Poster boy music prodigy

With five classical albums and a ‘fun’ crossover effort, David Garrett is going places. CHOW EE-TAN checks out this erstwhile child prodigy, now a seriously talented and very good-looking violinist.

SPORTING shoulder-length blonde hair with poster boy good looks and a toned physique, violinist David Garrett looks more like a pop idol or model than a classical musician.

No wonder he has been dubbed the “Beckham of classical music”.

His name may not be familiar in this part of the world (yet), but Garrett has already established himself in the classical music fraternity in Europe and America. And he is only 25.

From the age of eight, with a management team already behind him, Garrett was playing solo with leading international orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Russian National Orchestra, attracting the attention of the world’s foremost music teachers and conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Claudio Abbado and Mikhail Pletnev.

He has played for popes, princes and presidents. The German president was so impressed by the then 11-year-old Garrett that he helped to secure the young musician a priceless 1718 violin by Antonio Stradivari.

Having recorded five albums — all strictly classical — Garrett has diversified his music direction and released a crossover album titled Free, featuring tracks such as La Califfa (Morricone), Carmen Fantasie (Bizet) and Somewhere from the musical West Side Story.

Recently in Singapore for a promo tour he gave a showcase at Oosh Club, Dempsey Road.

When asked what classification of musician he sees himself as, Garrett replied without hesitation: “I’m a core classical musician. Ninety per cent of the time, I play as a soloist with symphony orchestras and in recitals.

“This new CD project was meant to be fun. I thought it might be a good thing to get young people to be interested in the instrument and to make classical music more accessible to them,” he said.

The album means a lot to him as he is in charge of composing, arranging and producing.

One of the pieces he is very excited about is the new version of the Carmen Fantasie by Bizet — on which he collaborated with guitarist Paco Pena.

It has influences of Spanish Flamenco music, and contains a very melancholic side that is combined with the rhythmic side of the opera.

While most tracks are cover versions with new musical arrangements, Garrett composed three pieces.

“If it was for myself, I would just record music that I like. But it is important to have material that people recognise. It is a marketing thing. If they are all new, it will be difficult to get people’s attention. So it is a combination, or a compromise, you can say,” he said.

Of German-American parentage, Garrett was brought up in a classical music environment. His mother was a classical ballerina while his father was a lawyer.

“My brother learned the violin first at age seven but he didn’t like it.

“For me, I picked up the instrument which was lying around. I thought it was fun so I stuck with it. I was about five,” he said.

This child prodigy went on to become the youngest exclusive artiste with Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft, and had an international career at the age of 13.

At 10, he had his first public concert with the Hamburg Philharmonics under the direction of Gerd Albrecht.

In 1992, Garrett worked with the great Polish violinist Ida Haendel, who significantly influenced his artistic development.

“She was great. She taught me that it is most important to have your own sound and your own individual style. I think this is very true when it comes to music-making,” said Garrett.

At 18, he decided to move to New York, where he became one of the first students of Itzhak Perlman at Juilliard School. He graduated from his master class four years later. Today, he makes New York his base.

For a classical violinist who has engagements with orchestras around the world, Garrett admits he is actually influenced by the music around him and calls himself part of the MTV generation.

He is particularly fond of rock; Led Zeppelin is his favourite.

After this crossover album, what would his musical direction be in the future?

“I’ll try to keep them separate. There is the classical stuff and then there is the semi-classical, or collaboration thing. Those are two different things and they don’t have to clash.

“Doing this album gives me the chance to hang out with different kinds of people,” he said.

“I have a contract to do both the classical stuff as well as crossovers. It should be more interesting. If I had just stuck to the core classical stuff, it might not have the variety of what I want in my life. So I am very happy with the decision. It is the right timing to do it now.”

What does he have to say to the comparison to Beckham?

“I think I’m better looking," said Garrett, who has worked as a model in New York.

“Of course I don’t mean that seriously. It’s a compliment. He is a good footballer, very talented and he is good-looking.”

Contrary to the photo on the album cover that features him in a suit, Garrett greeted his audience at his showcase in casual attire — baseball cap, T-shirt and cut-out jeans!

He confessed he wrote a song in the album after breaking up with a girlfriend.

Is he a sentimental kind of guy?

“It is very human to be vulnerable,” he said. “But I usually get my inspiration when good stuff happens, like when you have a good day.”

Does he have any expectations for Free?

He answered nonchalantly. “No, I just wanted to do a good recording and that’s it. The main thing was to reach another audience and I think this is happening so I’m very happy with everything.”

So far he has travelled to Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan and the response had been “very good”.