There are many pianists throughout history who are worthy of attention, but it is the youngest ones that seem most incredible. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart famously began composing music from the age of five, and performed with staggering ability in front of nobility in Europe. And, indeed, there are many more stories of composers over last few centuries starting their careers off extremely early.
One such example is Frdric Chopin, a 19th century polish composer, who began giving public concerts at age seven, and went on in the same year to compose two polonaises. His talent soon had him compared to Mozart as a child, and so he was widely renowned as being a child prodigy. He grew up to become a virtuoso in his art.
Beethoven was also considered a child prodigy. He performed in public first when he was seven, and gave an incredibly impressive performance. His father boasted by printing on the posters that the seven year old Beethoven was six years old.
It would be an oversight to only look to centuries past when looking for talent of this magnitude in such young people; it would be a shame to overlook the 12st century. Plenty of young children have shown unfathomable amounts of musical ability in this century. A quick search in YouTube will bring up plenty of videos documenting this, some children as young as four years old playing things that many adults wouldn't go near.
One specific story really stands out. Born in Birmingham, Cyril Vincent was only seven years old in 2008, which was the year in which he passed his grade four piano exam. This was after only playing the instrument for two years as well! Beating the competition by five years, he became the youngest student to be admitted into University of Music and Theatre in Hanover in Germany, where he pursued his art for three months.
One such example is Frdric Chopin, a 19th century polish composer, who began giving public concerts at age seven, and went on in the same year to compose two polonaises. His talent soon had him compared to Mozart as a child, and so he was widely renowned as being a child prodigy. He grew up to become a virtuoso in his art.
Beethoven was also considered a child prodigy. He performed in public first when he was seven, and gave an incredibly impressive performance. His father boasted by printing on the posters that the seven year old Beethoven was six years old.
It would be an oversight to only look to centuries past when looking for talent of this magnitude in such young people; it would be a shame to overlook the 12st century. Plenty of young children have shown unfathomable amounts of musical ability in this century. A quick search in YouTube will bring up plenty of videos documenting this, some children as young as four years old playing things that many adults wouldn't go near.
One specific story really stands out. Born in Birmingham, Cyril Vincent was only seven years old in 2008, which was the year in which he passed his grade four piano exam. This was after only playing the instrument for two years as well! Beating the competition by five years, he became the youngest student to be admitted into University of Music and Theatre in Hanover in Germany, where he pursued his art for three months.