Thomas Gallia was a close friend to János Sebestyén for more than forty years and was the sound engineer for dozens of his recordings. He was born in Budapest in 1921 and came from a prominent musical family; his grandfather, István Thomán, studied piano under Liszt and was later Bartók's teacher. His career began at the Hungarian Radio in 1947 and he later became chief engineer for MHV, the predecessor of HUNGAROTON. After the Hungarian revolution in 1956 he worked for PATHÉ MARCONI in Paris and with the famous sound engineer André Charlin. In 1961 he moved to Milan and, along with Paul Déry, formed SONART, an independent recording company. In Milan he was also chief engineer for the ANGELICUM label until 1975 and at the same time made recordings for a number of other labels such as VOX, DEUTSCHE HARMONIA MUNDI and ASTRÉE. In 1990 Gallia and Déry relocated their operation to Montpellier, becoming SONART FRANCE. Between them, they produced thousands of classical recordings, many with important artists in the field of early music, including Gustav Leonhardt, Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, Paul Badura-Skoda, Rinaldo Alessandrini and Christophe Rousset. Gallia died in Switzerland in 1997.

Thomas Gallia at the Angelium studio in Milan where he was chief engineer, early 1960s.

Gallia with Jenő Fehérvári, former director of the Hungaroton record company, mid 1960s.

Thomas Gallia at his old flat on Via Trebazio in Milan, late 1960s.

Gallia with Tibor Kelemen at his new flat on Via Moscova in Milan, late 1960s.

Gallia with his daughter Valery, wife Brigitte, mother Katalin and Paul Déry, early 1970s.

Gallia and his daughter Valery in Switzerland, 1980.

Gallia in Vienna with Dr. Jenő Randé, Hungarian ambassador and author, 1982 (above), and in Budapest, early 1990s (right).

Additional photos and information about Thomas Gallia can be
found on the pages About This Site and Angelicum.