For James Galway, Mozart is magic

James Galway hasn't always played the flute. "I started off on the violin," he says, "and then it was generally consumed by about 3,000 very industrious Irish woodworms. When they finished dinner I took up the flute."

Galway is known today as "The Man with the Golden Flute." He came from a long line of amateur flute players, which included his dad, his granddad and his uncle. On his latest recording, "My Magic Flute," Galway celebrates the composer who has been his constant companion since childhood: Mozart.

One thing that attracted me right away to this new release is the inclusion of the Welsh harpist Catrin Finch. Like James Galway, Finch has succeeded in exposing a broader audience to her instrument by exploring various styles of music and techniques. Their collaboration started when somebody suggested they team up on Mozart's Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra. After performing it in several different venues, they decided to record it with the Sinfonia Varsovia.

Galway was even more enthusiastic about recording it after hearing what one of his former students, Italian flutist Andrea Griminelli, had done with it. "It's interesting for me to do, too," he says, "because I just listened to a recording with Roger Norrington and Andrea Griminelli...and this was an orchestra not doing any vibrato or anything like that. I thought, OK, I'm moving with the times. We're not going to use vibrato and that's what we did on this recording and I think it sounds really good."

What sounds really good in this more modern approach to Mozart is the clear purity of tone prominent in the dreamlike Andantino. Mozart wrote this concerto for a French ambassador, who was an enthusiastic amateur flutist, and his harpist daughter. Much of it is a dialogue for the soloists. The first and last movements are filled with luscious melodies and Mozart gives each soloist a chance to take the lead. In this performance, we're in good hands with Galway and Finch.

This is a flute recording, but not everything on this new release was written for the flute. Galway includes the second movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in an arrangement for flute, harp and orchestra by Andreas Tarkmann. Galway says everything absolutely falls into place in this arrangement. He says pianists sometimes play the ornaments too quickly, but if you take your time the way a singer would, Galway says you can get a real singing quality in the flute.

Galway teams up with his wife Jeanne on a flute medley arranged by David Overton. He calls it "a train-spotter's guide to Mozart." It begins appropriately with the Overture to Mozart's "Magic Flute" and winds its way through other operas like "The Marriage of Figaro," "Don Giovanni" and "Cosi fan tutte." Various concertos are represented, as well as the familiar serenade, "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik."

Each time he plays a piece by Mozart, James Galway says he discovers something new, which is why Mozart has been his life-long companion. His new release, "My Magic Flute," offers a few new perspectives into this timeless music, making it a great companion for any Mozart lover, old or new.

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