Geniuses in music history
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Geniuses in music history
Think of a genius among the famous musicians in history.
Who comes to mind?
The first musician that many people think of is Mozart.
Last time we talked about the prodigy Mozart.
I introduced story of playing with Mozart’s father on a violin that he had never learned at the age of six, and the story of memorizing and playing a short piece of piano music at the age of four and composing a short piece of piano music at the age of five.
And he had a big debut performance at Salzburg University of Salzburg.
Mozart is famous for ‘genius’ to us.
But, was Mozart the greatest genius in music history?
Today I talk about story of geniuses in the history of music that comparable or surpasses to Mozart.
The first musician is Juan Crisostomo de Arriaga (1806 - 1826) who was called "Mozart of Spain.”
He composed nine operas at age 11 and the opera ‘The Happy Slaves’ at age 14,
It was praised for being as good as G. Rossini’s(1792-1868) work.
The musicologist and composer Arriaga's teacher, ‘Francois and Joseph Petty,’ says.
"There was something miraculous about his talent.
In less than three months he had mastered all the laws of harmony.
Two years later, he was well versed in all counterpoint and fugue composition..."
"I can't think of anything more original, elegant, and pure than this (Arriaga's string quartet)."
Arriaga's music shows a deeper musical maturity compared to Mozart of the same age.
However, Arriaga died of tuberculosis at the young age of 19.
Wouldn't much have changed if he had been given a little more time?
Next musician is Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1916).
At the age of eight, he was such a prodigy that he memorized and played all Beethoven's songs except for nineth symphony on the piano. (when before Beethoven composed nineth symphony)
His musical maturity at the age of eight easily outpaced Mozart.
Besides, he was born into a wealthy family, so he could play his own music, and he didn't have to go around for a living.
Mendelssohn was a genius like Mozart, but the paths of life were so opposite.
The third child prodigy is Clara Haskil (1895-1960), a Romanian pianist.
Haskil went to a piano recital at the age of five and played the entire program of the day perfectly.
What is surprising is that she had never taken piano lessons.
In addition, at the age of six, Haskil listened to one movement of Mozart's sonata only once and followed it on the spot, and played the entire movement in different key.
Unlike many other prodigies, she retained this talent throughout her life and was also famous for playing high-level masterpieces what difficult to play with reading for the first time.
British comedian Charles Chaplin left the following comment after meeting Haskil.
"I have met three people in my life who I can say are truly geniuses.
One was Einstein, and the other was Churchill.
And the other, the person with a brain that was more distinct than anyone else, was Clara Haskil."