A New Hope, in 4/4
A long time ago — fine, the 1980s — in a living room far, far away, a boy watched the same films hundreds of times with his brother. He grew up to sell out the Philharmonie and fill stadiums, and he never once put down the lightsaber. On Immortal, David Garrett finally records the music he was raised on — and talks about it like the fan he never stopped being.
Episode I — The Pencil Menace
Every Jedi trains long before the duels, and David's training is the part nobody sees: arranging. He wrote out every piece on the album by hand. “I always approach something like this with a sharp pencil,” he says, “and try to make it not only musically beautiful but, of course, also exciting from a violinist's point of view” — exactly the way the old masters Kreisler, Elman and Heifetz would have, had the music ever reached their stand. The bow is only the lightsaber; the years of discipline behind it are the Force. (And if you caught the Millennium Symphony open-airs, you'll know we're only half joking — for one number he plays with a glowing, lit-up bow: a lightsaber in all but name.)
Episode II — Attack of the Shortcuts
There is a Dark Side, and it is fast and cheap. “There are so many possibilities these days,” he says. “People want everything fast and cheap.” His answer is stamped on the cover like a refusal: 100% handmade. Take the time. Pay for it out of your own pocket. Go looking for your own ceiling — “how many percent can you pull out of yourself?” The easy win, he admits, never lasts: it satisfies for a moment and is gone within a year. That is the seduction of the Dark Side, in 4/4.
Episode III — Revenge of the Bach
Every saga needs a source of the Force, and for David it is Bach. Ask his favourite and he does not hesitate: “there is nothing greater, more brilliant or more beautiful than Johann Sebastian Bach.” On the album he takes Jesus bleibet meine Freude — a piece Bach wrote only for keyboard, never for violin — and rebuilds it from the instruments Bach himself had, then opens it out, a little more orchestral. He doesn't copy the Master's arrangement; he imagines the one the Master never wrote. Which is the most Jedi move of all: you don't imitate your teacher, you carry the lineage forward.
Episode IV — A New Hope
And then, sitting among the immortals on a record literally called Immortal, the man who scored the myth itself: John Williams. David refuses to apologise for placing a film composer beside Bach. “He's an absolute genius,” he says — “probably the greatest presence of all when it comes to melody.” Everyone knows every cue he ever wrote: Indiana Jones, Schindler's List, and — of course — Star Wars.
And here the star violinist turns straight back into a ten-year-old. “I'm a huge Star Wars fan,” he confesses — all the films, hundreds of times, with his brother. Which is, quietly, the whole thesis of the album: the music that imprints on you for life is never the music that was easy to make. It's the music someone took seriously enough to get exactly right. Williams did. Bach did. Now Garrett's sharp pencil does too.
So when the orchestra swells and you're suddenly ten years old again, the pull you feel isn't nostalgia. It's the Force — 100% handmade, no Dark Side, the old masters at his back. Fellow nerds: this one's for us. May the bow be with him.
▸ Read the full interview
What is behind the album title Immortal?
The basic idea of the album — which is also where the name comes from — is to pay tribute to the most timeless composers: to what still fascinates us across the centuries. Hence the name, Immortal. For me, these are the immortal composers of the last 400 years.
The album only comes out in October, but you have already released Nessun dorma as a first single. What fascinates you about this piece?
Nessun dorma is, of course, incredibly well known, well beyond the world of classical music. And it is a piece that had never existed as an arrangement for violin. I found that very exciting, almost fascinating — that no one had taken it on yet, because melodically it is a wonderful piece for the instrument.
Was it difficult to arrange Nessun dorma for the violin?
I think every piece is a challenge. There is always a certain degree of difficulty. With Nessun dorma, for instance, there is a rather recitative-like part at the beginning. Rewriting that beautifully for the violin — and not just taking the tenor's melody line, but also building in a little of the harmonies and chords — that is the challenge. The way Fritz Kreisler, Mischa Elman or Jascha Heifetz might have done it, had they arranged this piece for violin. I always approach something like this with a sharp pencil, trying to make it not only musically beautiful but, of course, also exciting from a violinist's point of view.
You did not only arrange Nessun dorma yourself, but all the other pieces on the album too. What was especially important to you in doing so?
For me, a great many elements of music history matter, and I bring them into every arrangement. Every composer has a different vibe, a different way in, a different instrumentation. And I try to tailor each piece to the particular composer — but with the possibilities I see in these composers today. One example: Jesus bleibet meine Freude is actually a piece that, in Johann Sebastian Bach's original, exists only for piano. So there had never been an arrangement for violin. That was a piece where I said: the melody is so beautiful, it fits the violin fantastically. For the arrangement I then used the instruments that Johann Sebastian Bach had at his disposal at the time, but I scored the whole thing a little more orchestrally.
You describe your new album as your most personal yet. Why?
It is a classical album again, of course, with pieces I have known and loved for as long as I can remember. I heard these pieces as a child and admired the works and composers, as well as the performers. By now I have reached a point in my life as an artist where I can record these pieces again, adapt and arrange them in my own musical garb. That is a truly wonderful, great opportunity, and it makes me very proud.
With the note '100% handmade', you make a clear statement on your new album. Why was that important to you?
I deliberately pushed that to the foreground. There are so many possibilities these days. Everyone wants to get everything done fast and cheap. It was very important to me to highlight this tradition — to take your time, and to reach into your own pocket too, in order to make something really perfect. It is at these hurdles that your own ceiling shows itself. How many percent can you pull out of yourself? And I find that endlessly exciting. Things that are too easy have never, for me personally, given the same result in the long run. In the short term, yes — but not over one, two, three or four years, let alone over decades.
What is your favourite track on the album?
That is really very, very hard to answer. When you arrange these pieces for almost a year and a half, you naturally associate an incredible amount of time and love and your own development process with each one. But there is nothing greater than Johann Sebastian Bach — one has to say that, in fairness. He is my favourite composer. So I would probably go with Bach, simply because there is nothing greater, more brilliant or more beautiful than Johann Sebastian Bach.
John Williams is also on the album. He belongs more to the newer composers. Why is he timeless for you nonetheless?
He is an absolute genius. He has an incredible presence. Of all film composers, probably the greatest presence of all when it comes to melody, I think. And not only in classical music, but in general: you know every one of his soundtracks. Whether it is Indiana Jones, Star Wars, or Schindler's List.
What is your favourite piece by John Williams?
I am a big Star Wars fan, I have to admit. There is no favourite piece as such. But as a child I watched all the Star Wars films hundreds of times with my brother. So that is especially vivid in my memory.
Are you planning to tour with the new album?
Absolutely. The album comes out in October of this year. From February or March of next year we will probably play a few concerts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and then tour internationally with the album over the course of the year.
This week, though, your Millennium Symphony Open Air tour kicks off first. Are you more the type for open-air concerts or for the concert hall?
Well, two days ago I would still have told you, while I was sweating here in my place in Berlin: honestly, I am more of a fan of the old classical halls, because they have air conditioning. It was really scorching here in Berlin. But in fairness I have to say: I like both very, very much. They are completely different moods — both in what happens on stage and what happens in the audience. Playing in the Philharmonie is, first, a great honour and, second, fantastic acoustics. There are wonderful classical halls that I enjoy enormously. That said, I find that playing open air is always an incredibly beautiful bridge you can build to an audience that is not so familiar with classical music. And that is something very important: that we, as artists, as classical artists, keep bringing audiences to this music anew. I think open air is a fascinating place for that, because it mirrors nature — the music celebrates nature a little more, so to speak. And I really like that.
How do you manage to keep a cool head before a performance in this heat?
If there is the chance, I take another cold shower backstage just beforehand. And then, of course, I put on clothes that give me the freedom to play for two hours. It is not as if I only play one violin concerto at these concerts — I play for two hours straight. That is physically demanding, of course, and you feel it. So with clothing I always try to find something as light as possible that does not restrict me while playing, so I am not completely exhausted after the two hours.
And what about the violin? Is there anything to watch out for in these temperatures?
Thank goodness the violin does not come from Siberia, but from Cremona. So it ought to be used to hot temperatures. I would not expose it to the sun, though. That means if the sun is shining on the stage, we rehearse in the shade. But the concert times are always such that the sun is setting by the time of the concert. So there is no direct approach of the sun onto the varnish — that would be very bad for the instruments. But really it is more cold and dryness that give instruments trouble.
Do you have rituals before a concert, things you always do before going on stage?
Going through the difficult passages slowly once more — the way most of my colleagues do too. I am not a big culinary eater before a concert, probably because the stomach does not necessarily cooperate under a certain amount of tension. But practising, making sure you feel good, that you are well rested if possible — those are really the most important things. And then, the moment you walk on stage, having a feeling of self-assurance, of course, and preparing accordingly.
Quotations from David Garrett's interview with Valeska Baader for Klassik Radio, 30 June 2026 · Photo: Ben Wolf. Immortal is released 9 October; a tour through Germany, Austria and Switzerland is planned for early 2027.