3 years old play the piano and play the violin;
Began composing music at the age of 4;
Wrote an opera at the age of 10;
Made a solo debut in Austria at the age of 12 ...
Alma Deutscher, a British girl who is only 14 years old this year, has confused modern science.
At least with modern science's understanding of the brain, it's hard to understand where Alma's musical talent came from. For Alma, music was her breath, and "Mozart" was the first language she learned.
CBS News interviewed this little genius musician whose life is very different from most people's.
Paley and Alma Image source | CBS News
Scott Pelley: What are your earliest musical memories?
Alma: I remember when I was three years old, I heard richard Strauss's melodious lullaby, and it was the first time I really realized how much I loved music. I asked my parents, "How can music be so beautiful?" ”
Strauss made a difference, and 3-year-old Alma began playing the piano and playing the violin.
Pelli: What about composing? When did the composition start?
Alma: When I was four years old, I had these melodies and ideas in my head, and I would play them at the piano. Sometimes my parents think I'm just reminiscing about music I've heard before. But I said, "No, this is the melody I created." ”
Two years ago, in Austria, Alma performed the premiere of her own violin concerto and piano concerto. She was accompanied by the entire Viennese Chamber Orchestra led by the famous violinist Joji Hattori.
Alma in the show is based on | CBS News
On that day, Alma played a song composed by herself. In the concerto, she wrote notes on all the instruments of the piece.
It all goes far beyond a child's ability and emotional scale.
Pelley: Do you know where these come from?
Alma: I don't really know, but for me, walking around and the melody pops up in my head, which is normal. I think it's the most normal thing in the world, and for me, it feels strange if no melody suddenly pops up in my head. So if I interviewed you, I would say, "Okay, Scott (Payley), what's it like not having a melody in your head?" ”
Pelley: So I have to admit that my mind is quiet.
But all of this is different in Alma. Even when she has nothing to do, music flows from the source of mystery to her mind, as smooth as breathing.
Alma's family are music lovers. Her father, Gay, and her mother, Jenny, were both professors, with Jenny teaching Old English literature and Gay a well-known linguist, both amateur musicians.
Music is Alma's innate talent Image source | CBS News
But when Payley asked if they understood Alma's talent, his father, Gay, said, "We don't understand where creativity comes from, does anyone know?" I think that's the crux of the mystery, where does all this creativity come from? This melody pops into your head, it's really a volcano of imagination, almost unstoppable. ”
For Alma, it wasn't hard at all to get melodies in her head, the only thing that made her feel difficult was how to combine them.
Alma said: "I like to listen to melodies. It wasn't hard for me at all, I had it in my head all the time. But actually, the next part of putting the melodies together was the really difficult part, and I had to tell a true story with music. ”
The story Alma tells in her opera is Cinderella, but not Cinderella.
Alma found Cinderella attractive because her feet were small, so she portrayed Cinderella as a composer and the prince as a poet. "Cinderella discovered a poem written by the prince, she loved it, and she had the inspiration to incorporate the music into it, and at the ball, Alma sang it to the prince." I think it makes more sense than the prince falling in love with Cinderella, because she composed beautiful melodies for his poems, and the prince thought cinderella was his soul mate because she knew herself. ”
When Alma performed her first work in Vienna, people fell in love with Cinderella.
Pelley: There was also a composer who also had his opera premiere in Vienna at the age of 11. That person's name is Mozart, and now people compare you to Mozart, what do you think about that?
Alma: I know what they mean, and it's a very good thumbs up to compare me to Mozart. But I guess I'd rather be the first Alma than the second Mozart.
Many people have compared Alma to Mozart in | CBS News
Alma added elements of Mozart to a performance in Israel, where she played Mozart's Piano Concerto in the Colorful Section. That's when the orchestra stopped and Alma improvised to music she had created herself.
Alma said: "This is my composition, this is a very early Mozart Concerto, the Colorful section is very simple, I did not turn key. I made a lot of different pieces with Mozart's theme and improved Mozart's Colorful sections. ”
Two years ago, Alma's U.S. premiere was held at the San Jose Opera House, where Cinderella's opera was performed.
Many people wonder, what does a girl of Alma's age know about darkness and drama?
Alma said, "I'm a very happy person, so I know a lot of fictional composers, one of whom is Antonin Yellowsink." This is my imaginary composer friend, an insight into the music of my heart. ”
Alma also said she "built" a country where she imagined composers writing, each with their own style of emotion.
"I have a lot of composers in my head, and sometimes, when I'm bothered by something, when I'm writing, I go to them for advice," Alma said. They often come up with very interesting things. ”
Alma, 14, is far more mature than her own age.
"I know that life is not always good, there is still ugliness in the world. I want to write beautiful music because I want to make the world a better place. ”
( Author: Weng Hanjun Editor: Li Zheng )