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Sarah Chang, a true prodigy in the era when there were no social media

I have always been fascinated, as many of you have been, by the unbelievable qualities demonstrated by true child prodigy.  One such person I have been especially fascinated by is the internationally acclaimed violinist Sarah Chang (home page, @sarahchang).

There was no internet in 1986 when Sarah Chang auditioned at the tender age of 5 for Juillard playing Bruch's violin concerto.  However fortunately we can have a glimpse of what an unbelievable talent she had at this age thanks to a video of her playing around that age.  The sound and video quality is not great but it is such a fantastic historic artifact.



When she had just turned 9 (I know lots say 8 but she turned 9 on December 10, 1989), Zubin Mehta then conductor of the New York Philharmonic called her up on Thursday January 11, 1990 to ask her if she would audition the next day.  After the audition he called her back to ask her if she could play the next day to replace then Concert master Glenn Dicterow, but that there was just one little problem; there was no rehearsal time available so she would have to play without rehearsing first.  She accepted and this is how Sarah debuted.

Here is a copy of the program that comes from the New York Philharmonic archives.


This is the text from the program (with handwritten annotations in courrier italic font):

Educational Concert 
ZUBIN MEHTA, Music Director HOME OF THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC 
478th and 479th YOUNG PEOPLE'S CONCERTS (FOUNDED BY ERNEST SCHELLING IN 1024) 
Wednexday Morning, January 10, 1990 at 11:00 11,464th and ll,467th Concerts 
Saturday Afternoon, janunry 13, 1990, at 2:00 
Zubin Mehta, Conductor and Host/Commentator 
GLENN DICTEROW, Violinist SARAH CHANG, VIOLIN
PHILIP SMITH,Trumpeter 
BEETHOVEN "Leonore" Overture No. 3, C major, Opus 72A* 
BIZET-WAXMAN  "Carmen" Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra 
HAYDN 
Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, 
E-flat major 
I Allegro 
II Andante 
lll Finale 
PAGANINI  CONCERTO, VIOLIN, NO. 1, MVT 1

RAVEL "Bolero" 
* Recorded by the New York Philharmonic and currently available 
Young People s Concerts are funded bv the MARIE BAIER FOUNDATION, the CHARLES E. CULPEPER FOUNDATION, INC., the BILLY ROSE FOUNDATION MRS. WILLIAM P. SCHWEITZER, and an endowment from the WILLARD T.C. JOHNSON FOUNDATION, INC. 
Zubin Mehta's appearance is endowed by MR. AND MRS. LAURANCE S. ROCKEFELLER and IBM CORPORATION. 
Major support for this and other Educational Activities is provided bv endowments from the 
EXXON CORPORATION and the WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST EDUCATIONAL ENDOWMENT FUND. 
The programs of the Philharmonic are made possible in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C., a Federal agency. 
Steinway Piano 
Deutsche Grammophon, London, New World, RCA, Sony Classical, Teldec 

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