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. This is a list of young children (under around age 10) who displayed a talent in music deemed to make them competitive with skilled adult musicians. The list is sorted by instrument.
Classical Piano NameBornInstrumentDebutNotesCharles-Valentin Alkan1813Piano5 Entered Paris Conservatoire at age 5, youngest ever admission.Conway, David (2012). Jewry in Music: Entry to the Profession from the Enlightenment to Richard Wagner. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. , pp. 222–224.Martha Argerich1941Piano4 Orchestral debut at age eightPepito Arriola1896Piano3 Performed the Beethoven C Minor Concerto at the Royal Albert Hall aged 9 with the LSO and Frederic Hymen Cowen.Kit Armstrong1992Piano5 Concerto debut at eight; Morton Gould Young Composer Award for five consecutive yearsClaudio Arrau1903Piano5 Could read notes before lettersDaniel Barenboim1942Piano7Emily Bear2001Piano5 Composed and released her first piano album at age five Vincenzo Bellini1801Piano5 Began studying music theory at two, the piano at three, and by the age of five could apparently play wellEthan Bortnick2000Composer, pianist5Ethan began playing a keyboard at the age of three and was composing music by the age of five.Lili Boulanger1893Piano, violin, cello, harp6 Attended Louis Vierne's organ classes at the Paris Conservatoire at age sixKevin Chen2005Piano8Orchestral debut at age 8. Youngest student on record to have ever complete the Royal Conservatory exams.Frédéric Chopin1810Piano7 Wrote his first composition, a polonaise, which is still studied and performed today.Jachimecki, p. 420.Augusta Cottlow1878Piano6 Aged 10 performed a recital which included Haydn C major fantasie; Beethoven G major rondo, op.15; Beethoven G major sonata, op.14, No.2; Chopin E flat nocturne, op.9, No.2; Chopin A minor waltz, op.34, No.2, and Les Charmes de Paris by Moscheles.William Crotch1775Organ, fortepiano3 At age 3 he played the organ of the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace.Solomon Cutner1902Piano8 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.Georges Cziffra1921Piano9 Entered the Franz Liszt Academy at age nine, after some four years performing in a traveling circusCarl Filtsch1830Piano6 Composed concerto at thirteen; died at age fourteenNelson Freire1944Piano5 He made his first public appearance at the age of five playing Mozart's Sonata K. 331.Charly García1951Piano5 Gave his first public recital at age five, became a music professor at age twelve.Gary Graffman1928Piano7Entered the Curtis Institute of Music at the age of 7.Elsie Hall1877Piano6 Prize winner, New South Wales 1883. "The Antipodean Phenomenon", Europe 1880s.Clara Haskil1895Piano5 Gave her first concert in Vienna in 1902.Otto Hegner1876Piano8 Caused a sensation in London in 1888.Otto Hegner, Eastern Evening News, 28 March 1888, p.3Cory Henry1987Piano, organ6Began playing both the piano and the B3 organ at two years old; played a recital at the Apollo Theater when he was six.Josef Hofmann1876Piano10 Ernest Hutcheson1871Piano, composer5 Gave his first public recitals aged five; entered the Leipzig Conservatory at the age of fourteen.Maryla Jonas1911Piano9 Made her debut with the Warsaw Philharmonic in 1920.Evgeny Kissin1971Piano10 Entered music school at age sixRaoul Koczalski1884Piano4 Debut in St. Petersburg; noted Chopin exponent.Lang Lang1982Piano5Began playing piano at age 3. Won the Xinghai National Piano Competition, International Competition for Young Pianists, International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians, and played for General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Jiang Zemin. Later accepted to the Curtis Institute at age 14.Alicia de Larrocha1923Piano5She gave her first public performance at the age of five at the International Exposition in Barcelona.Franz Liszt1811Piano9 Performed first major concert at age elevenMichele Levin1945Piano, composerAccepted into the Curtis Institute at the age of 10, where she made her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra.Maria Anna Mozart1751Harpsichord, fortepiano7Performed 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.Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart1756Piano, violin, composition4One of the most prolific composers of the Classical Era. Performed all over Europe with his father Leopold and sister NannerlElisey Mysin2010Piano8 At the age of eight, without a score, he performed Mozart's Concerto No. 3 in D major in Naberezhnye Chelny, RussiaArthur Napoleon1844Piano4 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.Illustrated London News, 16 July 1853, p.13Pillar Osorio1905Piano3 Performed, aged 3, in Leipzig. Step-sister to Pepito Arriola.Hucknall Morning Star and Advertiser, 29 January 1909, p.2Daniel Pollack1935Piano9 Made his debut with the New York Philharmonic at the age of nine, performing the Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1. Iris de Cairos Rego 1894 Composer, pianist3 Starting composing and playing aged 3.Musical Prodigy, Kentish Independent, 16 June 1905, p.5Sugar Chile Robinson1938Jazz7 At age 7, Sugar Chile played to large audiences along stars such as Lionel Hampton.Larkin, Colin (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Guinness Publishing. , pp. 2111.Camille Saint-Saëns1835Piano5 Gave his first public recital at age fiveErnest Schelling1876Piano, composer4 Debut at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ruth Slenczynska1925Piano6She played her debut in Berlin at age six and made her debut in Paris with a full orchestra at seven years of age.Bruno Steindel1890Piano7 London debut at Crystal Palace concerts, October 9, 1897Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 4 September 1897, p.20Harriet Stubbs1988Piano4Began playing piano at age 3, performing publicly at 4. At age 5, she became the youngest student ever awarded a full scholarship to the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, completing Grade 8 with distinction by age 7. Harriet made her concerto debut at 9, performing her own cadenzas. By age 13, she was named one of three top instrumentalists on ITV's "Britain's Brilliant Prodigies" and performed in the feature film "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.""Hatty Stubbs, aged 12, Performs...," West Sussex County Times, June 15, 2001, p. 26.
"West Sussex Philharmonic Choir's next concert at Horsham Arts Centre will feature a performance by an acclaimed young pianist from East Sussex, Horsham Advertiser, November 27, 2001, p. 17.
"In Performance and Conversation with Harriet Stubbs," Paul Cavalconte, WQXR (Dec 9, 2023), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGS94QDlmXw
"Harriet Stubbs," Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Stubbs#:~:text=At%20the%20age%20of%20five,at%20the%20age%20of%20seven Vera Timanova1855Piano9 At 11 began studying with Anton Rubinstein, and later with K. Tausig in Berlin.Geoffrey Tozer1954Piano8 Aged eight, Tozer performed Bach's Concerto No. 5 in F minor with the Victorian Symphony Orchestra, AustraliaYuja Wang1987Piano7Began learning piano at the age of 6, studying at the Curtis Institute from the age of 15.
Strings NameBornInstrumentDebutNotesSarah Chang1980violinAccepted to the Juilliard School at the age of 5, also studying privately with Issac Stern and Dorothy DeLay. Before she was 10, she had performed with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra.Chloe Chua2007violinWon first prize in the Junior division of the 2018 Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists alongside Australian Christian Li.Himari Yoshimura2011violinDescribed as a once-in-a-generation talent. In 21st century, only child prodigy (so far) to have performed with the Berliner Philharmoniker at age 13.Mischa Elman1891violinGinette Neveu1919violinJean Gérardy1877celloIda Haendel1928violinJascha Heifetz1901violinBronisław Huberman1882violinDylana Jenson1961violinJoseph Joachim1831violinClara-Jumi Kang1987violinChristian Li2007violinWon first prize in the Junior division of the 2018 Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists alongside Singaporean Chloe Chua.Yo-Yo Ma1955cello5Performed for presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy at the age of 7, and was introduced by Leonard Bernstein on late night television.Yehudi Menuhin1916violinMidori 1971violinNiccolò Paganini1782violinThelma Reiss1906celloVadim Repin1971violinIsabella Rudkinc.1821/3harpJános Starker1924celloJoseph Szigeti1892violinMaxim Vengerov1974violinFlorizel von Reuter1890violin
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