American composer Samuel Barber was something of a child prodigy. He began composing at the age of 7 and, having learnt piano, organ and voice, gained a place at the Curtis Institute of Music at just 14. Barber began composing seriously in his late teenage years writing a flurry of successful compositions, launching him into the spotlight of the classical music community. Many of his compositions were commissioned or premiered by such famous artists as Vladimir Horowitz, Francis Poulenc, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. © Matthew Lynch, 2009