David Garrett - 14: an album guide
He's known for his rock star attitude and his musical bravado, but this album from 1995 shows off the violinist's sentimental side. From the energetic to the indulgent pieces, explore the teen musician's prodigious talent on this long lost album.
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1. La campanella, Op. 7 - Paganini
Demonstrating an impressive virtuosity for a teenage violinist, David takes Paganini's violin concerto by the horns and plays the third movement with flair. Describing his role in a film about the composer's life, he said: "What's the difference between us? Not even that much. He was maybe slightly more eccentric." Picture: Facebook/Alvaro Yanez
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2. Violin Sonata in G minor, Larghetto - Tartini
Easing us into the sonata with a peaceful slow movement, David and his pianist Aleksandr Markovich load this piece with the emotion it deserves. The crisp recording captures every nuance of the young violinist's playing - you can even hear him breathing at points!
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3. Violin Sonata in G minor, Allegro energico - Tartini
Energetic allegro. The clue's in the title with this frantic movement. There's a reason this is known as the Devil's Trill sonata, with its crazy ornaments and scope for impressive virtuosity.
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4. Violin Sonata in G minor, Grave - Tartini
Passionate and heartfelt, this third movement is a world away from the speedy second that comes before. There's an impressive depth of feeling from such a young player. Picture: Facebook/Jörg Reichardt
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5. Violin Sonata in G minor, Allegro assai - Tartini
Tartini's certainly packed this sonata with a full range of emotions; this final movement is much more cheeky than the music that's gone before. It's also notable for its impressive use of double stopping - otherwise known as playing more than one string at once.
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6. Humoresque, Op. 101/7, Antonin Dvorák
Humoresques are usually light-hearted and cheery, but David's rendition of Dvorák's famous tune is soupy and indulgent - in a good way!
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7. Ave Maria - Schubert
David's rendition of this famous Schubert song is prayerful and understated. It's in C major, with the violin line a full 11 semitones lower than the original vocal line, giving his playing an impressive mellow quality.
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8. Praeludium and Allegro in the style of Gaetano Pugnani - Kreisler
Kreisler was a bit of a cheeky musician - fitting, then, for a maverick violinist like David Garrett to include his pieces on his early album. Before he was established as a composer, Kreisler wrote music in the style of other writers and passed it off as theirs, before revealing he'd written it years later once he realised audiences liked it!
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9. None but the Lonely Heart - Tchaikovsky
This piece by Tchaikovsky was originally written for voice and piano, but the indulgent tune works extremely well on the violin. Listen as David caresses the Romantic tune, and its easy to forget this is a recording from a young performer. Picture: Facebook/Jörg Reichardt
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10. Fantaisie brillante, Op. 20 - Wieniawski
Dazzling playing from David once more, as he performs this powerful piece by Polish violinist Wieniawski. It's based on themes from Gounod's Faust.
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11. Liebesleid - Kreisler
'Liebesleid' translates as 'Love's sorrow', but this music sounds anything but sorrowful. Even in the more moody passages, it still sounds like a cheery dance. Picture: Facebook/Alvaro Yanez
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12. La Capricieuse, Op. 17 - Elgar
Another vehicle for virtuosity, this is a far cry from the stately pomp of much of Elgar's orchestral music. David's fingers fly over the violin with ease, taking the bright high passages and the lower mournful tunes in his stride.
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13. Kol Nidrei, Op. 47 - Bruch
Originally written for cello, this music takes on quite a different quality when played on the violin. The recording captures every tiny detail of the playing - it's almost as if the performers are in the room with you!
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14. Partita for Violin Solo No. 2 in D - Bach
Playing unaccompanied Bach is the ultimate challenge for string players. With no piano to hide behind, any tiny mistakes are magnified tenfold - but David sails through this performance with ease and panache.