The amazing violinist David Garrett is unique in everything! He absolutely does not care where to perform, whether it is the privileged audience of the London Royal Albert Hall or in the open air on the street, in front of ordinary passers-by. He feels comfortable both in an exquisitely expensive tailcoat, and in ripped jeans and a simple t-shirt. “The main thing is the ability to play and give people music,” as David Garrett himself said. The biography of the musician, the first years of life and events that mainly influenced the formation of personality, are described below.
Nickname
The future violinist was born in 1980 on September 4 in the town of Aachen, a place where three countries meet: Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. His mother is a well-known American ballerina, and his father is a lawyer who simultaneously sells violins at an auction. Father's activities mainly influenced his youngest son's passion for music. By the way, Garrett is not the real name of the musician, or rather, for his pseudonym, he chose his mother’s maiden name and became world famous as David Garrett. The family of the musician bears the name of his father - Bongarz.
Fateful gift
There are several versions that reveal the case in which the violin first fell into the hands of little David. One at a time, the violin was presented to the elder brother of a boy who did not show much interest in her. While the four-year-old boy looked at this instrument with admiration, and showed special interest in it, and after some time he learned to play excellently.
Another story tells that a little boy grabbed the violin as soon as he saw her and did not allow him to give it to his brother. However, it doesn’t matter how the violin fell into the hands of a future legend, it is only important that he has it, and to this day he does not part with it.
As David Garrett himself said, his biography was quite complicated. Father raised children in a harsh atmosphere. He was very authoritative in the family. Everything that was connected with human emotions or their manifestation was omitted. The only important thing was talk about business and music. Because of this, David's relationship with his parents was strained. But this applies to adolescence, now they have become warmer and more trusting.
Difficult childhood
David's childhood was peculiar, in the best traditions of the 18th century. Until 17 years, he practically did not leave home. He lived in his “soap bubble”, and his acquaintance with his peers was reduced only to communication with his sister and brother. The boy did not attend school, studied with tutors at home and devoted all his free time to playing the violin. The talent of the little boy showed up very early. And when David was 10 years old, he was hired the best violin teacher, who at that time was a professor at the Cologne Conservatory Zakhar Nukhimovich Bron.
The career of a professional violinist began for the boy very early. He was barely eight years old, he played in the world-famous symphony orchestra, and at thirteen he performed with Yehudi Menuhin. Even then, the honored masters called David Garrett the greatest violinist of his generation.
Adult career of a little boy
After enchanting performances, the young talent was noticed and began to be invited to television. He lit up in Dutch and German broadcasts.
Perhaps the most important proof of the great professionalism of the little boy was the invitation of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Richard von Weizsacker, to give a concert at the presidential residence in the Villa Hammerschmidt. As a sign of respect and recognition of his professionalism, the head of state presented David with a unique Stradivarius violin.
This is not the only exclusive violin in the collection of a virtuoso violinist. Now he plays the Stradivarius, created in 1703, but loves to change his instruments, as everyone has their own unique sound, voice and soul, as David Garrett claims. The biography of a teenager was so colorful and filled with events that few had ever experienced at such an early age.
At the age of 14, the boy signed a unique contract at that time with Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft as the youngest soloist in the history of the company. In Delhi and Bombay, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the independence of India, he played as part of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Zubin Meta.
When he was 19 years old, he received a lot of positive reviews from music critics after playing under the direction of Rafael Frubek de Burgos with the Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra in Berlin. After such success, he was invited to speak at the very prestigious and world-famous exhibition in Hanover Expo-2000.
To this day, David Garrett remains the fastest virtuoso violinist to play Bumblebee Flight in one minute. His record was entered in the Guinness Book of Records.
“Other” music
In his family, they did not know the arc of music other than classical. David grew up exclusively on Shostakovich, Beethoven and Bach. When he matured a little, he began to discover such rock bands as Queen, Metallica and AC / DC. By the way, the first rock album bought by Garrett was A Night at the Opera.
Fateful decision
The conclusion of a contract with a recording studio soon yielded results, and the world found out who David Garrett was. Albums released at that time consisted of classical music.
At that time, everything was decided for him by his father, and, tired of humility, he took his first independent step, which turned out to be fatal for David and his future career as a musician. As soon as he was 17 years old, he moved to New York for admission to the Juilliard School (Juilliard School). It was the most famous music conservatory in the world.
Parents did not like such a radical decision, and he was forced to break all contacts with them, which also affected the boy’s financial security. David paid for the training on his own, literally “clinging” to any job that came across, without disdaining anything. He washed dishes, worked as a model in a women's clothing store, and even washed toilets in clubs. Considerable success brought him a career as a model, he is still called the “Beckham of the classical scene”, and his image is more suitable for a rock musician than a performer of classical music.
The time of study at the academy is associated with numerous works and a very eventful life - only this is what David Garrett himself talks about, the personal life of this legend remains a mystery.
Future Family Plans
Due to the severe nature of his father and the atmosphere in which David grew up, he decided to become for his future children the exact opposite of his father. More than once in an interview, he said that he did not want to raise children in the atmosphere in which he grew up.
However, about how his mother raised him, he responds very warmly and with gratitude. Mom was able to instill in the boy housekeeping and accustomed to order. David very early learned to cope with his own household. He now tries to do everything himself, does not like chaos and disorder, and this is very strict. He is simply obsessed with cleanliness. It is not difficult for him to clean the floors. The world-famous violinist David Garrett compares the cleaning process with meditation.
In those moments when the musician is at home, he is mainly engaged in preparing for concerts. But in order to concentrate, he must first bring a certain order around him. It is interesting that in a conversation about housekeeping, the violinist never mentions a life partner. David Garrett, whose personal life is hidden under seven locks, still has not introduced his companion to the world.
Heritage
The creative activity of the musician is amazing. By the age of 36, he is very popular in musical circles, but not only as a musician, but also as a screenwriter, director and even actor David Garrett. His albums diverge in millions of copies and impress with a combination of classical music and the image of a rock musician.
David is quite productive, in some years he managed to release two albums each. So, in 2007, he released two albums: Free and Virtuoso. 2008 was less productive - Encore, but already in 2009 two collections of masterpieces under the name David Garrett and Classic Romance were again created. The last Rock Symphonies album, released in 2010, became unique. This, according to the author, is his best work, created in the style of crossover, which combines different musical styles.
Fame in the movie brought him the main role in the film "Paganini: violinist of the Devil", published in 2013. Later, he starred in one episode of the famous television series Quantico.
It is worth noting that today he has achieved everything he wanted, and the world has learned who David Garrett is. His biography amazes with the large number of successes that he achieved as a teenager.
As for a serious relationship, he himself says that he is still free, but this is not entirely true. There were rumors, and photos surfaced on the Web as David Garrett and his girlfriend Tatyana Gellert coo cooingly at a fashion show in New York.