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Early nineteenth-century Europe - with its proliferation of concert halls, its newly blossoming bourgeoisie eager for culture hitherto the exclusive property of the nobility, plus the new romantic attitude toward children - was a good time for prodigies. Today, in the United States, the emphasis on youth as an ideal has permeated the world of music. Rock groups start out in their early teens. Family groups, some with very young children, have flourished; these have included the BeeGees, the Cowsills, the Carpenters, and the Jackson Five, among others. Because of the peculiarities of music as a business it is difficult to sort out the degree of genuine talent in these youngsters. How does one tell how much of their performance is pure mimicry? Or if their "original" material was actually written by them? How much does their success owe to superb control room engineering? Or to adroit press agentry? Or to unusual marketing expertise? In any case, the American climate today is right for young talent, whether on the concert stage or off.
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