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David Christian Bongartz (born 4 September 1980), known by his stage name David Garrett, is a German classical and crossover violinist and recording artist.
Garrett received his first Stradivarius violin at the age of 11, courtesy of German president Richard von Weizsäcker, after having performed for him. At the age of 13, Garrett recorded two CDs, appeared on German and Dutch television, and gave a concert in the residence of the President of Germany, 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 Antonio Stradivari's "golden period".
He eventually purchased his own, made in 1772 by Giovanni Guadagnini, a student of Stradivari. However, after a 2008 performance, he fell, landing on the violin which was strapped to his back and damaging it severely. Although he was able to get it repaired, he purchased a Stradavari soon afterward.
At the age of 13, as the youngest soloist ever, Garrett signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. In April 1997, age 16, 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 Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and was hailed by critics. This led to an invitation to perform at Expo 2000 in Hanover. 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.
Garrett's 2008 album Encore pursues an aim of arousing young people's interest in classical music. The release contains his own compositions and arrangements of pieces and melodies that have accompanied him in his life so far. Together with his band, consisting of keyboard, guitar and drums, he gives concerts that include classical sonatas (accompanied by a concert grand piano), arrangements, and compositions, as well as rock songs and movie themes. In Autumn 2007, Garrett was chosen by the Montegrappa firm (whose items are distributed by Montblanc throughout the world) as an ambassador for the launch of the new pens from the Tributo ad Antonio Stradivari collection. The event took place in several venues, including in Rome, New York, Hong Kong, Berlin, and London. For these occasions Garrett was offered a Stradivarius from the Gli Archi di Palazzo Comunale collection. He also appeared at the Royal Variety Performance on 5 December 2011, playing his cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
He joined the 9th annual Independent Music Awards judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers. His album, Music, was released in 2012. On 19 May 2012 he appeared at the UEFA Champions League Final performing with German singer Jonas Kaufmann. For 2014 he announced a new Crossover Tour.
He played the lead role in the 2013 film The Devil's Violinist, as the noted 19th-century violinist Niccolò Paganini. The same year he released his album Garrett vs Paganini. His 2015 album Explosive includes the original compositions Innovation, Furious, Explosive, Unlimited Symphony, Serenity, Baroque fantasy, and Melancholia.
On 18 August 2017, David Garrett released the single "Bittersweet Symphony" as a teaser for his album Rock Revolution, released 17 September 2017.
On 11 October 2020, Garrett performed the German national anthem at the Formula 1 2020 Eifel Grand Prix as part of the opening ceremonies. On 9 October he released another studio album called Alive: My Soundtrack.
