Are THESE Prodigies? Professional Violinist Reacts

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With so many self proclaimed “prodigies” out there, who are the real ones?

🍿 WATCH NEXT:

0:00 - Intro
0:29 - Prodigy 1
2:03 - Prodigy 2
03:21 - Prodigy 3
04:23 - Prodigy 4
06:00 - Prodigy 5
07:37 - Prodigy 6
09:50 - Prodigy 7

[PranavViswanathan]

One of my favorite Leia clips is when she played Paganini Concerto for Chaim Taub during a Keshet Eilon masterclass and instead of giving her comments, he just thanked her repeatedly for the performance.

[deborahlin]

Chloe is definitely a prodigy. She really masters the pieces she learns till they’re flawless and she plays very cleanly. Her musical interpretation of the pieces are out of this world. You should see her whole Menuhin performance that day

[burburchacha]

Sarah Chang is the prodigy that freaks me out the most. It’s not just that her technique is otherworldly in its razor-sharp precision and immense confidence, it’s the way she plays with insane accuracy while also conveying musical emotions and expressions that feel way too mature for a child. It’s honestly terrifying how prodigious she was, like something beyond human.

[pugsnhogz]

Ray Chen's enthusiasm for music is so infectious. Just hearing him react to other people playing makes me want to listen to HIM play, because you can tell how deeply he feels it. Technique IS becoming more common—passion and connection is what I look for these days. Cheers, Mr. Chen!

[Camilla-jsrn]

Hey Ray, here's a list of some of the 'harder' pieces that Leia has played...

Concertos
Mendelssohn (both concertos) (aged 8, 9, 10, 11)
Tchaikovsky (aged 9, 13, 16)
Sibelius (13)
Bruch (8)
Beethoven
Brahms
all Mozart
Korngold
Saint Saens
Wieniawski No. 2 (8)
Wieniawski No. 1 (12)
some she mentioned in Q&As: Dvorak, Shostakovich, Britten, all Vieuxtemps

some virtuosic pieces
Ernst Last Rose of Summer (aged 12)
Ernst Erlkönig (aged 13)
Ysaye Sonatas (multiple from age 10-13)
all Paganini Caprices
all versions of Carmen Fantasy
Paganini God Save the King
Paganini Nel Cor Piu Non Mi Sento
Sarasate Ziguernerweisen, Caprice Basque, etc.

These are only the ones off the top of my head.... I'm sure there are plenty others...

[tabita.butnariu]

Leia Zhu is a prodigy. You have watched the wrong video. If you do a 2nd part put a video with Leia. The video where she performed The Last Rose of Summer is amazing. and not just that.

[sorinion]

You are, for sure, a great musician and, also, a great entertainer. It is always a pleasure to follow you and you music. Thanks

[LeiaZhu]

Btw Ray I played Bazzini Dance of the Goblins on the same TV show 😭

[philippemagerus]

You left out one of the best : Himari Yoshimura who was accepted at the Curtis Institute at 10 years old, and is now 12. Shis is fabulous.

[h.p.]

Wow.. Ray is one of my favorite violinists alive now and his expressiveness and fire is hard to find an equal to. I guess everyone has a different age where they bloom. Thank you for the honest video

[BirdGuy]

'Walking fetus come in and completely wreck your confidence' had me dying 🤣

[probag]

Ray's gonna have to release a "Professional Violinist falls on his sword over clip choice" or the Leia fans are gonna eat him

[romnick]

Sarah Chang is one of my favorite since then. That tone 😊

[kratze]

I bought the Sara Chang version of the Paganini concerto not long after they released it on CD and I love it. I don't ask much of my music, just make me happy and sound really good. And that delivered big time.

[EPSON-HP]

Leia Zhu was definitely misrepresented here...

[Lily-xjdi]

Holy cow - we need justice for Leia Zhu 😂

[alk]

I love how Ray's casual passages are cleaner than most musician's performances. Unreal.

[jjonwards]

Only a confident person can conclude a video by saying he wasn’t a prodigy, love your music.

[pugsnhogz]

If you wanna know what "prodigy" looks like, check out Midori doing Zapateado for an encore in 1990 (it's on YT). OK she was 19 not 9, whatever. The sheer CONFIDENCE and absolute commitment to the performance... oh and it's the most flawless interpretation I've personally heard, on a beast of a technical piece (IMO - I'm hardly an expert).

My jaw hits the floor every time I watch it, which is a lot of times...

[micahmilton]

You really should hear Teo play the Paganini Violin Concerto Cadenza. His playing is incredibly clear and articulate! His intonation and clarity on the arpeggios is particularly impressive.