David Garrett Christian Bongartz (born 4 September 1980), known by his stage name David Garrett, is a German classical and crossover

violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists * List of contemporary classical violinists * List of jazz violinists * List of popular music violinists * List of Indian violinists * List of Persian violinists * Li ...

and recording artist.

Early life

When Garrett was four years old his father purchased a violin for his older brother. The young Garrett took an interest and soon learned to play. A year later, he took part in a competition and won first prize. By the age of seven, he studied violin at the Lübeck Conservatoire. When he was nine years old he gave his debut at the Festival

Kissinger Sommer The Kissinger Sommer is a classical music festival held every year in the summer in the city of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria, Southern Germany. History The festival was founded in 1986. At the beginning the focus of the festival was on the improvem ...

, and by the age of 12, Garrett began working with the distinguished Polish violinist

Ida Haendel Ida Haendel, (15 December 1928 - or 1923, the exact year remains uncertain 1 July 2020) was a world renowned Polish-British-Canadian violinist. Haendel was a child prodigy, her career spanning over seven decades. She also became an influentia ...

, often traveling to London and other European cities to meet her. After leaving home at 17, he enrolled at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

in London, leaving after the first semester. On being asked in an interview in 2008 if he was expelled, Garrett responded: "Well, expelled wasn't the official term… It was mutually agreed that me and the RCM were going separate ways after the first semester. I did skip some lessons – but I also broke in to do extra practice, so that didn't help!" In 1999, he moved to New York to attend the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

, in 2003 winning the School's Composition Competition with a

fugue In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin ''fuga'', meaning "flight" or "escape""Fugue, ''n''." ''The Concise Oxford English Dictionary'', eleventh edition, revised, ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson (Oxford and New York: Oxford Universit ...

composed in the style of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

. While at Juilliard he studied under

Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman (; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist. He has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that have included a state dinner for Elizabeth II at the White House in 2007, and at the First ina ...

, one of the first people to do so, and graduated in 2004. Garrett attended the Keshet Eilon Masterclasses in Israel in the summers of 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2002.

Career

Garrett received his first

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, and guitars, crafted by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), in Cremona, Italy, during the late 17th ...

violin at the age of 11, courtesy of German president

Richard von Weizsäcker Richard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker (; 15 April 1920 – 31 January 2015) was a German politician ( CDU), who served as President of Germany from 1984 to 1994. Born into the aristocratic Weizsäcker family, who were part of the German nobili ...

, after having performed for him. At the age of 13, Garrett recorded two CDs, appeared on German and Dutch television, and gave a concert in the residence of the President of Germany, the Villa Hammerschmidt. At that age, he was offered the use of the famous Stradivarius "San Lorenzo", which is among the best instruments of Antonio Stradivari's " golden period". He eventually purchased his own, made in 1772 by Giovanni Guadagnini, a student of Stradivari. However, after a 2008 performance, he fell, landing on the violin which was strapped to his back and damaging it severely. Although he was able to get it repaired, he purchased a Stradavari soon afterward. At the age of 13, as the youngest soloist ever, Garrett signed an exclusive contract with

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

. In April 1997, aged 16, he played with the

Munich Philharmonic Orchestra The Munich Philharmonic () is a German symphony orchestra located in the city of Munich. It is one of Munich's four principal orchestras, along with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Radio Orchestra and the Bavarian State Orches ...

under the direction of

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor :wikt:emeritus, emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

and

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

in concerts marking the 50th anniversary of

India's Independence The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic movement t ...

. Two years later, Garrett played with the

Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (''Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin'') is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin. In Berlin, the orchestra gives concerts at the Konzerthaus Berlin and at the Berliner Philharmonie. The orchestra has a ...

under the direction of

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos (born Rafael Frühbeck; 15 September 1933 – 11 June 2014) was a Spanish conductor and composer. Frühbeck was born in Burgos, Spain to a family of German ancestry. He first took up conducting while on military serv ...

, and was hailed by critics. This led to an invitation to perform at

Expo 2000 Expo 2000 was a World Expo held in Hanover, Germany from 1 June to 31 October 2000. It was located on the Hanover Fairground (Messegelände Hannover), which is the largest exhibition ground in the world. Initially, some 40 million people were ...

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

. At the age of 21, he was invited to perform at the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

. While studying at Juilliard, Garrett supplemented his income by working as a model. David Garrett P1210415

Garrett's 2008 album ''Encore'' pursues an aim of arousing young people's interest in classical music. The release contains his own compositions and arrangements of pieces and melodies that have accompanied him in his life so far. Together with his band, consisting of keyboard, guitar and drums, he gives concerts that include classical sonatas (accompanied by a concert grand piano), arrangements, and compositions, as well as rock songs and movie themes. In Autumn 2007, Garrett was chosen by the Montegrappa firm (whose items are distributed by Montblanc throughout the world) as an ambassador for the launch of the new pens from the ''Tributo ad Antonio Stradivari'' collection. The event took place in several venues, including in Rome, New York, Hong Kong, Berlin, and London. For these occasions Garrett was offered a Stradivarius from the ''Gli Archi di Palazzo Comunale'' collection. He also appeared at the

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...

on 5 December 2011, playing his cover of

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

's "

Smells Like Teen Spirit "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, '' Nevermind'' (1991), released on DGC Records. Having sold over 13 million units worldwide, it i ...

". He joined the 9th annual Independent Music Awards judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers. His album, ''Music'', was released in 2012. On 19 May 2012 he appeared at the

UEFA Champions League Final The UEFA Champions League is a seasonal football competition established in 1955. Prior to the 1992–93 season, the tournament was named the European Cup. The UEFA Champions League is open to the league champions of all UEFA (Union of Europe ...

performing with German singer

Jonas Kaufmann Jonas Kaufmann (born July 10, 1969) is a German- Austrian tenor opera singer. He is best known for the versatility of his repertoire, performing a variety of opera roles in multiple languages in recital Tommasini, Anthony (21 February 2014)"A Teno ...

. For 2014 he announced a new Crossover Tour. He played the lead role in the 2013 film '' The Devil's Violinist'', as the noted 19th-century violinist

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; ; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices ...

. The same year he released his album ''Garrett vs Paganini''. His 2015 album ''Explosive'' includes the original compositions Innovation, Furious, Explosive, Unlimited Symphony, Serenity, Baroque fantasy, and Melancholia. On 18 August 2017, David Garrett released the single "Bittersweet Symphony" as a teaser for his album ''Rock Revolution'', released 17 September 2017. On 20 August 2020, Garrett performed the UEFA Europa League Anthem for the 2019-20 UEFA Europa League season, which took place in Germany from the Quarter Final stage. On 11 October 2020, Garrett performed the German national anthem at the

Formula 1 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

2020 Eifel Grand Prix as part of the opening ceremonies. On 9 October he released another studio album called ''Alive: My Soundtrack''.

Personal life

Garrett was born in

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

to an American

prima ballerina A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancers ...

, Dove Garrett, and a German

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

, Georg Bongartz. Garrett explains that while he was performing as a child prodigy, his parents started using his mother's maiden name as his stage name. "My parents kind of decided that it was more pronounceable than the German name, so I stuck with that."

Recordings

Studio albums

* ''Mozart: Violin Concertos'' with

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharm ...

(1995) * ''Violin Sonata'' (1995) * ''Paganini Caprices'' (1997) * ''Tchaikovsky, Conus: Violin Concertos'' (1997) * '' Pure Classics'' (2002) * '' Free'' (2007) * ''

Virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...

'' (2007) * ''

Encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers at the conclusion of a show or concert, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford Universi ...

'' (2008) * '' David Garrett'' (2009) * '' Classic Romance'' (2009) * '' Rock Symphonies'' (2010) * ''Legacy'' (2011) * ''Music'' (2012) * '' 14'' (2013) * ''Garrett vs. Paganini'' (2013) * ''Caprice'' (2014) * ''Timeless – Brahms & Bruch Violin Concertos'' with

and

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit ha-Yisra'elit'') is a major Israeli symphony orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Its principal concert ...

(2014) * ''Explosive'' (2015) * ''Rock Revolution'' (2017) * ''Unlimited – Greatest Hits'' (2018) * ''Alive: My Soundtrack'' (2020) * ''Iconic'' (2022) * ''Millennium Symphony'' (2024)

Other albums

* ''Nokia Night of the Proms'' (2004) * ''The New Classical Generation 2008'' (2008)

Featured

* ''Tenor at the Movies'' – "Parla Più Piano" (theme from ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...

'') and "Se" (theme from ''

Cinema Paradiso ''Cinema Paradiso'' (, , ) is a 1988 Coming-of-age film, coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. Set in a small Sicilian town, the film centres on the friendship between a young boy and an aging projectionist ...

'') with Jonathan Ansell (2008) * ''A New World'' – "Cinema Paradiso" with Will Martin (2008) * ''

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

'' – "How Can I Go On" with

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter who achieved global fame as the lead vocalist and pianist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. Regarded as one of the gre ...

and

Montserrat Caballé María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch or Folc (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), also known as Montserrat Caballé (i Folch), was a Spanish operatic soprano from Catalonia. Widely considered to be one of the best sopranos ...

(2012) * ''Classical 80s Dance'' – "

Tainted Love "Tainted Love" is a song composed by Ed Cobb, formerly of American group the Four Preps, which was originally recorded by Gloria Jones in 1964. In 1981, the song attained worldwide fame after being covered and reworked by British synth-pop du ...

" with

Alex Christensen Alex Christensen (born 7 April 1967), also known by his stage names Jasper Forks or Alex C., is a German dance music producer, songwriter, and DJ generally known as the face and one of the founding members of U96. Since 2002, he has been coll ...

and the Berlin Orchestra (2022)

DVD

* ''David Garrett: Live – In Concert & In Private'' (2009) * ''David Garrett: Rock Symphonies – Open Air Live'' (2010) * ''David Garrett: Legacy Live in Baden Baden'' (2011) * ''David Garrett: Music – Live in Concert'' (2012) * ''David Garrett: Unlimited - Live from the Arena di Verona'' (2021) * ''David Garrett: Alive - Live from Caracalla & The private life of a Star (2023)''

Filmography

*'' The Devil's Violinist'' *'' Sesamstraße'' (1 episode) *''Dein Song'' (segment "Good Times") *"Alle Tage ist kein Sonntag" (feat.

Till Lindemann Till Lindemann (; born 4 January 1963) is a German singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and lyricist of Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein and solo project Lindemann (band), Lindemann. Rammstein has sold over 25 million records worldw ...

)

Awards and recognition

* Radio Regenbogen Award, March 2008 * Echo Classics, Classic without borders, October 2008 * GQ Award Man of the Year category music, November 2008 * Goldene Feder, May 2009 * Goldener Geigenbogen, May 2009 * Golden Camera, Best Music International, January 2010 * World's Fastest Violinist,

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

, May 2008 to December 2011 * Bambi Awards, category Classic (14 November 2013) * Frankfurter Musikpreis, 2017

References

External links

Official website

* ttp://www.cmusic.tv/watchvideo/281 Television Interview with David Garrett from C Music TV
David Garrett
– featured on the first episode of The Artist Toolbox * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garrett, David 1980 births Living people 21st-century German classical violinists 21st-century German male musicians Alumni of the Royal College of Music Decca Records artists Deutsche Grammophon artists Echo (music award) winners German expatriates in the United Kingdom German expatriates in the United States German male models German people of American descent German people of Russian descent German philanthropists Juilliard School alumni German male classical violinists Musicians from Aachen Rock violinists