Child Prodigies

[rph108]

Does anyone have any information about child prodigies? I find them fascinating, but I don't know much about them. Anything would do, like what is the actual definition of one and how fast they learn and were all of the great pianists prodigies.

[Dave_2004_G]

I suppose child prodigies range from about 5-16...there are stories of ridiculous feats, such as Rach 3 at 12 (not sure who that was)...basically, most of the great pianists were child prodigies, but I think more often than not being hot house too much can actually destroy a career

Dave

[rph108]

Thanks for the reply. It answered alot of questions that I had.  

[sharon_f]

Ruth Slenczynska was a world-famous child prodigy in the 30s. As a child she studied with Schnabel and Cortot and performed for Rachmaninoff. She made her debut in Berlin at age 6.

Her story poses an interesting question. Are child prodigies born or made?

It seems that her father, who was a violinist, decided she would be the next Mozart and started her on a rigorous, disciplinary practice routine at the age of 3! But it finally all caught up with her. She experienced so much stress, that she withdrew from performing at the age of 15.

She wrote a book of memoirs called Forbidden Childhood that provides a fascinating insight into the child prodigy phenomenon. It has been out of print for years, but you might be able to find it in the local library. It is also for sale at abebooks.com, but it's very pricey.

[rph108]

I would guess that it requires a little bit of insane talent and some hard work. The amount of each probably both contribute to how good this person will be. I will try to look that book up, it sounds interesting.

[Max]

Arrau learnt Gnomenreigen at the tender age of 7...