David Garrett

David Garrett, a German violinist recognized for his extensive catalog of classical pieces alongside crossover adaptations, has also distinguished himself beyond performance as a model, screen actor, and author of a 2022 memoir. Born in 1980 in Aachen, Germany, to a German father and American mother, he first picked up his older brother’s violin at age four and advanced rapidly. The next year brought a first-prize win at a regional competition, after which he entered the Lübeck Conservatoire at seven. His concert debut occurred in 1989 at the Festival Kissinger Sommer in Bad Kissingen; two years later, German president Richard von Weizacker presented him with a Stradivarius. In 1992 he began lessons with Ida Haendel and secured a Deutsche Grammophon contract the following year, resulting in the 1995 issues of Mozart: Violinkonzerte K.218 & 271a together with Beethoven: Frühlingssonate; Bach: Partita BWV 1004; Mozart: Adagio KV 261. He matriculated at London’s Royal College of Music in 1997 yet was dismissed after one term. During the same period he issued Paganini Caprices, Tchaikovsky, Jules Conus: Violin Concertos and attended multiple masterclasses with Keshet Eilon in Israel. Between 1999 and 2004 he resided in New York, trained under Itzhak Perlman at the Juilliard School, and pursued modeling work. Upon completing his studies he turned to arranging repertoire by Nirvana, Metallica, and Michael Jackson. The 2007–2008 albums Free, Virtuoso, and Encore juxtaposed familiar classical selections with these hybrid treatments, while the 2009 self-titled release David Garrett incorporated original material. Fourteen further albums appeared throughout the 2010s, and Garrett portrayed Niccolò Paganini in the 2013 film The Devil’s Violinist. His 2022 classical outing Iconic reached fourth place on the German pop-album chart, and he toured that program worldwide in 2023. The same year also saw strong sales for his autobiography If You Only Knew.