Alma Deutcher, 8 years old. Genuine, lovely. The image below is poor because I captured it directly from a video clip, never the best idea for clarity. But never mind... you can see and hear this little girl more clearly in the clip itself.
Below is the link to the interview I saw. It is from a program called Intermezzo with Arik, on Israel Educational Television, which showcases and interviews musical personalities. Since the child, from England, is bilingual, it is partly in English and partly in Hebrew, and has English subtitles.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/KPMiYi8btjk?feature=player_detailpage
This is about, but not only about, a child whose musical sensibility and ability surpasses that of most adults. I want to emphasize that I do not use the word "prodigy." I think it is possible to ruin a gift like this by containing it within labels and hyperbole. I suspect there must be many human beings whose gifts of artistic expression were not nurtured, who were actively discouraged by social and familial pressure, or by poverty and other constraining factors, from expressing the music or words or whatever special sensitivity lies within them. The greatest difference about this violinist and pianist of such tender age lies in the way her wonderful gift was and has been greatly nurtured by her parents. I found myself so drawn to the magnetic love of music that comes through this child, that I watched it through to the end.
I could not help but wonder, watching her play, at the gifts embedded in the human spirit that so often go untapped. Here one can see when a gift is enabled, and encouraged to give expression. The young Ms. Deutscher's face utterly shines with feeling.
Nurture your children's most beloved and positive aspirations whether you see a gift there, or not. And if you were once a child whose aspirations of expression were not nurtured, it may not be too late.