BruceD,

I know nothing about her history. BTW, a history for an 8 years old must be very rich. You know that I am just kidding.

When I see a little league pitcher throws 85 mph, I question the coach's wisdom. By the same token, I question whether the lovely young lady is well served by her teacher.

But why? I mean what are your reasons for questioning her teacher? Just curious.

If a little league pitcher can throw 85 mph, I'd question the pitcher's age.

If the questioning has merits, one must question (1) the lovely young lady, (2) her parents, or (3) her teacher. Who would then have more knowledge about the possibility of injury? I would expect that the teacher is the one who knows best about this.

It could be this Umi Garrett (if that is her real name) is a midget posing as an eight-year-old to cash in on her lately discovered pianistic skills.

So, injury is behind your reasoning. That's understandable, though, if she's gotten this far (clearly very advanced for her age), then my bet is that she's in good hands.

I am not a teacher, but I know something about having a gifted pianist.

I think this child looks happy and enjoys an audience. In regards to a gifted pianist's education, when a child plays at this level they tend to be gifted in academics as well. So maybe a child such as this will be a mathematician or a scientist when they grow up, but the years they spent studying how to do something well will be applicable to other endeavors. I also would not be surprised if the parents said her piano is covered with toys. A child cannot practice this much without using their imagination.

On the other hand, I thought her movements were too much. But I understand too much is better than not enough, but she is eight and in time her movements will look part of her.

There are teachers that give their students pieces that they cannot properly execute. (I am not saying this is so for this particular student.) Teachers do it with their best students to impress the audience, but they also do it because the audience is familiar with that piece. Most people’s exposure to classical music is confined to classic Looney Tunes, and they do not know if a piece is played correctly or not.

I think I read somewhere this girl needed money for her piano education, so perhaps that is why they went public. However when a cute child plays at a high level they get noticed and opportunities arise. A parent has to use their discretion in regards to media and print. I think less is better, but that is up to the parents.

Using your arm and body in this way are very correct. She won't have any problems with injuries. Children are born with a very relaxed and natural coordination and this is why there is such an output of child "prodigies" -- since piano playing is so linear. This is also why it's much harder to improve technical skills when you start learning piano at a later age!

I keep running into videos of Umi Garrett playing on Youtube, and the more I hear, the more she seems even more spectacular.

Umi has got to be the best or one of the best child prodigies on Youtube if not the world. The fact that the owner of Piano World started this thread attests to this.

Lol, I went on her website and saw this: "She plays Liszt better than some pianists 20 years older."

I guess it depends on the child and the way he/she is amnaged. But think of a few child prodigies and see where they ended up. And by child prodigy i mean someone in the limelight from such a young age.

Maybe she is an exception. But i cannot but find it obscene to have a kid this age perform in big halls. That s just my view. I am not saying it can t be done well but i just can't see how.

Maybe because she liked the piece.

I think the following article is doing a much better job than what I am able to offer (the author is the chair of the piano department at NEC:

http://www.artsjournal.com/pianomorphosis/2010/03/repertoire-inflation.html

I could not agree more with the following two paragraphs taken from the article posted above by ABC Vermonter:


"It's especially concerning to find that a young master of all of Chopin's Opus-25 Etudes had no contact with any music by Mozart or Haydn, or that the very first sonata by Beethoven that a bright pianist learned was the composer's Opus 111."
"If work is postponed on the basics of music -- on what is simple, though difficult to realize, on the fundamental building blocks of more complicated music -- then the things that really need to "work" in a piece, in a technique, in art, may never be settled or even considered. It's not so much that these castles are built on sand, but that their fancy turrets may not signify much of anything. What makes music matter is overlooked."

With all genuinely due respect, I totally disagree with putting these children on public display. As a musicophile I would never go to a child prodigy concert. It is simply not interesting enough. From a woman's perspective, I would celebrate this chold's talent and ensure she receives the best education I can afford, but I would never allow her to do concert tours. She needs dolls, fairy tale books and as much magic and as less stress as is possible. Her obvious talent non-withstanding ..