David Garrett -Crossover Violinist Virtuoso and Rock Star Gets Two Standing Ovations from Hartford
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World renowned Violinist David Garrett , (David Bongart) was born in Aachen, Germany to an American mother and German father. David's father was an antique dealer of stringed instruments, and when David Garrett was four years old; his father gave his older brother a violin. David was so enchanted with the instrument, he began to play it and a year later, he participated in a competition locally, and won it.
Since then, David has been performing publicly. By aged 10, he was playing Mozart with an orchestra, and by the age of 14, David Garrett had already released two albums. Around the same time, David was introduced to Rock Music and he began to build his own unique style, blending classical music with traditional rock.
David matriculated at Julliard in New York in 2004 and was a student of Itzhak Perlman. In 2008, he toured the United States with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and in the last two years, he has been a popular addition to the Public Television Network, performing throughout the United States with various orchestras and his band while also performing at other locales throughout the world.
On February 19th, David came to Hartford, CT's Mortensen Theater, The Bushnell Center for the performing arts and enchanted the audience of all ages. At first, I was a little miffed when I realized that there was no Orchestra pit, and that on the stage, there was a drum kit, a keyboard, some amps and a few microphones.
When CPTV had aired their telethons for fund driving, they had aired a piece showing David Garrett performing with an Orchestra and I thought that was what I had purchased too. Having bought tickets for my 92 year old grandmother as a Christmas Present, I was afraid I was going to be disappointed with the show, and that the music might not be up her alley, but we were more than pleasantly surprised.
From the CPTV program at the show, 'The BBC Music Magazine calls David Garrett "...already the stuff of legend-in him is enshrined an entire corpus of virtuoso violin art, expounded with a fearsome beauty beyond comprehension."
Let me tell you what that means to me, after watching David perform. First, the guy is a man god, really - he is gorgeous. He is the type of guy you would stop to stare at, just because he is nice to look at. But, when he plays, there is an energy he exudes from deep that captures and raptures your soul - it draws you in and gives a jolt.
His onstage movement is precise, and engaging - not just with the audience, but David also engages his band, with his eyes, his smile, and the point of his bow. I felt a rush of energy in my body, a stirring of emotion as I watched his right foot keep the rhythm, and his powerful and controlled fingers played such absolutely stunning rifts.
David's mastery of the violin, a prized Guadgnini valued at 1M, is astounding, as he switches through finger picking and riding the bow across the violin's four strings, deftly playing a huge range of notes, ranging from the very highest to the lowest, or the holding of just one soft sweet one.
Some of the rock song crowd pleasers from last night's show were: Metallica's 'Nothing Else Matters', Gershwin's "Summertime", Michael Jackson's 'Smooth Criminal'(tell me you don't feel his power), AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck', the Dueling Banjo's, and the 'Flight of the Bumblebee'. Garrett also performed his own piece, called 'Rock to Staccato' which was a huge hit. And for those classical lovers, his band and he nailed 'Summer'.
His band members, (pardon me if the spelling is wrong,) John Wayward on keys, Jeff Alley, on base, Marcus Wolf on lead guitar and Jeff Prayress on drums, also wowed the audience; their timing impeccable. They comfortably showcased David, and their own musical prowess.
If you are going to spend any money on a show this year, check out David. Whether he is backed by an orchestra or rock band, he is absolutely wonderful to watch and listen to as he artfully blends traditional Rock n Roll and Classical music with Spanish, Italian and American influences together. David shared with the audience, his thoughts on music and why he pursued this as his lifelong ambition, "Music joins people together". What a wonderful night it was at the Bushnell as we joined with David, singing the chorus to "Thunder" and clapping in time with many of his pieces.
We love you David Garrett. Come back to visit us again real soon! For upcoming shows near you, see David Garrett US Tour.
Kay Balbi, associatedcontent.com
