Artist:James Galway f/The Chieftains
Song:Danny Boy
Album:The Essential James Galway
Irish flutist James Galway is known as The Man with the Golden Flute. He is mainly a classical musician but he does record other types of music including Danny Boy from a 1987 album with The Chieftains. He has recorded for RCA since the 70s but he now records for Deutsche Grammophon. He was born Dec. 8, 1939 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His father and other family members played the flute. His uncle taught him to play and at age 11, Galway won the Belfast Flute Competition. He left school at age 14 to work as an apprentice for a piano repairman. Galway moved to London and studied at the Royal College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music. He also studied at the Paris Conservatoire. When he asked the great Jean-Pierre Rampal for lessons, Rampal told Galway that he didn't need lessons. So he returned to London to work for Sadler's Wells Opera. Galway was principal flute for Herbert von Karajan's Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from 1969-75. He moved to the US to launch a solo career and took a teaching job at the Eastman School of Music. He signed with RCA Records in 1975. Galway has always recorded all kinds of music. Not surprisingly, he is especially fond of Irish music. This recording of the standard Danny Boy is from the 1987 album James Galway And The Chieftains In Ireland. The songs are mostly traditional produced by The Chieftains leader Paddy Moloney. You can get Danny Boy on this 2CD budget comp. One CD has classical recordings and the second CD has more popular music. So it's a good intro to Galway's music. Galway switched from RCA to Deutsche Grammophon in 2004. He recently appeared on a Daniel Hope album of Irish favorites. Galway and his wife are concentrating on their Galway Flute Academy. Here's James Galway performing Danny Boy in Japan.
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