David Garrett's rock symphonies live

I have just been introduced to David Garrett via the DVD release, Rock Symphonies Live On A Summer Night. And I say this. Garrett is a marketing dream come true. Long haired, bearded, slim with chiseled features, he has great looks and once worked as a model. He also has the right training, having had violin lessons from age of four up to studies at the Julliard School of Music. And being young, he is only 30 years old, he also has rock star chops.

Therefore Garrett, who is half-German and half-American, is a classical musician who looks like a pop idol. But he can use his mastery of the violin to play both Vivaldi’s Summer from the Four Seasons and Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit with equal ease. When inspired he can do a mash-up Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal with Mozart’s Rondo A La Turca. Things like these are just what he does in Rock Symphonies.

Filmed at the open-air Wuhlheide theater in Berlin, the DVD shows off Garrett’s magnetic presence on stage and gives the audience an energizing mix of pop and classical favorites. The repertoire is wonderfully commercial and reminds me again of why I like this type of album very much. It provides pop music fans with an excellent introduction to classical music.

Vanessa Mae also did the same some years ago but if I remember right, she was partial to reworking classics to dance and electronica. Garrett, on the other hand, stays close to the melody and keeps the original tempo. So you get the familiar song but performed on a violin. I am sure that after watching this, a lot of new fans will go off looking for other recordings by Garrett. Most of these are classical, but given how he does his music, I am sure they will enjoy them, too.

Garrett’s eclectic mix for Rock Symphonies results in a music lover’s paradise. Everybody loves these songs. Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir; Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5; McCartney’s Live And Let Die; Schubert’s Serenade; Monti’s Czardas; Aerosmith’s Walk This Way; Racmaninoff’s Vocalise; Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite; Queen’s Bicycle Race; Dvorak’s Humoresque; Hendrix’s Little Wing; Albeniz’s Asturias; Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters; The Pretenders’ I’ll Stand By You; Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight Of The Bumble Bee; the Beatles’ Hey Jude and others.

The visuals and sound of the video are excellent and Garrett held the audience enthralled with his beautiful music.

If you are in the mood for more music DVD watching, you might want to check out these two, which I am happily surprised are avaiIable in the local stores.

 Troubadours, The Rise Of The Singer-Songwriter. This is the same place where Carole King and James Taylor recorded their duets album. The Troubadour is a small club in West Hollywood that was famous in the ’70s. Many of those who started out playing there are now legend. Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now; Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road; Linda Ronstadt’s You’re No Good; The Eagles’ Best Of My Love; Kris Kristofferson’s Why Me; James Taylor’s You’ve Got A Friend; and Carole King’s Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, among others. Their music was an engaging mix of folk and rock and roll that became the forerunner of today’s pop tune.

The film is is not really about the songs although, James and Carole’s duet of You Can Close Your Eyes is simply divine. This is about how things were during that time. The Vietnam War has ended, Flower Power was winding down and AIDS still had to be discovered. Stars talk about their experience. David Cosby says it was all about sex. A critic describes Eagles songs as “worthless sensibility.” And did you know that Steve Martin played his banjo at the Troubadour.

Bits like these keep the movie lively and interesting. It will not please historians who want more serious stuff but it provides a gossipy overview many will enjoy.

Live in Italy by mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli featuring Jean-Yves Thibaudet on the piano. In surround sound and stereo, this must be one of the best concert recordings to emerge in recent times. And in a glorious setting, too. This was filmed at the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, one of Italy’s national treasures that is also the world’s oldest covered theater. And when I say old, I really mean old. The Olimpico was completed in 1584, has glorious architecture and extraordinarily fine acoustics.

The way Bartoli colors her tones within a single breath is an artistic and technical marvel. She sings songs from a variety of operas and old compositions. I have always love Bizet’s Carmen so the Seguidilla became my instant favorite here. The Caccini medley opener sang with the antique instruments played by the Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca conjures up haunting beauty. And who can resist a bit of Vivaldi or Rossini here and there. Bartoli is magnificent throughout.