Kit Armstrong on Late Show w Letterman

[BaphometTheFallen]

I know many people don't believe in reincarnation, but the only way to explain this guy, Mozart and the like is if they had an entire life behind them. These are not just sounds, they are emotions, emotions that must take time to ripen within someone. Pure talent just can not rush emotional development of a child. He truly is a child prodigy.

[TheJTBryant]

Haha I met this guy

He's super nice haha

Fuckin genius too

[alboss13]

nice.. i see some people trying to blame the parents for his talent.. So what? Parents know whats best for their child... What is the benefit of giving kids the right of choice when they dont even know what is best for them..

[ReturnOfTheStienway]

that was amazing. just got better and better

[asuul714]

Woot, another Marble Blaster with serious piano talent!

[ReturnOfTheStienway]

@asuul714 lol

[doylemon2]

real talk this kid was in my 5th grade glass when he was 3

[hohohee1]

wheres sheet music to this lol

[TheNewAlias]

damn ASIANS are impressive

[1st2watchcfs]

amazing... °o°

[saleisha3580]

fabulous !!!

[lultimanotte315]

o.O

<3

[oinkk1]

it has the character of a variation.

[Augustinephillips]

he is almost 17

[itsanthonyhere]

Why can't I find anything of him speaking to anyone? No interviews?

[egalitarianist]

Google "kit armstrong", click on "Kit Armstrong, prepared for a key performance: NPR Music", then click on "Listen" just above his picture. Other interviews (including with Letterman) have been removed.

Anthony, you are already a fine pianist and will continue to improve with experience. Don't be discouraged because you're not yet an Arthur Rubinstein or Kit Armstrong. What I wouldn't give for your skills on the piano!

[egalitarianist]

Gleaned from other interviews (a few years ago): He says he practices three hours per day. He also said he was happy to learn his pet chickens loved classical music for whenever he asks them what they want to hear, they always reply Ba-a-ch, Bach, Bach...

[sss3d]

holy fucking shit. beautiful.

[itsanthonyhere]

Is he like this because of the piano? Or is he good on the piano because he's like this?

[ihatereligiousppl]

I almost die of disbelief.

[lhnawnaw]

omg

[koubache]

wow !! I'm speachless ...

This symphony is so beautiful !

Absolutly prodigy !!

[NagualElias]

wow I'm glad it sounds more classical and less contemporary. There hasn't been an outstanding great since rachmaninoff.

[happyanimelover992]

HES GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL!!!!! HES SO YOUNG WAYYY YOUNGER THEN ME OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! ah~ what a nice composition. Hes not a prodigy hes a..a..there is no word to describe his beautiful talent!

[boliques0]

Does anybody knows where can i find his music on mp3?? specially this piece... please

[Rockcandymount]

Man! Wouldn't we all love to just be able to PLAY like that, much less compose like that! He's amazing! I'd also like to have been enrolled in college at age ten. :) I'd like to know Kit's story, like when he started taking piano and stuff like that.

[bomberchicken]

I'm 12 and I've only started writing pieces now. And I wouldn't really call them pieces, they're really just simple dinky marches, polkas, gavottes and two waltzes which are Very easy lol. An here I'm watching a ten year old who's composed a symphony! Im speechless! A truly amazing prodigious boy!

[MEEPSCH]

Wow, this kid is AMAZING! He'll be very well known in the classical community, perhaps even like Ashkenazy or Thibaudet! I sure hope so!!!

[cydcharisse08]

He is a prodigy not only as a pianist, but as a young composer as well, which is quite rare in musical terms. I am delighted that Letterman's show brought in a true prodigy, after having seen a miscarriage of musical justice on a Jay Leno show...

[OMalleysAnatomy26]

Notice his name is Armstrong? A lot of great people in history seemed to have that name, Neil Armstrong, Lance Armstrong, Loui Armstrong, and now Kit Armstrong!

[ladySEGOVIA]

HOLY COW!

[simplicityho]

Despite 2.12-2.22, he is truly a genius.

[kuleyonMania]

He is beyond a prodigy.

[ellandelachapelle]

This guy has begun to play with real symphony orchestras - for example in a Mozart concerto, conducted by Bobby McFerrin! And last year he had a recital in London with compositions of his own. He is 15or 16. A young musician one just HAS to follow! (his developement I mean.)

[zuppify]

You know how we're told that we're supposed to play the cards we're dealt with? I think god give this kid the entire deck.

[darkblinds]

Kit is 16 now...one year younger than me....I can still marry him can't I?

[Tiberius1919]

Incredible.This child is a wonder.

[KoreanCartoon]

so amazing =) a perfect child =/ any parent would want him... -cries- unfair.

[UnderwaterDilemma]

So beautiful;how did he make that.

Truly Amazing

[flicfan416]

his playing is beautiful, and the composition is a tremendous achievement...despite sounding a little bit like a disney soundtrack

[GamayUtin]

A super talent no doubt ... but NOT Kit Armstrong! Just see Kit's appearance in the David Letterman show when he was 10 and you will notice he can not reach the pedals and has to use some device. He looks very different from this kid who is 7? and can easily reach the pedals.

This kid must be 11-13 ... anyone knows this super talent??

[GamayUtin]

So sorry !! WRONG POST .... this whould have been posted in - Chopin - Fantasie Impromptu Op.66 - Kit Armstrong (7 years) as posted by dantehd, which is a misrepresentation of Kit!!

[blackchides]

i..i..wow, i mean just, just wow... O.O

[mistique7494]

woah....

[franziesch]

If you want to hear something pretty amazing, check out his performance of La Leggerezza by Franz Liszt, on youtube.

[thechosenone540]

just amazing

just amazing

10 and college!?!?! wtf, the modern day musical Einstein

[ruggerrugger31]

Composing is NOT this kids strong point at the moment!!! But a great pianist without a doubt

[noPHOdle]

haha, i just love what he's wearing.

[andrew2great]

haha~ i know this kid, he's my uncles god son, i met him when he was about 6... and i felt stoopid tlkin to this kid XD haha

[Jckojcko]

wow wow wow wow wow!!! I would so pay to hear this Kid in concert!! His parents must be so very proud of him~!!!! Amazing! God gave him incredible talent!

[talamgf]

oh my gosh! i played foosball with this kid.

[QQQlasy]

omgshma

[bigmelt]

I think the recordings of his piano playing on youtube are excellent, but I'm disappointed with this composition. It sounds like a precocious 15 year old composed it. Composers do take much longer to mature than performers, so hopefully Kit's composing skill will one day match his performing skill, but I'm afraid it won't.

[FancySeraphim]

Well, you do have to take into consideration that it wasn't done by a precocious 15 year old...it was a precocious 10 year old, lol. I actually liked it. It make me smile and seemed like it came from some fantasy. Exactly as a 10 year should feel. But I agree about hoping he gets better and better in the future! =)

[technostick]

Actually if you look on Kit's website it says that this piece was composed in 1999 (i.e. when Kit was 7).

[l0gically]

What exactly is so wrong with his composition? Having been exposed to a wide spectrum of composers that range from Cage to Ravel and quite a bit in between, I don't see any basis for your criticism.

[piano6861]

Beautiful!

[gio333e]

he's a genius, but I didn't like the end!

[superscythe495]

wow. well,my face just exploded. this kid is amazing. i hope he never takes that amazing skill for granted. he like sixteen times better than me

[pianogirl98]

It's fabulous! Bravo!

[NeoComposer]

Wow! He totally blew my mind! This kid is definitely on his way to becoming the next great composer. I would really like to hear his symphony more than anything.

[p1ano]

why don't the links work?

[CaseyCangelosi]

I went to school with this kid, USU. He's a genius too, college level math ect...

[britandveg]

Aeolian. He maitains that well until the end where he uses a leading tone. An amazing understanding of theory. I'm sure we'll be hearing more of his stuff. Good luck to him.

[pianoan]

wow nice composition

[gooberville11]

amazing. totally in awe. Kit your the man.

[desheik]

Kind of busy,but e may have time to mature.

[NYCTaipei]

Aeolian by Mozart II...I mean Kit Armstrong...gyea

[pendaaa]

wts the name of this piece called?

[rmgjudas]

simplemente es un genio increible....me ha dejado sin palabras este chaval....es .... un genio

[jakaput]

Jesus Christ this is awesome melodie

[SpamAnn]

music is realy one of the worlds wonders...

how do sounds touch your emotions on their deeps levels, its amazing

I wish my parents made me go to music school when I was little

[tenmuses]

Thanks for fixing the link! By the way, is there a posting of the complete interview with David Letterman? I tried going to the archives on the The Late Show site and couldn't find anything of value.

[ellandelachapelle]

Wow! I´ve seen this Kit before.Mozart has decided to be reborn? Greetings from a Swedish music critic

[p1ano]

nahh this kid is just PLAIN GENIOUS! << did i spell that right?

[simplicityho]

It's spelled genius.

[p1ano]

shoot ok...im a bad speller

[TehOnlyAlien]

It's spelt 'genius'.***

[flactoid]

the only way i can think of how he got this good is if his parents stuck a red hot skewer in his ear everytime he made a little mistake...lol

[foraneagle2]

there are no mistakes when you compose and perform your own piece

[carolineliou]

@flactoid actually, Kit is my cousin and no, his mom did not stick a skewer in his ear. Thanks.

[foraneagle2]

make sure to delete the spaces in the URL for those two links!

[tenmuses]

The links you give for the full interview are outdated according to my media player. Is there another link that you know works for sure?

[finsfan13]

Awesome!!!