List of child music prodigies

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 age 10) who displayed a talent in music deemed to make them competitive with skilled adult musicians. The list is sorted by genre and instrument.

Classical[]

Piano[]

Name	Born	Instrument	Debut^[a]	Notes
Charles-Valentin Alkan	1813	Piano, composition	5	Entered Paris Conservatoire at age 5, youngest ever admission.^[4]
Martha Argerich	1941	Piano	4	Orchestral debut at age eight^[5]
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]
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^[11]
Josef Hofmann	1876	Piano	10	^[12]
Evgeny Kissin	1971	Piano	10	Entered music school at age six^[13]
Franz Liszt	1811	Piano	9	Performed first major concert at age eleven^[14]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart	1756	Piano, violin	4	One of the most prolific composers of the Classical Era. Performed all over Europe with his father Leopold and sister Nannerl^[15]
Sergei Prokofiev	1891	Piano	9	Composed an opera at age nine
Camille Saint-Saëns	1835	Piano	5	Gave his first public recital at age five

Strings[]

Joseph Joachim (1831–1907)
Jascha Heifetz (1901–1987)
Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999)
Ida Haendel (1928–2020)
Yo-Yo Ma (born 1955)

Composing[]

Name	Born	Talent	Debut^[a]	Notes
Samuel Barber	1910	Composer, conductor	7	Attempted an opera at age ten; attended the Curtis Institute of Music at age fourteen^[16]
Frédéric Chopin	1810	Composer	7	Began concerts and polonaises at age seven; attained notability by age fifteen^[17]
Alma Deutscher	2005	Composer, pianist, violinist	6	Composed first piano sonata at age six, first violin concerto at age nine, and first full-length opera, Cinderella, at age ten.^[18]
Felix Mendelssohn	1809	Composer, conductor	9	^[19]
Gian Carlo Menotti	1911	Composer	7	Composed first opera at age eleven^[20]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart	1756	Composer	4	His first compositions were Andante (K. 1a) and Allegro (K. 1b)^[21]
Niccolò Paganini	1782	Composer, violinist	7	^[22]

Notes[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b The age at which the musician had their first public performance.

References[]

^ "Child Prodigies". in: Feldman, David H.; Morelock, M. J. (2011). "Prodigies". In Runco, Mark A.; Pritzker, Steven R. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Creativity. 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.
^ 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.
^ "Four – Audio Interviews – Daniel Barenboim". BBC. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
^ "Radio 3 – Composer of the Week – 1. Early promise". BBC. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
^ Jachimecki, p. 420.
^ Jeffrey Biegel Performer Blog (2006-01-10). "Jeffrey Biegel". Sequenza21.com. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
^ "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.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-09-29. Retrieved 2006-02-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Mozart's Vienna". Luxurytraveler.com. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
^ "Samuel Barber". Schirmer.com. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
^ "Fryderyk Chopin: Poet of the Piano". 2008-02-09. Archived from the original on 2008-02-09. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
^ Eddy, Melissa (June 14, 2019). "A Musical Prodigy? Sure, but Don't Call Her 'a New Mozart'". Retrieved September 2, 2020.
^ "Felix Mendelssohn Bio". Archived from the original on January 10, 2006. Retrieved February 4, 2006.
^ "Gian Carlo Menotti". Schirmer.com. 1911-07-07. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
^ Cliff Eisen, Stanley Sadie, '(Johann Chrysostom) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed May 9, 2006)
^ "Legendary Violinists. Niccolo Paganini". Thirteen.org. Retrieved 2010-09-20.