.1 as a solo artist at age 13, and his first No.1 (as the lead singer of the Jackson 5) at age 11.^[9]
• Booker T. Jones: Keyboardist for Booker T and the M.G's was profecient at organ, piano, oboe, saxaphone, and trumbone by the age of 10. He began playing as a professional session musician at 16.
• Gladys Knight: Began performing at age four; won on the Original Amateur Hour at age seven; toured at age eight [87]
• Stevie Wonder: Skilled at multiple instruments early; signed to Motown at age eleven; first U.S. number-one hit at age thirteen.^[10]
• Bernie Worrell: Originally classically trained; wrote a concerto at age eight.^[11]

Lil Wayne: Released his debut album at 12 years old.

[edit] Pop

• Dido: Entered the Guildhall School of Music and Drama at age six.^[12]
• Marvin Hamlisch: Became the youngest student ever accepted by the Juilliard School of Music at age seven.^[13]
• Alex Wolff: co-star (with brother Nat) of the Nickelodeon series The Naked Brothers Band; learned how to play saxophone at the age of two years old.
• Nat Wolff: co-star (with brother Alex) of the Nickelodeon series The Naked Brothers Band; taught himself how to play piano at the age of four years old and began composing songs a year later.

[edit] Alternative and rock

• Tori Amos: She attended the Peabody Institute at age five and was expelled from it at 11.[88]
• Björk: Began classical study at age five; released an album at age eleven [89]
• Alanis Morissette: Released her first song at age ten, which later became an unsuccessful single; became a protege of a local folk musician; had her own record and record producing company at an early age [90]
• Wolfgang Van Halen: Son of Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen, Wolfgang began playing on-stage with the band at age 13, and was a full member of Van Halen at age 15. He plays guitar, electric bass, drums, and keyboard.
• Steve Winwood: Played organ in the "The Ron Atkinson Band" at age eight [91]; was backing blues legends by age thirteen on United Kingdom tours; became the keyboardist for The Spencer Davis Group at age fifteen [92]
• Charly Garcia: Played piano at age of three.
• Vangelis: Was composing at age of four.
• Jason Becker: Gifted electric guitarist afflicted with ALS
• Jordan Rudess: entered the Juilliard School of Music Pre-College Division for classical piano training at age nine. He currently plays keyboards, continuum, and synthesizers in the progressive metal band Dream Theater.

[edit] Indian Artists

[edit] Hindustani-Classical Music

• Ustad Zakir Hussain: A tabla maestro who was touring by the age of twelve.

[edit] See also

• List of child prodigies
• List of musicians

[edit] Further reading

• 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

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c} The age at which the musician had their first public performance.
2. ^ Helen Huang biography at Chamber Music International
3. ^ Kay Dreyfus, Alma Moodie and the Landscape of Giftedness, 2002
4. ^ The age at which the composer first composed.
5. ^ Cliff Eisen, Stanley Sadie, '(Johann Chrysostom) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed May 9, 2006)
6. ^ Opera Glass
7. ^ http://www.mp3.com/kenny-wayne-shepherd/artists/17399/biography.html
8. ^ http://www.jambase.com/Articles/16866/B.B.-King-Buddy-Guy-|-02.21.09-|-NYC
9. ^ CBS: Pop Icon Looks Back At A "Thriller" Of A Career In New Interview
10. ^ allmusic ((( Stevie Wonder > Biography )))
11. ^ Bernie Worrell | View the Music Artists Biography Online | VH1.com
12. ^ Dido (I) - Biography
13. ^ Broadway: The American Musical . Stars Over Broadway . Marvin Hamlisch | PBS