A VIRTUOSO OF THREE.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9388, 6 March 1909, Page 3

A VIRTUOSO OF THREE.

The nose of Pepita Ariolia, the little Spanish hoy pianist who played with the best orchestra in England at the age of eight, has been quite put out of joint by his step-sister, aged three. Pillar Osorio is perhaps the most extraordinary prodigy in the history of music. When she is older she may be no better than a dozen other pianists, but the tact that she gave a public recital at the age of three (to be precise, she was a few weeks short of four),Hgives her a niche in the temple of fame. The recital took place in Leipsig, a centre of musical culture, and attracted a great deal of attention. The Berlin correspondent of a London paper reports that she played a number of classical pieces with “astonishing verve and correctness of execution and touch.” “Her achievement is all the more remarkable because she played without a single note, having learnt solely by i ear and memory. Little Pillar Osorio’s musical talent is regarded not only as an artistic, but also a scientific wonder. Men of science are interested in the question as to how the brain of an infant of three years old can be capable of the mental effort required to grasp all the intricacies of classical pieces which this infant prodigy played correctly before a critical audience at Leipzig. ” This amazing child even composes. Berlin also applauded her, playing, and marvelled at the wonder of it. The story goes that she was discovered one morning at the age of two, trying to pick out on the piano the song with which her nurse put her to sleep. Her education is not being forced, and she plays only when the whim seizes her. Her daily life *s the life of an ordinary child, most of her time being spent with toys. Every now and then she goes to the piano in her playroom and satisfies a musical impulse. While playing a’Beetboven number in Berlin before an invited audience she suddenly jumped off her stool, and began to play with a toy motor oar brought with her. Her mother was also a prodigy, and developed into a musician of note.