James Galway

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James Galway

Sir James Galway and his wife Jeanne Galway performing in the 2007 New Year's Eve concert at the Culture and Convention Centre Lucerne.
Background information
Birth name James Galway
Born December 8, 1939 (1939-12-08) (age 70)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Genres Classical, Pop
Occupations Orchestral, soloist, conductor
Instruments Flute, Tin whistle
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 OBE (born December 8, 1939) is a Northern Ireland–born virtuoso flutist from Belfast, nicknamed "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

[edit] Education

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.

[edit] Career

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].

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, Malcolm Arnold, William Bolcom, John Corigliano, Dave Heath, Lowell Liebermann and Joaquín Rodrigo. 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.[2]

Most recently, Galway 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.

In June 2008, Galway was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame along with Liza Minnelli and B. B. King.

He currently performs on Nagahara flutes, as well as some Muramatsu Flutes.

[edit] Personal

In the 1970s Galway moved from Berlin to Lucerne, Switzerland, the home town of his second wife, Anna (Annie) Renggli, one of the daughters of a well-known local architect. They had twins and a son. In 1978 he recorded for her the famous instrumental version of John Denver's "Annie's Song". After their divorce he moved to Meggen, Switzerland, a village next to Lucerne, where he resides now with his third wife, U.S.-born Jeanne Galway (née Cinnante). They often tour together playing duets, accompanied by Phillip Moll on piano.[citation needed] In addition, they give masterclasses for flutists of all levels.

Galway is also president of a global organisation called Flutewise, a charitable organisation which supports young flute players,[1] run by Liz Goodwin.

In 2003 he formed the Music Education Consortium together with Julian Lloyd Webber, Evelyn Glennie and Michael Kamen to pressure the British Government into providing better music education in schools.

He was made an OBE in 1977 and was knighted in 2001.[1]

Galway's nephew, Martin Galway, is a musician famous for his work on Commodore 64 computer game music in the 1980s.

James Galway has the eye condition nystagmus, and is a patron of the Nystagmus Network, a UK-based support group for people with the condition.[3]

[edit] Publications

[edit] Media
Flute Quintet in G major by Bernhard Romvberg
1. Allegro
2. Minuet
3. Adagio
4. Rondo
performed by Sir James Galway with the Young Danish String Quartet, November 2005
Wind Quintet Op. 43 by Carl Nielsen
1. Allegro ben moderato
2. Menuetto
3. Praludium: Adagio. Tema con variazioni: Un poco andantino
performed by Sir James Galway with the Carion quintet
Problems listening to these files? See media help.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Niall O’Loughlin/Richard Wigmore, 'Galway, Sir James', Grove Music Online, [1], accessed 13 July 2007
  2. ^ http://www.lmp.org/LMPmore/guestconductor.htm
  3. ^ "Press Release" (Microsoft Word document). Nystagmus Network. 26 October 2009. http://www.rehabworker.co.uk/nnappt.doc. Retrieved 6 December 2009. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Galway"