REVIEWS
DAVID GARRETT
www.ez-online.de 21/01/2010 : In zerrissenen Jeans überzeugt er sie alle - Virtuos, charmant und sexy: Pop-Paganini David Garrett gastiert auf seiner „Classic Romance“
…Seine handwerkliche Klasse beweist er im zweiten Teil des Abends. Mit dem Violinkonzert von Felix Mendelssohn - …Technisch brillant macht er sich das Werk zu eigen, entlockt seiner Geige eine ungeheure Klangvielfalt und bleibt dennoch mit seiner Stimme im Dialog mit dem Orchester. Unverkrampft sieht das bei ihm aus, und wenn er bei einigen Passagen beseelt lächelt, hat das nichts mit Wirkung zu tun. In diesen Momenten ist zu spüren, dass Garrett die Musik lebt und liebt. Diese Authentizität wird belohnt. Die einen spenden Standing Ovations, die anderen johlen. Diese generationsübergreifende Begeisterung macht jede Diskussion überflüssig. Garrett überzeugt sie alle. Ole Detlefsen
www .resmusica.com 4/06/2009 : David Garrett bouscule le concert classique
…Vol du bourdon, de Nicolaï Rimski-Korsakov - La sonorité qu’il donne à son violon est superbe, d’une pureté cristalline tout à fait unique, admirable dans la précision. Il fait réellement bourdonner son violon.
La Sonate de Franck, une des plus populaires du répertoire de musique de chambre est interprétée avec un remarquable talent. Le jeune violoniste va lui donner toute l’intensité et la passion qui la caractérisent. Son geste est ample, assuré, sans vibrato exagéré. Son jeu est expressif, brillant, puissant, sensuel. Dans le premier mouvement, il transmet tout le lyrisme, la mélancolie attendue et dans le deuxième mouvement la vitalité d’une exécution parfaitement maîtrisé. La pianiste s’impose tout en nuance et subtilité dans un dialogue du plus bel effet avec le violon. Le dernier mouvement est d’une admirable sensibilité.
L’interprétation de la Sonate n°3 de Grieg est magistrale. C’est vigoureux et grave, avec des moments dramatiques. La succession de rythmes saccadés et de passages doux et mélancoliques est superbe. …Après chaque sonate, le violoniste joue une œuvre de Pablo de Sarasate où il excelle véritablement, montrant son grand talent de virtuose par des coups d’archets endiablés et hautement maîtrisés tels des pizzicatos, des ricochets et des saltati de très haut niveau. Il nous laisserait presque imaginer que le violon est d’une incroyable facilité ! Evelyne Christophe
Westfälische Allgemeine Zeitung 27/10/2007: Garrett raves on his instrument
In the series “The Next Generation III” in the Harenberg City Center, he convinced the listeners with his lyrical, brilliant and riskingly spunky play, with his absolute confidence. He is able to rave and ponder on his instrument. He develops soft gentle lyrical lines and also can serve with charm even the most difficult “stunts” on his instrument – for instance, Pablo Sarasate’s “Zigeunerweisen”. He is able to connect technique and emotion in a manner both brilliant and full of atmosphere. …he and his partner played two significant and challenging duo pieces for grand piano…. They match well: the soft sound of the violinist and the distinct play of the pianist.
As early as their expression of Beethoven’s Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Major Op. 96, they reached a sophisticated composition, in particular in the second movement with its expressive evolvement and flourishing poetics. Beethoven’s Romance in F Major Op. 50 is a challenge for every violinist: David Garrett took it on confidently and underlined the noble character of the popular piece.
The Sonata for Violin and Piano in D Minor Op. 108 by Johannes Brahms turned into a sublime experience. Both artists followed passionately the lyrical beauty of the piece, its chamber musical breath, its flourishing Adagio melodics, the raging Presto finale. Sonja Müller-Eisold
Ruhrnachrichten 26/10/2007: A "Beach Boy" of the violin proved his ability
…David Garrett will be remembered as a phenomenal violinist who raved during the ending virtoso bravura pieces and showed true coolness and confident nonchalance. The Csárdás by Monti, The Hummelflug by Rimsky-Korsakov and the Zigeunerweisen by Sarasate will most likely not soon again be heard this racy and perfectly intonated. Here the Aachen-born violinist showed his greatest asset, a brilliant technique, by playing madly fast tempi. Julia Gaß
Donau-Kurier Ingolstadt 12/03/2007: The art of the perfectly beautiful sound
Violinist David Garrett was guest performer with the Konzertverein Ingolstadt…Indeed David Garrett’s prowess, his virtuosity, his violinist ability of expression is so phenomenal, so beyond comparison, that probably even he himself is not able to fully grasp his ability. This is reflected in every work of this evening and definitely not only in the virtuoso pieces that Garrett strategically placed at the end of the evening. Of course, only very few other violinists are able to master the immense difficulties of Antonio Joseph Bazzini’s “La Ronde des lutins” with such ease, so relaxed, fast and, above all, with such understatement: those ridiculous sautillé passages, those almost unplayable sixth tremoli, those incredible flageolet double stops. Or Paganini’s two Caprices: The difficult, chromatic melodies of thirds and the enormous jumps of No. 13 are rarely played so neatly and quickly and the march-like concentration of chords of No. 14 are rarely mastered with so much ease as by David Garret on this evening.
But the sonatas he interpreted before, he played even more overwhelmingly. …Garrett played the Thuner Sonata by Johannes Brahms with stunningly beautiful sounds and with relaxed virtuosity.
Garrett’s violin play is especially made for the Brahms Sonata. He opts for the expressiveness of the melodies, the tender and sentimental gesture, and thus develops a smoothly flowing, somehow serene interpretation.
But Garrett has more to offer than that. With Mozart’s Sonata KV 378, his sounds are suddenly a little more slender, not so lyrical anymore. Instead, moments of a subtle sense of humour flare up especially in the corner movements. And the Andantino he initially plays so warmly and intensively that one does almost not notice the piano, even though the pianist Milana Chernyavska in fact has taken over the melodic main voice at this point. Jesko Schulze-Reimpell
Pizzicato February 2007
Le violoniste David Garrett fait partie de cette élite d’artistes qui sont constamment à la recherche d’un idéal esthétique, cherchant à l’équilibre la beauté et la perfection liées à leur art tout en s’efforçant de maintenir un discours sincère au fil de leurs interprétations. Le Concerto pour violon en la majeur de Mozart, …., lui donna l’occasion de s’exprimer avec une spontanéité et une facilité technique apparente enviables, mais c’est surtout la chaleur expressive de son jeu qui conquit les auditeurs.
Se laissant porter par l’esprit de musique de chambre qui semblait avoir gagné tous les musiciens sur scène ce soir-là, le jeune violoniste joua en parfaite symbiose avec l’orchestre, démontrant une maturité et une expérience exceptionnelles. Il répondit aux applaudissements nourris en offrant encore une page de solo de Bach. Isabelle Trüb
Público 31/07/2006: Schuman concerto with Orquestra Nacional do Porto - Graeme Jenkins in Porto/Portugal
…The rest of the programme was real Schumann: a demanding violin concerto, to which a highly praised soloist, the violinist David Garrett, brought agility and virtuosity - with a slow movement written by a composer at his highest level, where we heard the soloist and orchestra at their best (sonority, expression and poetry, phrase after phrase)… Fernando C. Lapa
The Gazette 27/01/2006: German violist has velvety tone
… The violin soloist was the tall and ponytailed David Garrett, a German ex-phenom whose velvety tone worked paradoxically well with Joachim’s modern idiom.
…To end the evening, Garrett gave us Paganini’s Violin Concerto Nr 2 in a slightly trimmed-down orchestration. It was sweet and lyrical playing, notably in the Adagio, a movement with a touch of Bellini in it. The fireworks of the La Campanella finale made their effect, as did two solo Caprices presented as encores. Garrett’s technique is completely secure. Arthur Kaptainis
La Presse 26/01/2006
…Le jeune Garrett est parvenu à y faire du violon presque lyrique à travers toutes les acrobaties de la partition.
On termine avec Paganini: le deuxième Concerto, celui qui finit sur La Campanella. Garrett y déploie toute la technique requise, avec une parfaite sonorité et une parfaite intonation, glissant à un moment donné une descente chromatique d'une seconde qui provoque un «iiiiiii» dans la salle. Bravo!... Claude Gringas
Le Devoir 26/01/2006: La bonne surprise David Garrett & I Musici
…Il y a d’abord le son, moelleux, d’un grand Stradivarius (San Lorenzo, de 1718). Ce son est façonné avec élégance, sans esbroufe imbécile, notamment dans un Paganini jamais échevelé et bien cadré, à l’image des Caprices nr 13 et 14 donnés en rappel. Christophe Huss
La Nacion 8/06/2005: Recital with Paula Peluso (piano), Teatro Avenida, Buenos Aires
Garrett is a spontaneous, charismatic and admirable musician with an amazing instrumental technique…He travelled through exquisite, difficult passages with intense lyricism without even the minimum of falters. His sound was fluid, natural and intense and he showed an extensive knowledge of the score….
…Far removed from the seriousness, severity and the "Germanic" feel of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, the work by Bazzini is a typical work of Paganiniesque virtuosity. With incredible facility, Garrett did not only amaze with his extraordinary and stunning execution of the work, but, also, added some of the most discrete gestures and furtive looks towards the audience …Garrett deservedly won over the audience and received a standing ovation…. Pablo Kohan
MIBA 22/06/2004: Beethoven Violin Concerto with Czech National Symphony Orchestra /Strasbourg Festival
23 year old violinist David Garrett ... with his 1718 Stradivarius gave an interpretation of the Beethoven Concerto which will remain in the memory ... such fresh and deeply felt playing ... the audience gave a long standing ovation. Bernd Flögel
Concert Classique 8/03/2004: Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège/Louis Langrée
All nuances of Langrée's conducting fitted like a glove with David Garrett's, who played the Tchaikovsky Concerto with a tenderness and a rare expressive manner. Garrett possesses one of the most beautiful sounds of today. Jean-Charles Hoffelé
La Meuse 8/03/2004
David Garrett truly conquered the Parisian hall; a hall where he appeared for the first time. His expressive playing, his virtuosity owed all to the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, a work that the Liege Orchestra has marvelled in playing often. Admittedly, in the company of David Garrett, this was a first for the orchestra, but what a first! Applause right up to the end, the violinist offered a Bach sonata by way of thanks. Isabelle Debroux