James Galway

James Galway

Sir James Galway (born 8 December 1939) is an Irish virtuoso flute player from Belfast, nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Flute". He established an international career as a solo flute player. In 2005, he received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music at the Classic Brit Awards. Galway was born in North Belfast as one of two brothers. His father, who played the flute, was employed at the Harland and Wolff shipyard until the end of the Second World War and spent night-shifts cleaning buses after the war, while his mother, a pianist, was a winder in a flax-spinning mill. Raised as a Presbyterian and surrounded by a tradition of flute bands and many friends and family members who played the instrument, he was taught the flute by his uncle at the age of nine and joined his fife and drum corps. At the age of eleven Galway won the junior, senior, and open Belfast flute Championships in a single day. His first instrument was a five-key Irish flute, and at the age of twelve or thirteen, he received a Boehm instrument. Galway was educated at Mountcollyer Secondary Modern School in Belfast. He left school at the age of fourteen and worked as an apprentice to a piano repairer for two years. He subsequently studied the flute at the Royal College of Music under John Francis and at the Guildhall School of Music under Geoffrey Gilbert. He then briefly studied at the Paris Conservatoire under Gaston Crunelle. While in Paris, he asked for lessons from the celebrated French flute player Jean-Pierre Rampal, who offered him advice on his playing, but felt he was already too good a flute player to need lessons from either Rampal or the conservatory. He left Paris to take up his first orchestral flute-playing job at Sadler's Wells Opera in London. He went on to spend fifteen years as an orchestral player. In addition to Sadler's Wells, he played with Covent Garden Opera, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He auditioned for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Herbert von Karajan and was principal flute in the orchestra from 1969 to 1975. To Karajan's surprise and dismay, after a period of some disagreement, Galway decided that he would leave to pursue a solo career. In addition to his performances of the standard classical repertoire, he features contemporary music in his programmes, including new flute works commissioned by and for him by composers including David Amram, Malcolm Arnold, William Bolcom, John Corigliano, John Wolf Brennan, Dave Heath, Lowell Liebermann and Joaquín Rodrigo. The album James Galway and The Chieftains in Ireland by Galway and The Chieftains reached number 32 in the UK Albums Chart in 1987. Galway still performs regularly and is one of the world's best-known flute players. His recordings have sold over 30 million copies. ... Source: Article "James Galway" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

  • Title: James Galway
  • Popularity: 1.193
  • Known For: Acting
  • Birthday: 1939-12-08
  • Place of Birth: Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As:
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James Galway Movies

  • 1990
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    Roger Waters: The Wall - Live in Berlin

    Roger Waters: The Wall - Live in Berlin

    8 1990 HD

    A global television broadcast of the event in which former Pink Floyd leader singer and composer Roger Waters led an all-star cast in a mammoth...

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  • 1982
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    Andy Williams' Early New England Christmas

    Andy Williams' Early New England Christmas

    1 1982 HD

    Andy Williams' Early New England Christmas

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  • 2019
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    James Galway at the BBC

    James Galway at the BBC

    5 2019 HD

    A dazzling music tribute to the Man with the Golden Flute, Sir James Galway. Features archive performances across 40 years of television including...

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  • 2014
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    Karajan's Magic and Myth

    Karajan's Magic and Myth

    1 2014 HD

    Over twenty-five years after his death in July 1989, the controversial Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan remains an enigma. He was the most...

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  • 1962
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    The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

    The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

    7.4 1962 HD

    The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally...

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  • 1972
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    Le Grand Échiquier

    Le Grand Échiquier

    8 1972 HD

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  • 2006
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    Legends

    Legends

    5 2006 HD

    The story of the big names that have shaped the musical genres, plus an occasional stopgap for the new rock 'n' roll - comedy.

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  • 2006
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    Legends

    Legends

    5 2006 HD

    The story of the big names that have shaped the musical genres, plus an occasional stopgap for the new rock 'n' roll - comedy.

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  • 1977
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    Fan School

    Fan School

    6.5 1977 HD

    Host Jacques Martin invites different talented children from various backgrounds to showcase their beautiful voices. The participants entertain and...

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  • 1987
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    Le monde est à vous

    Le monde est à vous

    1 1987 HD

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  • 1971
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    Great Performances

    Great Performances

    5.2 1971 HD

    The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular...

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