That Földes was himself a child prodigy, thrust into the limelight from so young an age, adds resonance to his viewpoint. They are the less fortunate ones, whose careers may have been ruined by a premature start in public playing, or because of the inevitable conflict between the growing pains of adolescence and the growing responsibilities of the budding artiste the ones who have never made the grade, to the everlasting chagrin of their parents.” What matters is a person’s work between the ages of eighteen and seventy-five.Įverybody knows about prodigies – the writer of this book happened to be one but the great majority of people are inclined to forget that for every prodigy who has made good, there are a thousand others who for one reason or another have not fulfilled the promise shown in their early youth. “I heartily agree with the words of the great Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály, who, in an interview some years ago, stated bluntly that nothing a musical child produces before the age of eighteen really counts. Addressing the subject of the child prodigy, Földes writes, My father identified it and from then, the love and urge for music keeps me driving till now,' he said.The pianist Andor Földes (1913-1992) was one of the great child ‘prodigies’ of the early twentieth century, making his public debut performing a Mozart concerto with the Budapest Philharmonic in 1921 when he was just 8 years old, and entering the Liszt Academy (where he studied with the great Ernst von Dohnányi and Béla Bartók) before he was even a teenager.įöldes went on to enjoy a hugely successful concert and recording career, as well as writing several books, including the seminal Keys to the Keyboard (1950, sadly no longer in print, but an exceptionally wise and notably humane book).Ĭontributing to an interesting discussion on social media, I recently included this quote from Földes’ book, and thought it worth also sharing here. 'When I was two years old, I started playing drums. 'I want to become a composer and basically a good human being,' said the Chennai-based Nadhaswaram. The teenage, who is performing in Mumbai on Friday as part of the Symphony Orchestra of India - Autumn 2019 Season, wants to 'compose music for Hollywood and also Bollywood when something comes as a project'. Since I'm a home-schooled kid, I can easily manage my day with music spending majority time and that gives me more time for me to grow that love and interest towards music,' he added. 'I feel so happy whenever I perform in foreign countries. These milestones motivate me to achieve the next step.' I have still lots to do, to learn and to practice. Talking about winning 'The World's Best' global talent contest, Nadhaswaram said: 'This is the first step in my life I believe. The whole experience in that show was absolutely amazing, enjoyed every question of Ellen and every moment in that interview,' Nadhaswaram told IANS. 'Ellen was so kind and she encouraged me. He has also appeared on popular The Ellen DeGeneres Show earlier this year. Music prodigy Nadhaswaram won a $1 million this year on an American reality show for showcasing exceptional talent on the piano. New Delhi, Sep 27 (IANS): Child prodigy pianist Lydian Nadhaswaram enjoyed meeting Ellen DeGeneres and says the comedian-host was very kind and encouraged him a lot.

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