‘I hated being called a prodigy’: Alma Deutscher, 18, composer and musician, on growing up and the future ahead of her Hong Kong debut
- She wrote a piano sonata aged six, a violin concerto aged nine and, aged 10, an opera, but British musician Alma Deutscher never saw herself as a wonderkid
- Ahead of a concert in Hong Kong where she will perform and conduct, the 18-year-old talks about being inspired by living in Vienna and what’s next
British-born composer, pianist and violinist Alma Deutscher became an international phenomenon after she appeared on an episode of 60 Minutes, aged 12, and wrote a piano sonata on the spot based on four random notes that presenter Scott Pelley picked out of a hat.
Conductor Zubin Mehta described her that same year, 2017, as “one of the greatest musical talents today”, after he found out that she started playing the piano when she was two and the violin when she was three, that she composed her first piano sonata aged six, and a concerto for violin and orchestra aged nine. At the age of 10, she wrote her first opera.
“I always hated being called [a child prodigy]. I always wanted to be taken seriously, so I never liked being called a wonderkid, new Mozart or a prodigy. I’m very happy that it is gradually stopping because I’m not a child any more,” the now 18-year-old musician tells the Post ahead of her Hong Kong debut.
Growing up, she was surrounded by music. Although her parents were not professional, they were passionate musicians – her father plays flute and her mother the piano.
Maybe the only time I was a bit nervous was before my concert at Carnegie Hall
Deutscher was home-schooled in England, which gave her a lot of freedom.
“I spent most of the time learning by myself, so I was very concentrated. I was never forced to practise. I was always the motivated one who wanted to practise because I loved creating music, composing and improvising it.”
While stories abound of prodigies burning out or simply losing interest in their special gifts, Deutscher has not veered from her single-minded pursuit of making beautiful music, and her career, now based in Vienna, has seen her perform her own music as a soloist in New York’s Carnegie Hall and with the Vienna State Opera.
On February 4, she will perform with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. “It’s extremely exciting to perform my own music – playing my Concerto for Violin in G minor, Concerto for Piano in E flat major and conducting Waltz of the Sirens,” she says.
“I’m very much looking forward to working with City Chamber Orchestra and listening to the orchestra work on my piece.”
She says the highlight of her programme will be Waltz of the Sirens because it combines the traditional and modern, taking the ugliness of the modern world and turning it into beauty through music.
“Waltz of the Sirens is different from other orchestra pieces because in the beginning, the orchestra has to imitate the ugly sounds of the traffic, sirens and cars beeping,” she explains.
Another thing to look out for is Deutscher improvising a piece from random notes the audience gives her.
“I think it’s important for the atmosphere to be comfortable and informal, but without compromising on the quality of music,” she says. “I hope the audience have a lot of fun in the concert and leave the concert hall with melodies in their heads, still humming the tunes.”
Because she loves performing and believes that it’s not about perfection – that it is musicality that really matters – she doesn’t have stage fright.
“Maybe the only time I was a bit nervous was before my concert at Carnegie Hall (in 2019) because that was live-streamed. But once I was on stage, I was very happy,” she says.
Deutscher moved to Vienna, the Austrian capital, in 2018. She is studying conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.
How does she like living in Austria, the most musical country in the world?
“Vienna is such an inspiring city to live in. You have the opera, the music and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. It’s so full of culture and tradition. You go for a walk and realise, ‘this is where Beethoven walked and composed music’,” she says.
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Asked if composing is what she wants to focus on in the future, Deutscher says: “Composing is the most creative part, but I think the best combination is composing and then performing my own music for the audience. That way I can perform my music exactly how I imagined it as I was composing the piece.”
As for what’s next, she says she is working on a musical. “I’ve always wanted to compose a musical. I have lots of melodies for that.
“Also, music for films is something I very much want to do,” she adds.
“Alma Deutscher + CCOHK,” City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall, February 4, 7.30pm.
