COMPOSER | PIANIST | WRITER | EDUCATOR
.jpg)
“Daniel Galay is a very prolific composer who works successfully in different music genres. He writes lots of Jewish music, but does not limit himself with it. He is great at orchestration and takes full advantage of the richness of every instrument he writes for.”
Evgeny Kissin
Daniel Galay is a versatile composer who demonstrates his craftsmanship across multiple musical domains, including symphonies, operas (both libretto and music), large works based on Yiddish classical texts, live improvisation in various styles, dance, and his original Klezmer repertoire, which has been performed internationally. His contemporary and classical approaches blend together in a unique, surprising, and fascinating manner.
Composition
Galay is a symphonist at heart, drawn to compositions of broad scope. He combines traditional harmonies and forms with contemporary techniques. He has composed four symphonies, symphonic overtures, seven concertos, and works for string orchestra. Galay's operatic signature is characterized by original librettos and a developed sense of drama, focusing on both Jewish and universal themes. He has composed extensive cantatas for canonical texts in Yiddish. Galay has written for choir, children's choir, voice, chamber music, and solo instruments as well as methods for piano and improvisation.
Klezmer
"Israeli Klezmer" is the term Maestro Giora Feidman defines the uniqueness of Galay's work. "Klezmer with a Classical Touch" is what Yossi Zucker, editor of Or-Tav Publishing House, called Galay’s klezmer music. The Yiddish language and the musical language feed a symbiosis that can be identified from the first sound. Galay’s constantly renewing Klezmer melodies are performed worldwide and surprise any audience.
At the premiere of The King of the Klezmorim, TES Bucharest, 2024
Writings
Daniel Galay’s creative writing includes poetry, plays, articles, and children's literature in Hebrew, Yiddish, and English. His play "The King of the Klezmers" was performed at the Romanian State Yiddish Theater (TES) in 2024 as part of the prestigious PHōNē project supported by the EU. Daniel Galay is the chairman of Leyvik House – the Association of Yiddish Writers and Journalists in Israel.