Western society seems to be going in the wrong direction
with respect to the development of children and adolescents.
While puberty is occurring earlier than in previous generations,
full adulthood is withheld until much later than before.
This page is intended only to point out this dangerous
trend, and to suggest that there is sufficient evidence
that it shouldn't be this way.
By implication, of course, I am suggesting that the trend
should be reversed and that children and adolescents
should be given earlier preparation for their role as
adults, more autonomy as they grow and earn it, and
much more respect for their capabilities.
Examples of children and adolescents exhibiting very
sophisticated behavior are everywhere in society.
Many child actors are capable of inhabiting characters
and moving audiences to laughter, tears and terror.
- Haley Joel Osment
was nominated for an Oscar® as Best Supporting Actor
of 1999 for his role as Cole Sear in
The
Sixth Sense. He was eleven years old at the time.
- Anna Paquin
actually won the Oscar® as Best Supporting Actress in
1993 for her role as Flora McGrath in
The Piano.
She, too, was eleven that year.
Children in their teens, or even earlier, are sometimes
admitted to college, and graduate into professions long
before their peers.
This is not a new phenomenon.
The Danish sculptor
Bertel
Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) was accepted to the Royal Danish
Academy of Art when he was eleven years old.
Early professional recognition continues today.
Sho Yano was accepted to the University of Chicago Medical
School in 2003, when he was 12.
(I have to say, unfortunately, that while I've noticed a lot
of media coverage of child prodigies who enter college at
early ages, I rarely see or can find follow-up stories about
their later careers. It makes me wonder whether they
actually succeed in general, or whether their transition into
actual adulthood becomes too difficult for them.
The later, tragic careers and lives of many child actors
in television and movies are well known, and more common than
anyone would like.
The point, however, is that the society blesses and celebrates
early achievement in so many areas, yet still delays entry
into full adulthood -- full "personhood" in effect -- for the
vast majority of children.)
I've decided that my small contribution to the knowledge base
of demonstrated competence in childhood will be to develop a
list of musical compositions that famous composers produced
before their 14th birthday.
Besides the incontrovertible evidence that children sometimes can be
competent and creative at levels that rival any adult's work,
this list begs the question of whether these composers would
have succeeded in later life if they had been forced to wait
until their 20s to begin their creative output.
It also makes the case, I believe, that delayed recognition of
children's competence as functioning human beings is
a trend that needs seriously to be reconsidered.
-
Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga [Juan Crisóstomo Jacobo Antonio de Arriaga y Balzola](1806-1826)
Los esclavos felices [The Happy Slaves] (1820)
Opera produced in Bilbao; only the Overture and fragments remain
recorded by the Algarve Orchestra, conducted by Alvaro Cassuto (among others)
(Naxos - 8.8557207)
-
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Beware!, 3 Songs for Voice and Piano: "O that I ne'er been married" (Burns),
"Beware" (Longfellow), "The Clerk" (Asquith)(1922-1926)
recorded by Benjamin Luxon, David Willison (1986)
(Chandos CHAN 8514)
-
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Pange Lingua, Motet in C (1835-36; revised by the composer in 1891)
written while Bruckner was under the tutelage of the historian Johann Baptist von Weiß
recorded in 1973 by St John's College, Cambridge (original vinyl release on Argo ZRG 760)
CD re-releases on London 430 361-2 (1991)
and Belart 461 317-2
1973 audio recording posted on
YouTube
Bruckner also wrote another setting of the Pange Lingua (Phrygian Mode) in 1868
-
Frédérick Chopin (1810-1849)
Polonaise in g, KK IIa No.1 (1817)
Polonaise in B-flat, KK IVa No.1 (1817)
Polonaise in A-flat, KK IVa No.2 (1818)
Polonaise in g-sharp, KK IVa No.3 (1822)
recorded by Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano (Decca 452 167-2)
- Sir Edward William Elgar,
1st Baronet, OM, GCVO (1857-1934)
- Erich Wolfgang Korngold,
(1897-1957)
Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor with concluding passacaglia (1908)
Don Quixote. Six characteristic pieces for piano (1909)
Was der Wald erzählt [What the Forest tells]. Suite for piano (1909)
Piano Sonata No. 2 in E major, Op. 2, in four movements (1910)
Sieben Märchenbilder [Seven Fairy-Tale Pictures] for piano, Op.3 (1910)
the five piano pieces above are found on several recordings including
"Erich Wolfgang Korngold: The Piano Music", by
Martin Jones, piano
Der Schneemann [Pantomime in zwei Bildern] (1910)
Schauspiel-Ouverture [Overture to a Play], Op.4 (1911)
the two orchestral pieces above have been
recorded by
the
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Matthias Bamert
So Gott und Papa will [If God and daddy agree] song, Op.5 (1911)
recorded by
Dietrich Henschel, baritone
-
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Sinfonia No.1 in C for String Orchestra (String Symphony)(1821)
Sinfonia No.2 in D for String Orchestra (String Symphony)(1821)
Sinfonia No.3 in e for String Orchestra (String Symphony)(1821)
Sinfonia No.4 in c for String Orchestra (String Symphony)(1821)
Sinfonia No.5 in B-flat for String Orchestra (String Symphony)(1821)
Sinfonia No.6 in E-flat for String Orchestra (String Symphony)(1821)
all of the above recorded by
Northern Chamber Orchestra,
led by Nicholas Ward, among many other recordings
-
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Andante in C, K.1a (1761)
Allegro in F, K.1c (1761)
Minuet in F, K.2 (1762)
Allegro in B-flat, K.3 (1762)
Minuet in F, K.4 (1762)
Minuet in F, K.5 (1762)
Sonatas for Keyboard and Violin, K.6-7 (1764),
published as "Opus 1"
Sonatas for Keyboard and Violin, K.8-9 (1764),
published as "Opus 2"
Symphony in E-flat, K.16 (1764), first symphony
Va, dal furor portata (aria for Tenor), K.21 (1765)
Sonatas for Keyboard and Violin, K.10-15 (1765),
published as "Opus 3"
Sonata in C for Keyboard, Four Hands, K.19d (1765)
Motet in g, God is Our Refuge, K.20 (1765)
Symphony in B-flat, K.22 (1765)
Sonatas for Keyboard and Violin, K.26-31 (1766),
published as "Opus 4"
Gallimathias Musicum, K.32 (1766)
Kyrie in F, K.33 (1766)
Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots, K.35 (1767)
Grabmusik, K.42 (1767)
Concerto in F for Piano, K.37 (1767), first piano concerto
Apollo et Hyacinthus, K.38 (1767)
Concerto in B-flat for Piano, K.39 (1767)
Concerto in D for Piano, K.40 (1767)
Concerto in G for Piano, K.41 (1767)
Symphony in F, K.43 (1767), first four-movement symphony
Symphony in D, K.45 (1768)
La finta semplice, K.51 (1768) first opera buffa
Bastien und Bastienne, K.50 (1768)
Sonata in C for Violin, K.46d (1768)
Sonata in F for Violin, K.46e (1768)
Veni Sancte Spiritus in C, K.47 (1768)
Missa Solemnis in c, "Waisenhausmesse", K.139 (1768)
Missa Brevis in G, K.49 (1768)
Symphony in D, K.48 (1768)
Many of the above works have been recorded, notably
Bastien und Bastienne,
the "Waisenhausmesse", and most (if not all) of
the symphonies, Concerti and Sonatas.
-
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Se il vuol la molinara (1801)
Sei sonate a quattro [Six Sonatas for Four Stringed Instruments] (1804)
recorded by
Virtuosi Italiani
-
Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828)
Postscript:
I had an unexpected thought as I worked on this page, and
realized that most of the composers included here as
having begun their professional work before their
teen years also had relatively short lives.
Mozart died when he was 35, Chopin 39, Mendelssohn 38, and Schubert 31.
Arriaga, often referred to as the "Spanish Mozart", was only 19.
Of course these few examples don't make a statistically
valid conclusion, but in light of my introductory comment
that we rarely hear about the later careers of child
prodigies, the coincidence is intriguing at least.
Perhaps this observation could be taken by an enterprising
Ph.D. student as her or his dissertation topic!