List of child music prodigies

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.

Classical and opera

Piano and organ

Name	Instrument(s)	Debut	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
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]

Strings

Name	Instrument(s)	Debut	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
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]

Winds

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

Lennertz

Composing and conducting

Name	Talent	Debut	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)
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.
Wendy Vo	Composer	8	[60]

Non-classical genres

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'.

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]

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]

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
• Quinn Sullivan: Began playing guitar at age 3; has performed onstage with B.B. King and Buddy Guy
• Derek Trucks: Began playing with The Allman Brothers Band at age 11

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]

Post-war genres

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.
• 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.
• Bernie Worrell: Originally classically trained; wrote a concerto at age eight.
• Marvin Hamlisch: Became the youngest student ever accepted by the Juilliard School of Music at age seven.
• 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.

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.

Indian Artists

Hindustani-Classical Music

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

See also

• List of child prodigies
• List of musicians

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

References

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