Music of Childhood
] DARESAY there may still be lying about in old chests of drawers a few childish scrawls on manuscript paper which represent the first attempts at composition some of our mightiest composers, Mozart comes to mind immediately as one composer whose works, written at the age of six years, still survive; but this does not imply that other famous composers didn’t also have a shot at it at a tender age. Mozart was merely lucky-he had a fond father who could both read and write music, and who wanted him to bé a prodigy. The "Simple Symphony" of Benjamin Britten, played from 4YA, from its Boisterous Bourrée to its Frolicsome Finale, was reconstructed from material invented by the composer during the ages of 9 and 12 years. The material may be simple, but what the composer does with it is certainly not. I was reminded of Elgar’s "Wand of Youth," in which work also the mature composer amuses himself by renovating and refurbishing in a delightful style the musical thoughts of his youth. Themes come to the composer at any age; it is a pity that more composers don’t keep them in cold storage until they ate technically compe- ' tent to deal with them.
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 12, Issue 291, 19 January 1945, Page 9
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206Music of Childhood New Zealand Listener, Volume 12, Issue 291, 19 January 1945, Page 9
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
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