James Galway

James Galway

Born: December 8, 1939
in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
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.

Movies for James Galway...

James Galway at the BBC
Title: James Galway at the BBC
Character: Self
Released: December 8, 2019
Type: Movie
A dazzling music tribute to the Man with the Golden Flute, Sir James Galway. Features archive performances across 40 years of television including The Chieftains, Cleo Laine and Sir James himself.
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Karajan's Magic and Myth
Title: Karajan's Magic and Myth
Character: Self
Released: December 5, 2014
Type: Movie
Over twenty-five years after his death in July 1989, the controversial Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan remains an enigma. He was the most successful conductor in the history of classical music. Many of his recordings - of Italian opera, of Wagner and Richard Strauss, of Sibelius, Beethoven and Brahms - are treasured by music lovers around the world. Yet, even at the peak of his fame, his performances were variously criticised for being too opulent, too manicured, lacking warmth or spiritual depth. This musical profile explores the many paradoxes in the life and music of this controversial figure, who forged his international reputation in London with the Philharmonia Orchestra shortly after the end of the Second World War and went on to reign supreme in the classical music world during his three decades with the Berlin Philharmonic. The film also examines Karajan's belief in the visual power of music, and his determination to leave behind a substantial legacy of music on film.
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Title: Legends
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: November 17, 2006
Type: TV
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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Title: Legends
Character: Self
Released: November 17, 2006
Type: TV
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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Roger Waters: The Wall—Live in Berlin
Title: Roger Waters: The Wall—Live in Berlin
Character: Self - Flute
Released: July 20, 1990
Type: Movie
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 benefit performance of his acclaimed concept album, The Wall. Set in Berlin, Germany less than a year after the destruction of the hated Berlin Wall, Waters was accompanied by disparate talents such as Cyndi Lauper, James Galway, Joni Mitchell and Albert Finney in the classic dark musical tale of a rock star's descent into madness and back.
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Andy Williams' Early New England Christmas
Title: Andy Williams' Early New England Christmas
Character: Self
Released: December 7, 1982
Type: Movie
Andy Williams' Early New England Christmas
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Title: Fan School
Character: Self
Released: January 30, 1977
Type: TV
Host Jacques Martin invites different talented children from various backgrounds to showcase their beautiful voices. The participants entertain and wow the audience with their lovely performances.
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Title: Le Grand Échiquier
Character: Self
Released: January 12, 1972
Type: TV
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Title: Great Performances
Character: Self
Released: January 28, 1971
Type: TV
The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.
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Title: The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Character: Self
Released: October 1, 1962
Type: TV
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 aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.