Premier classical flutist in love with music, family

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

•	Sir James Galway and Lady Jeanne Galway Honolulu Symphony MasterWorks concert, conducted by Samuel Wong 8 p.m. today, 4 p.m. Sunday Blaisdell Concert Hall $21, $33, $38, $49, $64 792-2000 (symphony box office), (877) 750-4400 (Ticketmaster), www.HonoluluSymphony.com

It doesn't matter to Sir James Galway, 64, who's performing with his flute-playing wife, Lady Jeanne Galway, in Honolulu Symphony Orchestra concerts tonight and Sunday at the Blaisdell Concert Hall.

It's kind of a po-tay-to, po-tah-to thing.

"It's just an old gag that the press picked up, and it just doesn't stop," said the acclaimed flutist/flautist in a phone conversation from Long Island, N.Y., where he was visiting his mother-in-law while his wife was rehearsing for a concert with a trio in Kansas City.

Spend 20 minutes with him on the horn and it's joyously obvious: His Irish brogue accentuates his bubbling joie de vivre. He's pure charm. He's lively. He's warm. He's fun.

And his passion for his work — music — is equalled by his desire to spend quality time with family.

"My wife and I work together 10 or 15 percent of the time ... but we spend every day of the year together. And it's been 22 years," he said, almost in a sing-song tone. "When I'm not with her, I'm with my mother-in-law."

With Lady Jeanne off to a practice session, Galway had leisure time for a dinner. Casual reflection. And time for chit-chat.

"When I was growing up, I was surrounded by the flute," said Galway. "My granddad played flute; I remember hearing him one day, toddling on, when he used to come to our house in Belfast. He always played. He died in our house, too.

"My father had a flute, but he almost never played it; I mean, I hardly heard him play it. I got hold of his flute, though, when I was 6 or 7, and it drove him crazy. I got into the flute by behaving like my dad. Wearing his hat, his tie, playing his flute.

"My dad was into classical music, so he would do bits and pieces of symphonic pieces. We all thought he was nuts, actually. We had no TV, so we listened to the radio — news, boxing matches, sometimes even a concert. But one of my neighbors had a Gramophone, and I remember listening to Mozart."

Early on, Galway was part of a musical ensemble called the Zephyr Trio.

"It was just a thing we did, as kids. I was 12 or 13; my friend, Edmund, was 18 — way grown up," he said. "The other member was my teacher, 15 years older than me. I was on second flute; the teacher was first, and we had a lot of fun. Mostly did concerts for the neighbors."

When Lady Jeanne formed her group, she borrowed the name, The Zephyrs, an homage to his humble beginnings. Nope, Sir James is not part of her ensemble.

"I think it's important for a musician to start at an early age," said Galway. "I think it's important for anything you do to start early. When you get older, it's much harder to put the bricks together, you know? And if you want to learn a language, it's more difficult as you get older — unless you go to a (foreign) country for a few weeks."

While he remains true to his classical roots, Galway's magic flute has successfully crossed over to pop and other turfs. He's equally at home with the Muppets as he is with Mozart.

"I think crossover is good," he said. "Otherwise, (Luciano) Pavarotti wouldn't be doing it. Neither would (Placido) Domingo. But with singers, there's the language. So it's easier with flute; we don't have that language barrier. Hmmm, I wondered why Pavarotti never recorded 'Danny Boy'?"

His vast travels have helped expand his repertoire and extend his appreciation of all kinds of music.

"I have been going to Japan for years, and I love the melodies there," said Galway. "You go to a Japanese restaurant and families are in the corner, quietly singing. I got to know a lot of these songs that do well on my flute. That's what happens. You hear, you do."

As the world's foremost classical flutist, Galway has transported his artistry to the masses. He's the unchallenged guru of his instrument.

One of his most popular crossover CDs is "The Very Best of James Galway," on RCA Victor, in which he converts a variety of universal classics to his expressive and exhilarating flute: "Danny Boy," "Canon," "Meditation," "My Heart Will Go On," "Memory," "Hamabe No Uta (Song of the Seashore)," "The Flight of the Bumblebee," "I Will Always Love You," "Beauty and the Beast," "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?," "Annie's Song."

So how does he know which songs to play?

"When a melody pulls at the heartstrings, you know it's right," he said. "And some melodies really pull strongly."

Any advice for music wannabes?

"Spend every day you have, soaking yourself in music, listening to it, playing it, practicing it, every hour you have," he said. "A two-hour practice may work for football, but for music, the only way to get really good is to practice and play until your whole being is transcended."

Galway's command of the flute is legendary, of course. He also is handy at home remodeling stuff, he said, but can't envision anything except music.

"I cannot imagine my life without the flute," said Galway. "I don't know what I would be doing today. But I am adaptable. Before I got to the point where I am now (in other words, when the career finally was launched and the struggles were gone), I did a lot of decorating around the house. There was this four-story place with a basement in London that I wired. I sanded all the floors. I polished. I even bricked up the fireplace for central heating."

So just where do Galway and his Lady Jeanne put their best flutes forward? "In Switzerland, in a nice house" that overlooks a lake, he said of home.

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.