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 instrument.
| Name | Born | Instrument | Debut [lower-alpha 1] | 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] |
| 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. [11] |
| 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 [12] |
| 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. [13] |
| 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. [14] [15] |
| Josef Hofmann | 1876 | Piano | 10 | [16] |
| 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 [17] |
| 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. [18] |
| Franz Liszt | 1811 | Piano | 9 | Performed first major concert at age eleven [19] |
| 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. [20] |
| 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 [21] |
| 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. [22] |
| Pillar Osorio | 1905 | Piano | 3 | Performed, aged 3, in Leipzig. Step-sister to Pepito Arriola. [23] |
| 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. |
| 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 |
| 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. [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] |
| Bruno Steindel | 1890 | Piano | 7 | London debut at Crystal Palace concerts, October 9, 1897 [29] |
| Vera Timanova | 1855 | Piano | 9 | At 11 began studying with Anton Rubinstein, and later with K. Tausig in Berlin. [30] |
| Name | Born | Talent | Debut [lower-alpha 1] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samuel Barber | 1910 | Composer, conductor | 7 | Attempted an opera at age ten; attended the Curtis Institute of Music at age fourteen [31] |
| Ethan Bortnick | 2000 | Composer, pianist | 7 | Ethan began playing a keyboard at the age of three and was composing music by the age of five. [32] [33] "World's Smartest Kids". Oprah.com. Retrieved 2024-04-07.</ref> |
| Ferruccio Busoni | 1866 | Pianist, composer, conductor, editor, writer, and educator | Composed quartet at age 11 | |
| Frédéric Chopin | 1810 | Composer | 7 | Began concerts and polonaises at age seven; attained notability by age fifteen [34] |
| Pio Cianchettini | 1799 | Composer, pianist | 6 [35] | 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 | Composed the waltz Le Rêve, aged 5. Conducted the massed bands numbering five thousand at Crystal Palace, aged 9. [36] | |
| Iris de Cairos Rego | 1894 | Composer, pianist | Starting composing and playing aged 3. [37] | |
| 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. [38] |
| Carl Filtsch | 1830 | Composer, pianist | Pupil of Chopin, composed his first works for piano aged 9. | |
| César Franck | 1822 | Composer, organist, pianist, teacher | Attempted piano concerto at age 12 and cantata at age 13 among other various works. | |
| Morton Gould | 1913 | Composer, conductor, pianist | 6 | [39] |
| Jay Greenberg | 1991 | Composer | Entered Juilliard school at age 10; first symphony at age 11 | |
| Evgeny Kissin | 1971 | Pianist and Composer | Started composing significant output at age 7 including early work, ‘Petrushka.’ | |
| Erich Wolfgang Korngold | 1897 | Composer, conductor | 9 | Started composing at age 7. Wrote cantata at age 9 and first ballet, ‘Der Schneemann’ at age 11. |
| Franz Liszt | 1811 | Composer, pianist, conductor, teacher | 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 | Wrote etudes and other works at age 4; piano concertino at age 7 performed with orchestra. | |
| Felix Mendelssohn | 1809 | Composer, conductor | 9 | [40] |
| Gian Carlo Menotti | 1911 | Composer, librettist, playwright, director | 7 | Started composing at 7; composed first opera at age eleven [41] |
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | 1756 | Composer | 4 | His first compositions were Andante (K. 1a) and Allegro (K. 1b) [42] |
| Niccolò Paganini | 1782 | Composer, violinist | 7 | [43] |
| Sergei Prokofiev | 1891 | Composer, pianist, and conductor | Composed first piano piece at age 5. First operetta, ‘The Giant’ composed at age 9. | |
| Sergei Rachmaninoff | 1873 | Composer, pianist | Wrote first published work, Piano Piece in D-minor at age 11; many other pieces in teen years; 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 9; first opera performed publicly at age eleven [44] |
| Anton Rubinstein | 1829 | Pianist, composer, conductor | Composed piano etude, ‘Ondine’ at age 11. | |
| Camille Saint-Saëns | 1835 | Composer, organist, conductor, and pianist | Wrote first pieces at age 3 | |
| Franz Schubert | 1797 | Composer, pianist, violinist | Composed various works from a young age | |
| Clara Schumann | 1819 | Pianist, composer, piano teacher | Composed 4 polonaises at 10, piano sonata at age 13, and premiered her own piano concerto age age 14-15. | |
| Blind Tom Wiggins | 1849 | Composer, pianist | Composed music from the age 4-5 including pieces like ‘The Rainstorm’ He and was able to memorize entire speeches with nuances. | |
| Name | Born | Talent | Debut [lower-alpha 1] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferruccio Burco | 1939 | Conducting | 8 | Made his United States debut conducting a professional orchestra in Carnegie Hall. [45] |
Sarah Chang is a Korean American classical violinist. Recognized as a child prodigy, she first played as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1989. She enrolled at Juilliard School to study music, graduated in 1999, and continued university studies. Especially during the 1990s and early to mid-2000s, Chang had major roles as a soloist with many of the world's major orchestras.
Murray David Perahia is an American pianist and conductor. He has been considered one of the greatest living pianists. He was the first North American pianist to win the Leeds International Piano Competition, in 1972. Known as a leading interpreter of Bach, Handel, Scarlatti, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann, among other composers, Perahia has won numerous awards, including three Grammy Awards from a total of 18 nominations, and 9 Gramophone Awards in addition to its first and only "Piano Award".
Noam David Elkies is a professor of mathematics at Harvard University. At the age of 26, he became the youngest professor to receive tenure at Harvard. He is also a pianist, chess national master and a chess composer.
Jay "Bluejay" Greenberg is an American composer and former child prodigy who entered the Juilliard School in 2002 at age 10.
Ruggiero Ricci was an American violinist known for performances and recordings of the works of Paganini.
Emanuel Feuermann was an internationally celebrated cellist in the first half of the 20th century.
Barbara Bonney is an American soprano. She is associated with lyric soprano roles in operas by Mozart and Richard Strauss as well as lieder performances.
Stefan Milenkovich is a Serbian violinist.
Ruth Slenczynska is an American pianist.
The Colburn School is a private performing arts school in Los Angeles with a focus on music and dance. It consists of four divisions: the Conservatory of Music, Music Academy, Community School of Performing Arts and the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute. Founded in 1950, the school is named after its principal benefactor, Richard D. Colburn.
Julia Sakharova is a professional violinist. A native of Zheleznovodsk, Russia, she debuted at the age of eight with the Moldavian Symphony Orchestra. Her mother is also a musician. By the age of 11, she was already internationally known as a child prodigy due to her skills on the violin. At the age of 15, she won the top prize in the International Competition for Music of Eastern and Central Europe; Vladimir Spivakov, the head of the jury, presented her with his bow in addition to the prize. She attended Oberlin College, graduating in 2003 with a major in violin performance; she studied under Milan Vitek while there. That same year, she competed in the Concours International de Montréal des Jeunesses Musicales, and won sixth prize. In 2005, she visited Caracas, Venezuela to perform with the National Philharmonic Orchestra there. She has been Assistant Concertmaster of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra since 2008. Since 2012 Sakharova is the newest member of the Arianna String Quartet which is on Residence at the University of Missouri St. Louis. She is part of the Music Faculty as Associate Professor of Violin. In 2024, Sakharova was appointed Concertmaster with Orchestra Iowa.
Alisa Weilerstein is an American classical cellist. She was named a 2011 MacArthur Fellow.
Bernard Greenhouse was an American cellist and one of the founding members of the Beaux Arts Trio.
Stefan Jackiw is an American classical violinist.
Albertine Morin-Labrecque was a Canadian pianist, soprano, composer, and music educator. Her compositional output includes 4 ballets, 2 comic operas, the Chinese opera Pas-chu, 2 concertos for two pianos, the symphonic poem Le Matin, numerous symphonic works, and compositions for band. Her works have been published by a variety of companies. A square and a street in Montreal were named after her in 1984.
Alma Elizabeth Deutscher is a British composer, pianist, violinist and conductor. A former child prodigy, Deutscher composed her first piano sonata at the age of five; at seven, she completed the short opera, The Sweeper of Dreams, and later wrote a violin concerto at age nine. At the age of ten, she wrote her first full-length opera, Cinderella, which had its European premiere in Vienna in 2016 under the patronage of conductor Zubin Mehta, and its U.S. premiere a year later. Deutscher's piano concerto was premiered when she was 12. She has lived in Vienna, Austria, since 2018. She made her debut at Carnegie Hall in 2019 in a concert dedicated to her own composition.
Teresa Sterne was an American concert pianist and record producer. Sterne's performance career began at the age of twelve when she appeared with the NBC Symphony and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Following her performance career, Sterne was director of Nonesuch Records from 1965 through 1979.
Zhang Zuo, also known professionally as Zee Zee, is a Chinese-American pianist. She, who has won first prize awards at the 1st International Piano Competition in China, the Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition in the United States, the Krainev International Piano Competition in Ukraine, and the Juilliard School's 32nd annual William Petschek Piano Recital Award.
Juliette Kang is a Canadian violinist. In 1994, she earned the gold medal at the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. Kang went on to have an international solo career. She joined the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2005, where she holds the position of first associate concertmaster.
Ruth Lowther Kemper was an American violinist, music educator, conductor, and arts administrator. She was executive director of the Turtle Bay Music School from 1956 to 1969.
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.
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.