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James Galway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| James Galway | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | James Galway |
| Born | December 8, 1939 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Genre(s) | Classical |
| Occupation(s) | Orchestral, soloist, conductor |
| Instrument(s) | Flute |
| Years active | 1950s–present |
| Associated acts |
Philharmonia Orchestra Sadler's Wells Opera Covent Garden Opera London Symphony Orchestra Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra London Mozart Players The Chieftains |
Sir James Galway (born December 8, 1939) is a Northern Ireland–born virtuoso flautist from Belfast, He is often called "The Man With the Golden Flute". Following in the footsteps of Jean-Pierre Rampal, he became one of the first flute players to establish an international career as a soloist.
Contents |
James Galway studied at the Royal College of Music under John Francis and then at the Guildhall School of Music under Geoffrey Gilbert. He then studied at the Paris Conservatoire under Gaston Crunelle and Jean-Pierre Rampal and also privately with Marcel Moyse.
After his education time he spent 15 years as an orchestral player.[1] Galway played with the Philharmonia Orchestra as it rose to prominence in the 1950s.[citation needed]
He then played with Sadler's Wells Opera, Covent Garden Opera, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.[1] He auditioned for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Herbert von Karajan, and was principal flute of that orchestra from 1969 to 1975. To Karajan's surprise and dismay, after a period of some disagreement, "Jimmy" Galway decided that he would leave to pursue a solo career,[citation needed] which he succeeded in doing admirably.
In addition to his performances of the standard classical repertoire, he features contemporary music in his programs, including new flute works commissioned by and for him by composers including David Amram, William Bolcom, John Corigliano, Dave Heath, and Lowell Liebermann. The album "In Ireland" by "James Galway and the Chieftains" reached number 32 in the UK album charts in 1987.
He still performs regularly and is one of the world's most well-known flute players.[citation needed]
He is Principal Guest Conductor of the London Mozart Players, based at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, South London.[citation needed]
Most recently, Sir James has performed for the Academy Award-winning ensemble recording the soundtracks of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film trilogy, composed by Howard Shore.
He plays a golden flute that was handcrafted for him by the Nagahara team.[citation needed]
Galway now resides in Meggen, Switzerland[citation needed], with his U.S.-born wife, Jeanne. They often tour together playing duets, accompanied by Phillip Moll on piano.[citation needed]
James's nephew Martin Galway is a musician famous for his work on Commodore 64 computer game music in the 1980s.
He is also president of a global organization called Flutewise, a charitable organisation which donates flutes to low–income students and people with disabilities,[1] run by Liz Goodwin. He was made an OBE in 1977 and was knighted in 2001.[1]
- James prefers the term "flute player" over the term "flautist" and has been quoted as saying, "I am a flute player, not a flautist. I don't have a flaut, and I've never flauted."
- Apparently he was late for his audition for the Berlin Philharmonic, he was denied the right to audition but he somehow convinced the reception to let him audition. Being late, the enraged Karajan made him play all sorts of excerpts and solos that were beyond the originally proposed audition material, hoping to humble and embarrass Galway. To Karajan's surprise, not only did Galway manage to play everything with spot on accuracy and fluid musicality, he was able to do a lot of it by memory when the music was not at hand, demonstrating his extensive knowledge and grasp of the flute repertoire. He was unanimously chosen by the judges and granted the principal flute position slot, but Galway stated he didn't really like how they denied his right to audition and just left for London. It was the Royal Philharmonic that convinced Galway to return as the principal flute.[citation needed]
- Galway, James (1978). An Autobiography. London: Chappell and Company Ltd.. ISBN 0-340-24721-5.
- Galway, James; W. Mann (1982). James Galway's Music in Time. London: Mitchell Beazley. ISBN 0855333820.
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Flute Quintet in G Major, Allegro by Bernhard Romberg performed by Sir James Galway with the Young Danish String Quartet, November 2005 Flute Quintet in G Major, Minuet by Bernhard Romberg performed by Sir James Galway with the Young Danish String Quartet, November 2005 Flute Quintet in G Major, Adagio by Bernhard Romberg performed by Sir James Galway with the Young Danish String Quartet, November 2005 Flute Quintet in G Major, Rondo by Bernhard Romberg performed by Sir James Galway with the Young Danish String Quartet, November 2005 Wind Quintet Op. 43 - Allegro ben moderato by Carl Nielsen performed by Sir James Galway with the Carion quintet Wind Quintet Op. 43 - Menuetto by Carl Nielsen performed by Sir James Galway with the Carion quintet Wind Quintet Op. 43 - Präludium by Carl Nielsen performed by Sir James Galway with the Carion quintet - Problems playing the files? See media help.
- Sir James Galway. The Galway Network.
- Howard Shore, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Music Files.
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