David Garrett
David Garrett |
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David Garrett (born September 4, 1980 as David Bongartz[1]) is a record breaking German/American classical violinist and recording artist.
Personal life
Garrett was born in Aachen, Germany[1] to an American prima ballerina and the German lawyer Georg Peter Bongartz. He took his mother's maiden name as pseudonym.
Garrett is married to American classical pianist Alex Bongartz (born "Alexandra Elaine MacKenzie" on January 4, 1984 in Manhattan, New York, United States). They were married on March 20, 2004 at St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church in Sleepy Hollow, New York.
The couple have two children. Their son, Michael Anthony Bongartz, was born on May 15, 2006 in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Their daughter, Elizabeth Victoria Bongartz, was born on July 29, 2009 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States.
The family divides its time between their homes in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, New York, United States and California, United States.
Musical education
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. He studied violin at the Lubeck Conservatoire. 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.[2]
He continued his studies at the Royal College of Music in London. In 2004, he graduated from the Juilliard School in New York City and was one of the first students to study there with Itzhak Perlman.
Career
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. [3]
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.[4]
David is said to be the world's fastest violin player, able to perform 13 notes per second.
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.[5]
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.[6]
Garrett also joined the 9th annual Independent Music Awards judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers.[7]
Garrett's most recent album, Rock Symphonies, was released 20 July 2010 in USA/Canada and on September 24 in Germany/Switzerland/Austria.
Recordings
Studio albums
- Free (2007)
- Virtuoso (2007)
- Encore (2008)
- David Garrett (2009)
- Classic Romance (2009)
- Rock Symphonies (2010)
Other albums
- Nokia Night of the Proms (2004)
- The New Classical Generation 2008 (2008)
Featured
- 2008: Tenor at the Movies - "Parla Piu Piano" (theme from The Godfather) and "Se" (theme from Cinema Paradiso) with Jonathan Ansell
- 2008: A New World - "Cinema Paradiso" with Will Martin
DVD
- David Garrett Live - In Concert & In Private (2009)
- David Garrett: Rock Symphonies - Open Air Live (2010)
Recognition and awards
- 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
References
- ^ a b Official website
- ^ msbuhl.com p. 55
- ^ MMMF India Events
- ^ Wagner, Thomas (2008-02-14). "Violinist: Fall Fractures $1M Fiddle". RecordOnline.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
- ^ Album profile at Amazon.com
- ^ Montegrappa
- ^ Independent Music Awards - 9th Annual Judges
External links
