Improvisation came easily -- and early -- to Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero.
She received a two-octave toy piano when she was 7 months old and it soon became her favorite toy.
At 18 months, she began to pick out the themes from the songs her mother sang to her at night. By age 2 or 3, Montero says, she was improvising on those themes.
"It was like playing games. It was absolutely the most normal thing for me," she says.
Today, Montero is still riffing on classical themes. Her latest release is Bach and Beyond, the music of and inspired by Bach.