List of child music prodigies

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

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Name	Born	Instrument	Debut^[a]	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
Ethan Bortnick	2000	Composer, pianist	5	Ethan began playing a keyboard at the age of three and was composing music by the age of five.^[9]^[10]^[11]
Lili Boulanger	1893	Piano, violin, cello, harp	6	Attended Louis Vierne's organ classes at the Paris Conservatoire at age six^[12]
Kevin Chen	2005	Piano	8	Orchestral debut at age 8. Youngest student on record to have ever complete the Royal Conservatory exams.^[13]
Frédéric Chopin	1810	Piano	7	Wrote his first composition, a polonaise, which is still studied and performed today.^[14]
Augusta Cottlow	1878	Piano	6	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.^[15]
William Crotch	1775	Organ, fortepiano	3	At age 3 he played the organ of the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace.^[16]
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.^[17]
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^[18]
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.
Gary Graffman	1928	Piano	7	Entered the Curtis Institute of Music at the age of 7.
Elsie Hall	1877	Piano	6	Prize winner, New South Wales 1883. "The Antipodean Phenomenon", Europe 1880s.
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.^[19]
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.^[20]^[21]
Josef Hofmann	1876	Piano	10	^[22]
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^[23]
Raoul Koczalski	1884	Piano	4	Debut in St. Petersburg; noted Chopin exponent.
Lang Lang	1982	Piano	5	Began 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 Larrocha	1923	Piano	5	She gave her first public performance at the age of five at the International Exposition in Barcelona.^[24]
Franz Liszt	1811	Piano	9	Performed first major concert at age eleven^[25]
Michele Levin	1945	Piano, composer		Accepted into the Curtis Institute at the age of 10, where she made her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
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.^[26]
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^[27]
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.^[28]
Pillar Osorio	1905	Piano	3	Performed, aged 3, in Leipzig. Step-sister to Pepito Arriola.^[29]
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.
Iris de Cairos Rego	1894	Composer, pianist	3	Starting composing and playing aged 3.^[30]
Sugar Chile Robinson	1938	Jazz	7	At age 7, Sugar Chile played to large audiences along stars such as Lionel Hampton.^[31]
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.^[32]^[33]^[34]^[35]^[36]
Bruno Steindel	1890	Piano	7	London debut at Crystal Palace concerts, October 9, 1897^[37]
Harriet Stubbs	1988	Piano	4	Began 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."^[38]
Vera Timanova	1855	Piano	9	At 11 began studying with Anton Rubinstein, and later with K. Tausig in Berlin.^[39]
Geoffrey Tozer	1954	Piano	8	Aged eight, Tozer performed Bach's Concerto No. 5 in F minor with the Victorian Symphony Orchestra, Australia
Yuja Wang	1987	Piano	7	Began learning piano at the age of 6, studying at the Curtis Institute from the age of 15.

Name	Born	Instrument	Debut	Notes
Sarah Chang	1980	violin		Accepted 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 Chua	2007	violin		Won first prize in the Junior division of the 2018 Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists alongside Australian Christian Li.
Himari Yoshimura	2011	violin		Described as a once-in-a-generation talent. In 21th century, only child prodigy (so far) to have performed with the Berliner Philharmoniker at age 13.
Mischa Elman	1891	violin
Ginette Neveu	1919	violin
Jean Gérardy	1877	cello
Ida Haendel	1928	violin
Jascha Heifetz	1901	violin
Bronisław Huberman	1882	violin
Dylana Jenson	1961	violin
Joseph Joachim	1831	violin
Clara-Jumi Kang	1987	violin
Christian Li	2007	violin		Won first prize in the Junior division of the 2018 Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists alongside Australian Chloe Chua.
Yo-Yo Ma	1955	violin	5	Performed 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 Menuhin	1916	violin
Niccolò Paganini	1782	violin
Thelma Reiss	1906	cello
Vadim Repin	1971	violin
Isabella Rudkin	c.1821/3	harp
János Starker	1924	cello
Joseph Szigeti	1892	violin
Maxim Vengerov	1974	violin
Florizel von Reuter	1890	violin

Name	Born	Talent	Age of first composition^[a]	Notes
Kit Armstrong	1992	Piano	5	Composed seriously from the age of 6. First symphony at age 10.^[4]
Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga	1806	Composer	9	Wrote opera Los esclavos felices at age 14 and over 100 works before he died at age 19. Was praised as a student of Cherubini.
Samuel Barber	1910	Composer, conductor	7	Attempted an opera at age ten; attended the Curtis Institute of Music at age fourteen^[40]
Ferruccio Busoni	1866	Pianist, composer, conductor, editor, writer, and educator	7	Started composing prolifically at age 7. Composed his Concerto for Piano and String Quartet at age 11.
Frédéric Chopin	1810	Composer	7	Began concerts and polonaises at age seven; attained notability by age fifteen^[41]
Pio Cianchettini	1799	Composer, pianist	6^[42]	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	5	Composed the waltz Le Rêve, aged 5. Conducted the massed bands numbering five thousand at Crystal Palace, aged 9.^[43]
Alma Deutscher	2005	Composer, pianist, violinist	5	Composed first piano sonata at age six, first violin concerto at age nine, and first full-length opera, Cinderella, at age ten.^[44]
George Enescu	1881	Composer	5	First compositions around age 5 and wrote large scale work, including four study symphonies in his youth.
Morton Gould	1913	Composer, conductor, pianist	6	^[45]
Jay Greenberg	1991	Composer	6	Entered the Juilliard school's pre-college at age 10; first symphony at age 11
Evgeny Kissin	1971	Pianist, composer	6	Started composing significant output at age 7 including early work, Petrushka.
Erich Wolfgang Korngold	1897	Composer, conductor	7	Started composing at age 7. Wrote cantata and first ballet, ‘Der Schneemann’ at age 11. Piano sonata no.2 played by Artur Schnabel at 13; opera at 17.
Franz Liszt	1811	Composer, pianist, conductor, teacher	9	Was the only child composer to write for a set of Diabelli variations at age 11, and composed opera, Don Sanche, at age 13.
André Mathieu	1929	Composer, pianist	4	Wrote etudes and other works at age 4; piano concertino at age 7 performed with orchestra.
Felix Mendelssohn	1809	Composer, conductor	11	Composed 13 string symphonies from ages 12–14 and opera in his preteens. Also composed masterpieces like his A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture and Octet in his later teens.^[46]
Gian Carlo Menotti	1911	Composer, librettist, playwright, director	7	Started composing at 7; composed first opera at age eleven^[47]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart	1756	Composer	4	Wrote 25 symphonies, 8-9 operas and various concerti, vocal, and solo work before adulthood. At age 4 (or 5,) his first compositions were Andante (K. 1a) and Allegro. (K. 1b)^[48]
Émile Naoumoff	1962	Pianist, composer	6	Began studying with Nadia Boulanger in Paris at the age of 8. His first piano concerto was conducted under Yehudi Menuhin with the composer at the piano when he was aged 10.
Dika Newlin	1923	Composer	8	At the age of 8, she wrote a symphonic piece, Cradle Song, that was added to the repertoire of Cincinnati orchestra conductor Vladimir Bakaleinikoff and performed three years later by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.^[49]
Frederick Ouseley	1825	Composer, organist, musicologist and priest	3	Wrote first composition age the age of 3 years and 3 months, possibly the youngest to ever compose a cohesive musical work. Wrote 2 operas by age 8, including L'Isola disabitata. Composed nearly 300 pieces by age 16.
Alex Prior	1992	Composer, conductor	8	By his early teens had written symphonies, concertos, two ballets, two operas, and a requiem for the children of Beslan.
Sergei Prokofiev	1891	Composer, pianist, and conductor	5	Composed first piano piece at age 5. First operetta, The Giant, composed at age 9 along with several other short operas.
Sergei Rachmaninoff	1873	Composer, pianist	11	First pieces from age 11+ show remarkable craft; 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 13; first oratorio performed publicly at age eleven and composed opera, Il Principe Porcaro, at age 13 ^[50]
Camille Saint-Saëns	1835	Composer, organist, conductor, and pianist	3	Wrote first pieces at age 3.
Clara Schumann	1819	Pianist, composer, piano teacher		Composed Four Polonaises at age 10, piano sonata at age 13, and premiered her Piano Concerto.
Julian Scriabin	1908			Composed 4 preludes in the style of his father before he died at the age of 11.
Richard Strauss	1864	Composer, conductor	6	Composed his first song Weihnachtslied aged 6. Composed Winterreise and other songs aged 7. His first orchestral composition, an overture to the singspiel Hochlands Treue was composed in 1872/73.
Blind Tom Wiggins	1849	Composer, pianist	4	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^[a]	Notes
Ferruccio Burco [it]	1939	Conductor	8	Made his United States debut conducting a professional orchestra in Carnegie Hall.^[51]
Willy Ferrero	1906	Conductor, composer	4	First conducting appearance in Paris at the age of four, attended by Jules Massenet. At the age of seven, conducted an orchestra of 150 instruments at the Augusteum in Rome, an auditorium seating 5,000.^[52]
Lorin Maazel	1930	Conductor	8	Began conducting at age 7, studying under Vladimir Bakaleinikov and made debut at age 8. He conducted the National High School Orchestra at Interlochen Center for the Arts and subsequently the New York World's Fair.

List of child music prodigies

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Strings

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Conducting

Notes

References

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