David Garrett: Legacy

David Garrett (born as David Bongartz on 4 September 1980) is a record breaking German/American classical violinist and recording artist.

Garrett was born in Aachen, Germany to an American prima ballerina and the 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. He studied violin at the Lübeck 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.



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. Internationally known teachers and artists from all parts of the world lead the program, among others, the distinguished violinist, Ida Haendel.

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.



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.



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.