David Garrett violin virtuoso

I just got a couple of albums by David Garrett, Encore and Virtuoso. I have always been as fan of the violin, and this guy really knows how to make one sing. I'm just loving his sound.

David Garrett (born David Bongartz, 1980 September 4 in Aachen, Germany) is a classical violinist and recording artist.
When Garrett was four years old, his father bought a violin for his older brother. The young David took an interest and soon learned to play. A year later, he took part in a competition and won first prize. By the age of seven, he was playing once a week in public. He studied violin at the Lubeck Conservatoire. At the age of 12, he began working with the distinguished Polish violinist Ida Haendel, often travelling to London and the other European cities to meet her. At the age of 13, he recorded two CDs, appeared on German and Dutch television, and gave a concert in the residence of the Federal Republic of Germany President, 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 the "golden period". At the age of 14, as the youngest soloist ever, he signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. At the age of 17, he played with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Zubin Mehta in Delhi and Bombay in concerts marking the 50th anniversary of India’s Independence. At the age of 19, he played with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchster in Berlin, under the direction of Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and was hailed by critics. This led to an invitation to perform at Expo 2000 in Hannover. He continued his studies at the Royal College of Music in London. At the age of 21, he was invited to perform at the BBC Proms. He graduated from the Juilliard School in 2004. [Wikipedia]

One of my favorites, the Carmen Fantasia from Bizet.


Appearing at the German Charity Gala "Hand in Hand" here he performs Smooth Criminal from his CD "Encore".


Here he performs Czardas with an orchestra in what looks like "The Proms" from The Albert Hall.


And here is where he became the world's fastest violinist by playing Flight of The Bumble Bee in 1 minute 6.56 seconds, an amazing 13 notes per second. Filmed on BBC TVs Blue Peter children's program.