Dubai pupil sets Guinness World Record for identifying classical composers by ear

Shivankh Varun Varadharajan recognised 16 pieces by masters such as Bach, Mozart and Vivaldi within a minute

A pupil in Dubai has set a Guinness World Record for identifying the most classical music composers by ear in one minute.

Shivankh Varun Varadharajan, 6, achieved the feat on September 14 after naming 16 composers correctly.

The German-Tamil pupil, who was born in Dubai, was able to recognise some of the biggest names in classical music, such as Wagner and Mozart, from short excerpts of their works played in random order. His mother, Yalini, said she first noticed his ability when he was very young.

TimeframeMost dominoes toppled, fastest rollercoaster - the UAE’s Guinness World Records

Read More

“Shivankh can instantly recognise composers like Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky and Debussy just by hearing a few seconds of their melodies,” she said.

“He’s been doing this since he was about two and a half years old, and over time his ear for music became so sharp that he could even tell apart similar-sounding pieces, for example, identifying Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik versus Beethoven’s Fur Elise within seconds.”

His mother said he was always captivated by instrumental music, especially classical pieces. When he would watch Tom and Jerry, he would mainly listen to the orchestra behind it.

Music is how Shivankh 'feels and communicates', his mother says. Photo: handout

“One day, while a Bach piece was playing, he suddenly said ‘that’s Bach!’. I thought it was coincidence at first, but it kept happening: with Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi and others,” she said. “As a neurodivergent child, Shivankh has always experienced the world a little differently.”

She said music is how he “feels and communicates”, it is his language, and numbers and music often “blend together in kind of a harmony” for him. She added that he often relates people’s personalities to composers.

“Sometimes he’ll say things like, ‘she was talking so fast, like Rimsky’, or ‘he’s calm, like Chopin’. That’s how he reads the world: through tone and rhythm,” she said.

At home, instrumental music is always playing and he spends hours humming along to pieces by Bach, Chopin and Erik Satie. “He prefers calm, lyrical pieces, the kind that carry emotion rather than energy,” his mother said.

Preparing for the world record attempt was a new experience for the family, with the biggest challenge being time.

“Recognising compositions was something he did naturally, anywhere, any time,” she said. "But there was strict criteria: he had to identify a minimum number of composers within one minute, with randomised selections from the full list."

To help him prepare, the family formed a small team and practised daily. “For him, it was all fun," she said. "He’d even point out when he made a tiny mistake and wanted to try one more time."

She hopes her son’s story will inspire parents to nurture their children’s individuality.

“Every child has a world inside them, sometimes you just have to pause long enough to see it,” she said. “Listen more, compare less and let their uniqueness unfold naturally. Some gifts begin quietly, in small moments of passion or curiosity.”

When asked about his dreams for the future, she said: “I think he wants to become a composer and he often dreams of meeting Bach one day.”

“When I told him that isn’t possible, I asked if there was someone else he’d like to meet. Without hesitation, he said, ‘Prince.’ When I asked why, he said softly, ‘he is kind.’”