David Garrett: I Am Learning Every Day

Whether it had been the violin, or any other instrument, German-born virtuoso David Garrett said he knew from a very young age that he would always be a musician.

Thankfully, for fans, it was the violin his parents introduced into the family when Garrett was four-years-old. Dubbed by some as "the world's fastest violinist," .

While it was the violin Garrett learned to play–and has since gained worldwide acclaim–it wasn't what first drew him to music.

"I think I was always drawn to music, even before I started playing violin," he said. "I just wanted to play an instrument, make music, and the violin was in our house."

The instrument has become so engrained into Garrett's being, he said, "it has always been in my life since I can remember. It has been forever."

For many, Garrett has become known for his crossover appeal, merging his classical training with such hard rock hits as Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" and Guns and Roses' "November Rain."

On his latest album, Legacy, released in November, Garrett focuses exclusively on the work of Ludwig von Beethoven.

However, the 31-year-old said his show in Morristown also will cull from past works, as well as material from his next release. "It's going to be 60, 70 percent never before played in the U.S.," he said. "It's like a brand-new show."

The merging of sounds–from metal, to classical, to pop legends like Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal"–was made very consciously, Garrett said. "At some point, more and more pieces were fun to perform," he said. "It took a few years to come up with the right approach. It's definitely something not done that many times before. To be sure, the violin sounds good and fits with the music.

"Not everything works," Garrett admitted. "It's an adventure for me to take popular contemporary stuff that sounds attractive on my violin."

Metal, in particular, has seemed to be the closest cousin to classical for Garrett. "There are large structures, a lot of pieces are quite epic," he said. "Classical is about extending material and making it as big as possible."

Despite his acclaim and nearly an entire life with the violin, Garrett said he still practices at least three hours every day.

"I am learning every day," he said. "If you stop learning, you get worse. It's important to still learn, concentrate and listen to yourself. Music making is objectively listening to yourself, finding the mistakes and leaving them out. That is an everyday process."

Violinist David Garrett will perform at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1 at the . For more information, including tickets, .