Of Prodigies and Geniuses...

[KeithW]

How many caught the 60 Minutes on Jay Greenberg?
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/stories/2006/11/22/60minutes/main2205521.shtml
Just recorded his 5th Symphony and he's all of 14 years old.

"We are talking about a prodigy of the level of the greatest prodigies in history when it comes to composition. I am talking about the likes of Mozart, and Mendelssohn and Saint-Saëns." -Sam Zyman

Keith Walls

[nikolas]

I don't know what to say really...

Didn't see 60 minutes (Live in London), but I'm listening to his music throught his website atm...

One quick review comment would be that he doesn't have his own voice yet... :D BUT HE'S 14!!!!!!!!!!!1

I'm full of envy hatred and so on... Jealous...

Anyways... the articles and so on claim that he writes everything on his own... With no aid and so on... Which I hope is true...

And as it seems his parents are clever and decent people to not let him get ruined by the media... Fingers crossed. Most prodigy children after a while start having a small problem.

From boy/girl wonders become adults. And there is nothing wonderous about an adult writing music. Some of them though make it and grow to be indeed magnificent composers and so on...

As I said

Fingers crossed...

(BTW, the link is not working for me...)

[Jim Clark]

Try this link:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/22/60minutes/main2205521.shtml

I hope it works:

A quote from the article:

"Jay told Pelley he doesn't know where the music comes from — but that it comes fully written, playing like an orchestra in his head.

As you hear it playing, can you change it as it goes along? Can you say to yourself, 'Oh, let's bring the oboes in here,' or 'Let's bring the string section here?'" Pelley asks.

"No, they seem — they seem to come in by themselves if they need to," Jay replies. "It's as if the unconscious mind is giving orders at the speed of light. You know, I mean, so I just hear it as if it were a smooth performance of a work that is already written when it isn't."

Very interesting...

[nikolas]

Regarding that quote:

I'm no genious (could be but I wont' admit it myself :P... rubbish talk...)

The thing is this:

imho you need to be able to control whats coming out of you... I mean ok, the guy is a genious and at 14 I wound't expect anything else, but of course he has been trained to answer that question with the above answer... And it could be true. But I perosnally prefer composer that include some kind of "message" in their music, rathr than... plain music...

For me a composer needs to be a political person (not as in parties, but as in carrying about the community and so on)... Something coming out of your guts alone, is not enough no matter what... (probably, becasue I hve no personal experience to genious...).

and in the ned, as I@m doig a PhD right now... :

Why should MY music, be "better" than the music of a 14 year old. If he can trigger emmotions that my music can't...then his... "better"!

As I said: Jealous!

[KeithW]

But I perosnally prefer composer that include some kind of "message" in their music, rathr than... plain music...

For me a composer needs to be a political person (not as in parties, but as in carrying about the community and so on)... Something coming out of your guts alone, is not enough no matter what... (probably, becasue I hve no personal experience to genious...).

Great point. When he can write things as emotional and riveting as, say, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Stravinsky, then I'll be a true believer.

Keith Walls

[fastlane]

I like kids. Well done. - WC Fields. :)

[Rhap2]

INCREDIBLE.......

Thanks for the link, Jim.


Jack

[claysf]

My wife and I saw the 60 minutes piece on Jay Greenberg. What struck us was how detached he was from what he was doing. As an interesting aside, the interview showed a scrap of Beethoven manuscript with lots of cross-outs and apparent agonizing to make things perfect. This boy writes what comes to his head and apparently doesn't change a note. The interview left the impression that he's not all that emotionally connected to what he does, is even rather bored to hear it performed. He mused at one point that he might do something else with his life like physics or math.

I'm unconvinced that his age ought to be factored in as a limitation on the depth and expressiveness of what he writes--Mendelsohn and Mozart wrote exquisite, profound music at even earlier ages.

Bottom line: I was left with the feeling that while undoubtedly this child's a genius; he may not be a musician!