David Garrett’s New Album ‘Iconic’ Celebrates Violinists Of The Golden Age

David Garrett pays tribute to the legendary violinists of the Golden Age on his new album Iconic released on 4 November 2022. “The inspiration behind this album was the Golden Age of the famous violinists of the 20th century. Players such as Heifetz, Kreisler, Francescatti, Grumiaux and, of course, the great Yehudi Menuhin are all musical heroes of mine. That’s why I chose the title Iconic,” explained David Garrett.

Iconic includes new arrangements for violin, guitar and orchestra (by Franck van der Heijden and David Garrett) of music by composers including Bach, Dvořák, Gluck, Kreisler, Mendelssohn and Schumann. David Garrett is accompanied by his guitarist Franck van der Heijden, who also conducts the musicians of Orchestra The Prezent, and duets with his former teacher Itzhak Perlman, star tenor Andrea Bocelli, flautist Cocomi and trumpeter Till Brönner.

“They made me the violinist I am”

David Garrett’s personal choice of music evokes the great violinists of the golden era, when performers including Zino Francescatti, Arthur Grumiaux, Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Kreisler and Yehudi Menuhin, delighted audiences with brilliant showpieces and beautiful melodies. “I always looked up to them. They made me the violinist I am,” said David Garrett.

“Sadly, in the last few decades, many violinists have stopped performing some of the short, instantly memorable works the greats of the 20s and 30s played in their recitals,” he noted. “That’s why it means so much to me to get the chance to bring all these beautiful works back to life.”

Iconic opens with Mexican composer Manuel Ponce’s romantic Estrellita and also includes Saint-Saëns’ The Swan and Danse Macabre; Foster’s Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair; Raff’s Cavatina; Fauré’s Après un Rêve and the Largo of the ‘Winter’ Concerto from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. David Garrett duets with Andrea Bocelli on Schubert’s Ave Maria, Itzhak Perlman on Shostakovich’s Praeludium; Japanese flautist Cocomi on Debussy’s La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin, and German trumpeter Till Brönner on Dinicu’s Hora Staccato.

“Pieces like these shaped my musical thinking”

“Pieces like these shaped my musical thinking,” explained David Garrett. “I’ve recorded many virtuoso albums myself and this time it was particularly important to me to refocus on the essentials, on what really speaks to the heart. The works on Iconic aren’t primarily about virtuosity. They have great melodies which bring listeners closer to what really matters in life – to harmony!”

David Garrett’s new album Iconic will be released on standard CD, double-disc LP, Deluxe CD with three bonus tracks including Paganini’s Moto Perpetuo, and as a digital album featuring the additional bonus of Kreisler’s Schön Rosmarin.

“The greatest violinist of his generation”

David Garrett is one of the most popular classical, crossover and pop violinists in the world. He started playing the violin when he was four and became the youngest artist to sign to Deutsche Grammophon when he was thirteen. He studied at The Juilliard School in New York with Itzhak Perlman and has been described by Yehudi Menuhin as “the greatest violinist of his generation”. Over the past two decades David Garrett has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors and reached new audiences around the globe with his classical and crossover repertoire. His autobiography Wenn Ihr Wüsstet (‘If You Only Knew’), published earlier this year, reveals his sometimes rocky journey from child prodigy to successful adult artist.

David Garrett’s new album Iconic will be released on 4 November 2022 and can be pre-ordered here.