Unfulfilled potential: The adult careers of former musical prodigies Ervin Nyiregyhazi, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, and David Helfgott

Abstract

This study investigated the careers of three former musical prodigies (i.e., Ervin Nyiregyhazi, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, and David Helfgott) who made mature decisions to pursue music as a career, but did not achieve at the expected levels of distinction as adults. Many of the individual factors that may contribute to their relative lack of adult success appear to be related to factors other than natural ability, including a less than optimal level of psychosocial skills, restrictions imposed by society, and distractions from a complete commitment to music. Greater scholarly attention to the adult careers of musical prodigies is necessary to ensure that future generations of musical prodigies are better supported to realise their potential.