| David Garrett | |
|---|---|
Garrett performing in Ludwigshafen in March 2009 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | David Bongartz |
| Born | 4 September 1980 , Aachen, Germany |
| Genres | Classical/Crossover |
| Instruments | Violin |
| Years active | ca. 1988–present |
| Labels | Decca, Deag |
| Website | david-garrett.com |
David Garrett (born as David Bongartz on 4 September 1980)[1] is a record breaking German/American classical violinist and recording artist.
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Garrett was born in Aachen, Germany[1] to an American prima ballerina and a German lawyer and jurist, Georg Peter Bongartz. He adopted his mother's maiden name as a pseudonym.
When Garrett was four years old, his father bought 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 was playing once a week in public, and studied violin at the Lübeck Conservatoire.[2] At the age of 12, Garrett began working with the distinguished Polish violinist Ida Haendel, often traveling to London and other European cities to meet her.[3] After leaving home at 17, he enrolled in the Royal College of Music in London,[4] leaving after the first semester. On being asked in an interview 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!"[5] In 1999 he moved to New York to attend the Juilliard School, in 2003 winning the Composition Competition of Juilliard School with a fugue composed in the style of Johann Sebastian Bach.[6] While at Juilliard he studied under Itzhak Perlman, one of the first to do so,[3] and graduated in 2004.
Between the years 1997-2002, David Garrett participated in four Keshet Eilon International Violin Master Courses, which take place in Kibbutz Eilon located on Israel’s mountainous northern border.
At the age of 13, Garrett 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, Garrett signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Aged 17, he played with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Zubin Mehta in Delhi and Mumbai in concerts marking the 50th anniversary of India’s Independence.[7]
Two years later, Garrett played with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester 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. At the age of 21, he was invited to perform at the BBC Proms.
While studying at Juilliard, Garrett supplemented his income by working as a model.[8]
Garrett's 2008 Encore on DECCA pursues an 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 (accompanied by a concert grand piano), arrangements, and compositions, as well as "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica which was performed on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) presentation David Garrett: Live in Berlin recorded in January 2009.[9] In Autumn 2007, Garrett 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, Garrett has been offered a Stradivarius from the Gli Archi di Palazzo Comunale collection.[10] He also appeared on the 2011, The Royal Variety Performance playing his cover of Nirvana’s, Smells Like Teen Spirit.
He joined the 9th annual Independent Music Awards judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers.[11] His most recent album, Rock Symphonies, was released 20 July 2010 in USA/Canada and on 24 September in Germany/Switzerland/Austria.