World-class violinist David Garrett makes his City National Civic debut in support of his latest release, Music.
A former child prodigy of the classical world who signed to Deutsche Grammophon when he was only 13, he now provokes Garrett-mania among hordes of international fans with his spectacular fusions of rock and pop with symphonic or baroque traditions. To him, it’s all music and all equally valid.
Garrett’s art lies in the way he opens a two-way street between classical and popular music. His version of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” makes use of sophisticated electronic multitracking, but also incorporates something of the spirit of Minimalist composers such as Philip Glass or Michael Nyman. When he takes on the crushing weight of Queen’s bombastic anthem “We Will Rock You,” he makes room for some daredevil classical flourishes in between the enormous rhythmic explosions detonating all around him.
His work is often described as “crossover”, but whatever it is, he believes that it “poses an even greater challenge than classical music does because you want to present things to your listeners in a completely new light while putting on a superb violinist’s performance.”