Biography
At fourteen, Gallay launched his performing career as a noted French horn player. He assumed leadership of the musical society in Perpignan at twenty-three, then enrolled at the Paris Conservatoire five years later for lessons with Draupart in 1820. Before claiming Draupart’s post in 1842, he had performed with the Odeon orchestra and the Theatre Italien and had risen to first horn in the royal chapel. As the final major French exponent of the instrument, Gallay produced two enduring pedagogical works, the “Methode complete pour le cor” and the “Preludes mesures et non mesures.” The former offered distinctive exercises for strengthening the upper-middle register, while the latter—still consulted and readily obtainable—supplies idiomatic pieces for horn players. Across his output Gallay wrote twelve horn concertos together with numerous studies and chamber compositions.