David Garrett (violinist)

David Garrett (born David Bongartz, 1980 sept 4 in Aachen, Germany) is a classical violinist and recording artist.

Upbringing

Garrett was born in Aachen, Germany to an American mother and a German father. [ [http://icls503.fimc.net/Article.asp?id=553940&spid=10124 "Classic FM" biography] ]

Child prodigy and musical education

When Garrett was four years old, his father bought a violin for his older brother. The young David 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 was playing once a week in public. He studied violin at the Lubeck Conservatoire. At the age of 12, he began working with the distinguished Polish violinist Ida Haendel, often travelling to London and the other European cities to meet her. At the age of 13, he recorded two CDs, appeared on German and Dutch television, and gave a concert in the residence of the Federal Republic of Germany President, the Villa Hammerschmidt, at Dr. von Weizsäcker’s personal invitation. He was offered the use of the famous Stradivarius "San Lorenzo", which is among the best instruments of the "golden period". At the age of 14, as the youngest soloist ever, he signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. At the age of 17, he played with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Zubin Mehta in Delhi and Bombay in concerts marking the 50th anniversary of India’s Independence. At the age of 19, he played with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchster in Berlin, under the direction of Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and was hailed by critics. This led to an invitation to perform at Expo 2000 in Hannover. He continued his studies at the Royal College of Music in London. At the age of 21, he was invited to perform at the BBC Proms. He graduated from the Juilliard School in 2004.

Modeling career

While studying at the Juilliard School in New York City, as one of the first students to study with Itzhak Perlman, Garrett supplemented his income by working as a model. Some fashion writers have described him as "the David Beckham of the classical scene".cite news |first=Thomas |last=Wagner |title=Violinist: Fall Fractures $1M Fiddle |url=http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080215/NEWS34/80215023 |work=The Associated Press |publisher=Associated Press |date= 2008-02-14 |accessdate=2008-02-15 ]

Accidental damage to violin

In December 2007, Garrett fell after a performance at Barbican Hall in London, and smashed his rare violin, initially reported as a Stradivarius, but later corrected to having been made by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini. Garrett had purchased the instrument four years earlier for USD 1 million. It was estimated that it would cost $120,000 to repair.cite news |first= |last= |title='Beckham of violin' reveals accidental smashing of rare violin |url=http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2008/02/13/garrett-strad-smash.html |work= [http://www.cbc.ca CBC News web site] |publisher=CBC News |date= 2008-02-14 |accessdate=2008-06-15 ]

Discography

His latest release of "Virtuoso" (“Free”) at DECCA equally pursues this aim of arousing young people’s interest in classical music. The release contains arrangements and compositions of his own 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 in the first part (accompanied by a concert grand piano) and arrangements and compositions, as well as "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica in the second part.

In Autumn 2007, David was chosen by the “Montegrappa” firm (whose articles 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 will take place in several different venues, including Rome, New York, Hong Kong, Berlin, and London. On this occasion, David has been offered a Stradivarius from the “Gli Archi di Pallazzo Comunale” collection.

References

External links

* [http://www.david-garrett.com Official site]
* [http://www.david-garrett-fans.com Fansite]
* [http://www.david-garrett.info Website about David Garrett]