[ ClassicalX ] German violinist enjoys fame second time around

David Garrett has a No. 1 album on his hands.

The classical violinist's self-titled U.S. debut has been No. 1 on Billboard's Top Classical Crossover Albums chart for three weeks. But this isn't Garrett's first brush with stardom.

The German artist was playing in front of world-class orchestras at 8 and signed his first record deal at 12. When Garrett entered his teens, however, the pressures of the music industry became too great, so he fled Germany for New York.

"The pressure of constantly performing was finally getting to me and people were making too many decisions for me," he says. Experiencing mainstream pop music for the first time in New York, Garrett rediscovered his flair for the violin at the Juilliard School. "The music brought me back," he says. "But this time, I knew I could create it on my own terms."

Garrett's Decca Records album fuses traditional classical compositions with riffs on classic tracks by Queen and Michael Jackson. The result is a technically dazzling introduction to the artist that nonclassical fans can also enjoy.

"An older audience just likes listening to the songs, while a younger audience can recognize his take on 'Smooth Criminal' and appreciate it," Decca GM Paul Foley says. "It's important to expand both demographics, and David straddles that line well."

The violinist recently starred in a successful PBS special, "David Garrett: Live in Berlin," and was featured this month in an interview for NPR's "All Things Considered." Garrett's striking good looks also landed him a spokesman stint for Banana Republic this spring, which led to packed in-store appearances.

While Garrett continues to perform in Europe and Asia, a proper U.S. tour is slated for the fall. It kicks off September 16 in Glenside, Pa. The trek will trade his mammoth, symphony-backed overseas shows for more intimate, band-accompanied performances -- a move with which Garrett is comfortable.

"There's nothing more beautiful than an unfamiliar audience who doesn't know exactly what to expect because they're more honest," he says. "I'm starting from scratch to some degree in the U.S., but that's the most fun part for me."

Source: Reuters