I do recall one anecdote involving Rampal that allowed me to glimpse a side of the man that I greatly respected. In a very brief television interview he was asked by the interviewer why it was that he was the "best flute player in the world". Mr. Rampal responded by saying that there were many wonderful flute players in the world and that it just was not right to say that he was the best.

Jean-Pierre Rampal touched countless lives through his beautiful music making. I shall be forever grateful for his presence among us.

Larry Krantz

Dear fellow listers,

It was with much sadness that I learned today of the passing of Jean-Pierre Rampal. He was my childhood hero, and I don't even believe in having heroes. He taught me the difference between a good tone and an incredibly beautiful tone. His warm, welcoming way of playing made you feel that he was playing just for you, even if you were in a room with 2000 other people. He was not perfect by any means, only great. Somehow, he made me forget about his flaws (and I can be pretty darned critical), and I know many people feel the same way. He gave us so much. He will be missed terribly, but never forgotten.

Leonard Lopatin

Like so many others of my generation, Rampal was the inspiration I grew up with, having heard his records and live performances when I was around twelve. I never realized quite his importance until Austin Scott,now in his seventies, told of hearing him in Victoria (yes, world class artists used to play and travel to the far ends of civilization- no one more than Rampal, who, I remember reading, played over 260 concerts in one year! I believe that no one, not even the Grateful Dead, has done that) and what a revelation it was to him and the other flutists. His playing was in so many ways revolutionary and world changing. A truly incredible artist and visionary.

Richard Volet

What a sad day... there is something in what Leonard said here that struck home to me-

I remember vividly the first time I heard Mr Rampal live; I was in a standing seat in a Carnegie Hall in New York. I was totally swept away by the sheer beauty of the music as he played it. I hope, as Brad said, young players realise that they need to hear this! It is SOOOO important...

Alexa Still

I usually lurk here as I'm still learning and don't have much to contribute (but I've learned a lot!). I had to add my voice to the many other flutists, though, that have shared their stories and sadness.

Jean-Pierre Rampal has been a huge inspiration to me throughout my years playing the flute. I could listen to him play for hours! Were it not for him, I don't know that I would still be playing the flute. I never had the opportunity to hear him perform live. He performed here (Michigan) a couple years ago, and I desperately wanted to go but due to prior commitments, I was unable to. I regret that so much! Jean-Pierre Rampal has done so much for the flute and for so many individual flutists. I feel like I have lost a very dear friend.

Natasha Harhold

When I listen to a Rampal recording, I feel that I am hearing a PERFORMANCE - not a carefully edited attempt at total perfection, with no personality.

Despite this sad loss, we can be grateful that his recorded legacy will continue to be an inspiration, as will the numbers of pieces that he inspired composers to write.

Joe O'Farrell

I, too, was shaken and stunned when I heard Rampal passed away. He has been such an icon for many of us, flutists whether non-professional or professional. When I was just a teenager, I heard Rampal on the radio, I was transfixed by the beauty he produced with his flute.

While I was in college, an older acquaintance of mine accompanied him as his pianist. I finally had an opportunity to hear him live and to learn about how this master loved to enjoy life. (While rehearsing he would have wine & cheese!)

Also, had a chance to attend his master class at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. I learned alot just listening to him provide tidbits from his own "bag of tricks" to help others achieve the character of a musical selection. Whenever I could, I would collect his recordings and listen to them over and over again to capture the Rampal's magic.

Yes, Rampal leaves us. But, what a legacy he has left behind! Such a remarkable person!

Genevieve Pastor-Cohen

I'm just sitting here stunned and so deeply sad to hear this news. I never met Mr. Rampal in person, but his concert, when I was a teenager, of Handel Sonatas in Carnegie Hall was the first professional flute playing I ever heard, and I'm well aware of the boundless debt we all owe this great man for helping the flute become a solo instrument in the 20th century. He will live on in the memories and minds of flutists always.

Thank you, Moshe, for being thoughtful to inform us so quickly, so that those of us who wish to, can turn our thoughts, hearts, prayers, or energies to remembering and honoring him as he makes his transition.

Helen Spielman

Dear list,

I'm sure we all feel this loss acutely. Rampal was my growing up idol of the flute...he and Julius Baker and Kincaid. His loss makes me feel very sad...and old.

Cynthia Stevens

Dear List,

Mr. Rampal has been a part of my entire flute life...the past 25 years! I attended concerts and masterclasses, played on the same stage at the 1991 NFA convention in celebration of his 70th birthday, was actually introduced to him while in university, and even own the sushi "cookbook" for which he wrote the introduction.

His passing marks the end of an era for myself, for the flute, for music.

I am struck by how aptly the subject heading captures my feelings: Rampal left us!

Rampal has not only "left us"--gone away from this world--but he has "left us" a legacy, a heritage, an on-going gift. Where would the flute be today had Rampal never lived? How would our instrument be received by the non-flute public? How would each of us who have taken up the instrument since his debut play had he never stepped forward on the stage? Certainly differently!

He has "left us" so much!

My thoughts and prayers go this day to Jean-Pierre Rampal's family and his many, many friends everywhere -- even those of us who can claim friendship only in our mutual love for the flute and who knew him only through the voice he gave his instrument.

Mary Byrne

Dear List,

It's with tears I write this note.

Rampal was such an inspiration, not just to the flute world, but to the world of classical music. Just yesterday a student's parent told me how she first fell in love with classical music--hearing a recording of Rampal playing back in the 70's. It was so beautiful that it opened the door to classical music, a whole new world for her, as well as a multitude of others, I am sure.

And fortunately, he was taken notice by so many composers. It is thanks to him that we have the Khachaturian Flute Concerto, and so many of the 20th century composers were influenced by him. I adore the Claude Bolling Suites, for which Rampal was the inspiration.

He was also one of the greatest teachers. "Playing the flute is so easy," he loved to say. "It just takes practice." He made it seem so simple, and so much fun. Rampal had learned from his father. And he spoke so fondly of his father who was still playing the flute in his 80's--"Gets out his flute and plays it every day. If it sounds good, he packs it away, but if it sounds bad, he practices," Rampal once told me.

His father wanted him to have a secure profession, and so Rampal studied medicine. I have an early record (with a very young photo of Rampal) when he was still in medical school, according to the record jacket. He had already recorded on Mercury the Couperin Concerto No. 6. On this recording he is playing the Bach A minor Sonata, Beethoven Sonata, Honegger Dance of the Goat, Roussel Andante and Scherzo, Dukas La Plainte du Faune, and Hindemith Sonata. He did all but the internship for a medical degree.

He made so many recordings--I wonder how many? I have been inspired and learned so much from studying his recordings.

But his live performances--what a wonderful artist. And what a traveler! The above mentioned recording refers to his concertizing tours (while in medical school!) throughout Europe and North Africa. He was to take the flute all over the world, not just to the major cities, but to the little towns out in the middle of nowhere. When I last saw him, at a rehearsal a few years ago with the San Francisco Symphony, he was having some physical problems, and walking was difficult. He played the G Major Mozart Concerto, and at the rehearsal, not only played his part, but played along in all the tutti passages and everything else, not taken a moment's rest--probably his way of indicating style he wanted them to play. I went backstage at the rehearsal break, and he was sitting in the concertmaster's chair so he wouldn't have to navigate off and back onstage. It was a morning rehearsal, and there in the wings was his suitcase. He had a matinee concert performance with San Francisco Symphony, and then a rehearsal that evening with Los Angeles. So his suitcase was right there, ready to go when he was whisked away after the concert. A three service day plus travel for a man in his 70's! His schedule was always filled with rehearsals, performances, and masterclasses in between. When he came to the Bay Area, I attended many after recital receptions, and if you brought along your flute, he would join in playing duets, trios, etc. He seemed like a celebratory person, so joyful about life.

Thank you, Jean-Pierre Rampal. What a wonderful legacy you have left us.

Jeanie Chandler

Dear list members,

It has just been brought to my knowledge, that J.P.Rampal has passes away this night at the age of 78 (cause: a sudden heart attack).

How sad it is to lose that great man, flutist and friend.

Prof. Moshe Aron Epstein

Dear List,

Like many of you, I am also deeply shocked and saddened by Rampal's passing away. I have never met Rampal and never even heard of him before I joined this list. I heard his playing for the first time this-morning when I heard the tragic news, yet I still feel like I have known him and I mourn his death. Let us remember him in every note we produce from our hearts.

Elisha Kinder

This link contains a nice article/obituary (complete with picture) about Jean-Pierre Rampal.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/410166.asp

The flute choir that I play in played at a church service this morning. Our director dedicated our offering song to Jean-Pierre. I'm not sure many in the congregation understood how much this man meant to our flute world, or the depth of our loss, but it was soooo meaningful to play today in his memory.

Kathy Davis

I've returned to the Flute list on a sad weekend for the fluteworld. I was home with a bad cold, when my husband walked in with the sad news he had heard on the radio, that Rampal had died this Saturday morning. I was very sad and cried for a while.

I never got to meet Rampal. Where I grew up, there were no private flute teacher, so I had to settle for a good band director. The band director who was a clarinetist knew there was much she couldn't teach me, so she said go to the record store and buy some flute recordings. That's when I bought my first Rampal recording, in 1978, I was fourteen years old. I was playing the Syrinx for solo and ensemble contest that year. This recording had it and the Poulenc Sonata and the Prokofiev. I learned so much from his recording and fell more deeply in love with the flute. I have a nice librabry of Rampal recording, on record albums, tapes and C.D.'s. His playing will live on for the world and for future flutists. I never met you Rampal, I will miss you and your golden flute. Thanks so much for the love of the flute and its music.

Maria E. Guerrero-Parker

A short note about a very great flute player....from a very young flute player..........

I was very sad indeed, last night, when I was told of Rampal's death.

I am so glad that I overlapped my flute life with such a legend, even though it wasn't for long. I always felt that there was something vry beautiful about his playing. It was very pure and clean but hard to identify. His recording of the Bolling Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano was one of my early favourites (I sent my aunt trailing round New York for a CD of it!) - I remember how excited I was when I first heard it and realised that flute could sound like that as well! His Gounod/Bach Ave Maria was so simple and so lovely. He did not need to add anything to it to make it sound like that. Such delicate control is something I will probably spend my life trying to master.

Thank you M. Rampal.

Benjamin MacDougall

As I type this message, I am listening to the sounds of Rampal's beautiful flute. What an inspiration he was and always will be. I remember buying my first flute record when I was about 11, it was Rampal and Larreau, Four Sonatas for Two Flutes. I spent so many hours listening to that record, and wanted more than anything in the world to play like that, and still do.

He will live on forever in the hearts of flute lovers everywhere.

Lori Stout

As the auditorium lights go down in Avery Fisher Hall at New York's Lincoln Center, a hush of eager of eager anticipation mutes the capacity crowd at a "Mostly Mozart" concert.

A six-foot son of Marseilles bounds confidently onstage, a spotlight gleaming warmly on his golden flute.

Jean-Pierre Rampal seems pleased with the world, and he establishes an immediate rapport with his cheering audience. Then without any theatricality he turns to his work. Thonight he not only plays Mozart - he conducts as well. Flute in left hand, he turns to the orchestra and lauches it smoothly into the Mozart D Major Concerto.

With his right hand, he animates an inspires the players while his feet dance and his body moves to the music. With the orchestal tempo, phrasing and dynamics under control, Rampal turs toward his expectant listeners. The first solo is about to begin.

FLute raised to lips, he sends forth a limpid stream of clear, vibrant sonority, filling the hall with his apparently effortless paragraphs of clear sound - sublte here, playful there, sentimental or noble, intense or tender in an unbroken flow. Swaying slightly, leaning with left shoulder forward into a passionate phrase, ending another with a sudden flip of his right elbow, Rampal plunges with tremendous energy into the music and pulls his listeners along with him. Nothing technical stands between music and audience. "I play best", says Rampal, "when I forget my flute is there. You must never play the flute as though it were only a flute".

He has a way with audiences, this largeboned Frenchman, and this audience is quick to respond. In it, as always, are devoted collectors of his many records, keen amateur flutists and a fair sprinkling of professionals. There are elegantly dressed women who will later go back-stage for his autograph, and one ardent female fan wears a T-shirt with the legend "Mostly Mozart, Tojours Rampal".

At the concert's end the applause is thunderous, and there are calls for encores - demands that are met with generosity and enthusiasm by the man who is unquestionably the world's foremost flute player.

Oscar Velasco

Hi all,

It was with shock and sadness that I heard about Jean-Pierre Rampal's death. Ditto to all who spoke of inspiration, trailblazing, respect, awe......

When I told one of my advanced college-bound students, her reaction was instant surprise and move to tears. I think that really speaks to how influential Rampal was and will remain. So many young players haven't heard of him, but those who are really interested in the flute world can't help but feel the impact. She and I spent a few minutes discussing lineage and how Rampal fit into that "tree."

He will be missed on many levels.

Carol Shansky

It is truly amazing how many lives Rampal has influenced and how this influence will just add to his immortality. From the "bargain basement" flutists like myself to the true and genuine talents of Mr. Galway and Mr. Dick...and many others in between. He has touched many lives and we will see these effects for a very long time!!!

In the early 80's I was invited by my boyfriend to go see "some flute player". Imagine my surprise when I got to hear Rm. Rampal at Avery Fisher Hall in NYC. I was so in awe of the whole performance that I still think often of that evening. I never met him personally, but I know this performance has touched my life and I am very thankful for it!!

Jen Pitkin

Hello All,

Let me join the chorus of those who were influenced by Rampal. I wore a number of his records out as a kid. While in high school, I went to every Rampal concert in New York and saved so as to sit up front. What amazing music lessons AND flute lessons were there for the observant. I was lucky enough to meet him several times over a period of many years, and would like to share some of these experiences.

The first time I heard Rampal was at a concert he gave with his then partner Robert Veyron-Lacroix (I hope to have spelled the name correctly). This was in 1960; I was ten. The duo played at the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and it was an unforgettable recital. Baroque music in the first half, Hindemith and Prokofieff in the second, followed by at least half a dozen encores. The ensemble between flutist and harpsichord/piano was as one. At the end of the Sarabande in the Bach Eb Major Sonata, they trilled in perfect unison with a beautiful accelerando -- it didn't sound gimicky at all, but intimate and thrilling. After this concert, Mr. Rampal was very gracious and signed my program, along with many others in the huge line that gathered at his dressing room door. My memories of the concert are both quite adult -- really listening to the musical expression -- and pure kid, a fascination with the motion of his belly as he breathed. In 1960, Mr. Rampal was quite slender. But even as he gained weight over the years, his balletic grace on stage never waned.

In 1970 in New Haven, I got soaked to the skin walking through an unexpected rain shower to attend a rehearsal for a Rampal recital at Yale's Sprague Hall. I had the manuscript of the first two chapters of my first book "The Other Flute: A Performance Manual of Contemporary Techniques" with me. Mr. Rampal was kind enough to have a look through them. Although he was never attracted to the avant-garde, he took the time to examine the chapters closely, and he did this this for a dripping wet hippy who had just showed up without an appointment! He summed up the work by saying "This will change the face of the flute" and allowed me to use this quote in seeking a publisher. And of course he played fantastically that evening.

In 1977, we got stuck at LaGuardia airport during a snowstorm talked for hours. I was on my way from NYC to Buffalo (where I lived then) and had planned to return to Buffalo in time to hear Rampal's recital. He was on his way to give that recital with the pianist John Steele Ritter. A very gregarious and social fellow, he was really happy to see someone he had met and was delighted to pass the time chatting. I discovered that the man on stage and the man were one and the same. The same energy, the same bounce and joy. It was a vital lesson. And, in a moment of passing facial expression, he made a gesture that showed how he used the muscles under his lower lip while tonguing. Since one normally cannot see this since the flute covers these muscles, it was a revelation. I was only familiar with various American articulations at that time, and here was an express lesson in French "detache". Those who heard Rampal at his best will attest to his astonishing articulation. The gesture was only a momentary thing, yet it opened doors. I have taught that same lesson innumerable times.

At some point in the mid-1980's, Rampal was solist with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, of which I was principal flutist at the time. After his concerto appearance (I'm embarrassed to say I don't remembrer exactly which one; orchestra playing can do that to you), he made a point of coming over to me while leaving the stage and put his arm around my shoulder as we walked off. It was incredibly kind and generous for him to send this message to the Brooklyn Academy of Music audience, that their flute player in the Brooklyn Philharmonic was OK by him.

Rampal hated negativity and embraced the positive: always. He didn't want to hear bad things about other musicians and made a point of permitting no jealous interactions in his class at the Paris Conservatory. He was a man who loved life and lived his love.

Robert Dick

When I was 13 years old I heard Jean-Pierre for the first time on the radio.and I was captivated by the way he played the flute. What struck me was the beauty of his tone and a flawless technique. I became his number one fan and I listened to him play every day on the radio. That is to say on the days when he was on the radio. I would get the "Radio Times" and look through the music section to see when he was playing and on those days you could bet I had my ear glued to the radio.

The first recording being played by the BBC, which I heard, was the French Wind Quintet which was formed by Jean-Pierre and his distinguished friends . One of the pieces they played was a wind quintet by Jean-Michael Damase. This quintet contains a very difficult flute part and I was really very impressed by the fluid technique with which he played. In fact I had quite simply never heard anything like this and it changed my way of thinking regarding the flute and flute playing.

A few years later I went to the Royal College and while I was there, acquired my first record player along with my first Rampal recording. This was a recital with the wonderful French pianist Veron Lacroix. It contained the very difficult Divertimento by Jean Francaix. Again this was a step into the stars as far as flute playing was concerned. It then became a long term ambition of mine to study with Rampal. I still had three years to go at the RCM and then I got another year at the Guildhall School of Music to study with another idol, Geoffrey Gilbert. During this year I prepared to go and study in Paris and I got a French government Scholarship to attend the Conservatiore. Jean-Pierre did not teach at the Conservatiore and I managed to fix up a lesson privately with him.

You cannot possibly imagine the excitement on the day as I prepared to play for the man who had meant so much to me in my teenage years. I arrived at his house in the Avenue Mozart and played for him. He listened to me play, smiling all the time and at the end of the piece he said I did not need to study the flute. He suggested I finish my year at the Conservatoire and go get a job. Of course there were many questions I wanted to ask him and he patiently answered them all. We talked about flutes and he showed me his famous gold Louis Lot, the only gold one Lot ever made. It was at this moment I thought I would like to have a gold flute and it took me another 13 years to get one. Imagine my excitement when he asked me if I would like to go to the opera that evening to hear Lucia di Lamermoor! I went with a friend and can still see the picture in my mind of the inside of the opera house, and Jean-Pierre playing in the orchestra. I don’t think I listened to any of the singing but just the flute. The famous Mad Scene was wonderful and to this day I have never heard flute playing in an orchestra to match this.

After this wonderful evening a few friends and I followed Jean Pierre all over the place. We attended every concert he played at and we were never disappointed by his magnificent playing. He was always very kind to me and my friends, often taking us to a restaurant or bringing us to a flute party where he was the life and soul of every evening.

He was the first major influence in my life and I am still grateful for everything he ever did for me. He was a great influence on the flute world and the musical world in general, bringing to ordinary folk through his music making a charm which enhanced their everyday lives.

He will be missed by many people whose lives he touched. I am very grateful that he touched my life in the way he did and the memory of this extraordinary gifted, generous and charming man will remain with me always. May God bless him and keep his soul till we meet again.

James Galway

Jean-Pierre Rampal is survived by all of us.....we are his legacy. We must celebrate his very special gifts, his life and his love for music which he shared with the world. His legacy will live on forever in his recordings, his musical editions, and in our memories. We have lost one of the very best that ever lived....not only in the flute world....but in the world of music and mankind. His contributions, love of music and life will be remembered forever. May he rest in peace.

Miriam Lynn Nelson

With the death of Rampal, I too, have found myself thinking a lot about him and what he meant to me and probably untold numbers of flutists worldwide. His influence has been, and will continue to be, huge!

I first heard him live in Washington, D.C., in 1970, I think. It was a rather funny experience which has gotten laughs repeatedly when related to those who knew him. I was quite pregnant, and spending time in the Library of Congress while my husband was off doing something else. I noticed him immediately, but didn't realize who he was; only that he looked familiar, so I thought he was someone I knew (for those of you younger ones, communications were not like now, and if you had grown up somewhere other than NYC, Chicago , etc., you were sort of out of the music loop to a degree). Finally , I couldn't stand it any longer, and went over, telling him I "just know I know you, and I am Ruth Ann"...............He stood up, and the minute he started talking with that wonderful French accent, I was absolutely mortified and realized who he was! I was going to hear him play that night, and had been quite excited. He was very gracious, and we had a short visit, and he invited me backstage after the concert that nite, which he played with Veyron-Lacroix to a packed auditorium. I well remember people sitting in the aisles, and it was a wonderful musical evening. I did speak with him again, and met Veyron-Lacroix, and was totally exhilarated.

Some years later, he came to Memphis several times, and I always went to hear him and his masterclasses, and was one of the organizers for the last one here, around 1990. I also was his "chauffeur for a day", and after the masterclass, the UofM professor, I, and another local flutist, took him to lunch, which was such fun. As Robert said, he truly loved life, and it was evident in his manner!

Then a couple of years ago, he played with the Nashville Symphony, so went up to hear him, and list member Norma Rogers, piccolo in the NSO, and I took him out after the concert. He had become somewhat crippled, and played on a stool rather than standing, but still had that wonderful musicality for which he was so well known, and also was his usual entertaining self afterwards at dinner. I thought it pretty amazing that he was still going strong in spite of physical difficulties.

As I have read in the obits I have seen, I believe he was indeed largely responsible for the flute getting the popularity it has enjoyed, especially during the latter half of the last century, and am thankful for all of his recordings, and his many contributions to the music world. He will be sorely missed, but we are all the better for having known him and his music.

Ruth Ann McClain

I first heard Rampal in 1957. As a junior in high school, I was really stunned. He played the Prokofief Sonata and everyone thought, wow, only J.P. Rampal can play that piece. He single-handedly brought the flute and our music into the mainstream of serious music. Without him, we would be years behind in our development, repertoire, and popular acceptance.

Michael C. Stoune

Hello all,

My experience with Jean Pierre Rampal was very extraordinary. I am from a very small town in Alabama called Locust Fork. I grew up in a rural school with a very unappreciated arts program. My high school band director played the saxophone and told me that I should go study flute with someone. I got lessons with Karla Roberts who taught me all about Rampal and Galway. I was very fortunate to gain some kind of knowledge of these fine musicians.

I am currently a music student at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama and my freshman year my flute teacher and I went to Mississippi for a Rampal masterclass and concert. I remember how we had the front row seats for the masterclass and how I learned alot about double tonguing. Then we were fortunate to listen to a rehearsal of his. On a break I was able to go backstage and get my picture with him and his autograph. I was very excited and am very glad that I got the opportunity to meet this wonderful musician, especially, considering my background.

God bless you Rampal and may you now know who all you blessed with your extraordinary contribution to the flute world.

Katie Partain

I am a 14 year old flutist and I am writing to tell you that the importance of Jean Pierre Rampal will continue not only with my generation but with countless generations to come. I had the good fortune of hearing Mr Rampal play last year on his tour of the Us, and was able to meet him afterwards. His playing was breathtakingly beautiful and he was charming and energectic when I met him, even taking the time to discuss my music with me.

Alexis Fitts

I thank him for enlightening the world with the beauty of the flute, of HIS flute, and thank him for visiting the University of New Hampshire (my undergrad alma mater) years ago for a wonderful performance...in which he gave six! encores!

Very, very special!

Karen Shor

What a man for music, and for the flute. My first flute record ("The Romantic Flute", Chopin, Schumann, and Schubert) and the first flute recital I ever attended were by Rampal. I was under his spell from the start.

Later in life, I had the good fortune to meet and work with Mr. Rampal on several occasions. I played in a master class of his in the late 70's in San Francisco, and his warmth, enthusiasm, and encouragement are cherished memories.

Here's a small story which illustrates Rampal's generosity of spirit: He came to play as guest soloist with my orchestra, the Sacramento Symphony, in the late 1980's. After his concerto performance, and while the audience continued to stand in ovation, he invited the three of us in the flute section to join him at the front of the stage to perform a movement from a Kuhlau quartet. Definitely a highlight of my career.

Thank you, Jean-Pierre Rampal. You played such a big part in creating opportunities for flutists around the world. Your legacy lives on.

Tod Brody

I heard about Rampal's passing at about 9:30 or 10 a.m., just before working with a Junior High School Flute Choir at the Texas Flute Fest. The news hit me like a rock. It felt as though the tectonic plates of the world as I knew it had suddenly shifted and left everything profoundly different. After ducking into a bathroom stall and shedding some emotion so as not to tear up in front of 100 young people, the rehearsal and performance went on. But on complete impulse, before the last work, I found myself stammering to the audience that this great flutist had left us, and trying to explain how much he meant to so many flutists. Of course, the last work was dedicated to his memory.

Then, after the Flute Fest, I went to visit some relatives for a couple of days. And it seemed that there was nothing about this (to me!) enormous event. It is with a great feeling of relief to come home and read that this sense of loss is shared by so many people. And if you will indulge me, I would very much like to share a treasured memory.

In one of the greatest flukes of my life, I actually did get to meet Rampal, and to play for him in a masterclass. This was at the University of Texas in, oh, it must have been 1967. It seems that Rampal and John Hicks (the flute professor then) had been buddies at the Paris Conservatory, and Rampal would come out every other year to hold a masterclass for Mr. Hicks' students in the morning, and to play a concert that evening. One of these visits happened to be during the few months that I was attending UT (before getting discouraged and dropping out).

Mr. Hicks decided that I would be one of the players, and that I would play the Casella Sicilienne and Burlesque for the class. I was terrified. Mr. Rampal was not only a flute giant -- he was a physical giant to me! I felt like a tiny, squeaking mouse. The Sicilienne went okay, and I managed the suggestions given. Then I launched into the Burlesque with all the gusto I could muster. I played as fast as I had ever tried. And, horrified, I heard giggling from the audience. "It must be too slow," I thought, and redoubled my efforts. More laughter -- and louder! I dug in with gritty determination -- and then, out of the corner of my eye, saw what was so funny. Rampal had been trying to stop me to make a point, and I wasn't stopping for ANYBODY!

He was charming and helpful, doling out dollops of Gallic wit to defrost my frozen brain. He told stories about his father, and about himself, and eventually even I was smiling and somewhat relaxed. A miracle.

Afterward, we all went to the El Toro, a local cantina, for lunch. Rampal had a particularly "notey" work to play at the evening concert and he and Mr. Hicks had a bet that he couldn't do it after X-amount of beers. The bet was on and the studio watched, fascinated, as our hero cheerfully ate a large quantity of spicy Mexican food washed down with a generous amount of local cerveza. He showed us his new flute. It was gold. We had never seen anything like it and we were mesmerized.

At the evening concert Rampal won the bet. He played his difficult work without missing a single note.

It was one of the best days of my life.

Suzanne Lord

Leonard's words echoed my own feelings. I felt that Jean Pierre Rampal somehow spoke to and nurtured the deepest sense of myself with his sound and with his humanity. This to me was the rarest and most wonderful of all abilities.

David Tickton

Now that several days have passed, I feel I must also share my thoughts and memories of Rampal:

I first heard a Rampal recording when I was 11 years old and have never forgotten how I felt then. I had never heard such beautiful sounds and decided that day that I must make every effort to hear more and one day see him. At the time I was living in a small town of only 3000 people in Oregon. That was nearly 40 years ago.

Since then, my life has been centered around playing and teaching the flute. I bought every Ramplh recording I could ever find and sharred all of them with my students. I have seen him live in concert 5 times and attended 3 of his master classed.

I now have a 19 year old daughter sho grew up hearing Rampal on tape at home. She is now a United States Army flutist at the military school of music in Virginia, dedicating her life to flute playing.

Thank you Mr. Rampal for my life in music, my daugher's career, and the joy your talent and giving nature have brought to the world - we have all been blessed

Lynn Lakin

Since we are all sharing memories of Rampal on this sad day I thought I would contribute one of my own...

In 1985(6 maybe) I was 20 and living in Boston. It was one of the few periods in my life when I wasn't studying flute and therefore didn't know Rampal would be soloing with the BSO until a few hours before the concert. I called almost everyone I knew but no one could join me. (Including a boyfriend I later dumped on general principle.) Though I'd never gone to anything alone before, not even a movie, I put on my best dress and a pair of heels and rode the Orange Line in the rain. I sat in the second balcony with a few dozen others who were around my age, undoubtedly all flutists and all poor students like myself. We stood and cheered like groupies through three encores. At least my 34-year-old memory tells me it was three. Even if there were none it's a night I'll never forget. I so wanted and needed to see Rampal live that I was able to do something I wouldn't ordinarily have done. I don't think I've told this story before because only another flutist would get it.

Ann Obison

Dear List,

I'm sitting here in shock at the news about Rampal. I guess I'm one of those people who saw him as being simply larger than life and certain to go on forever.

I had the extreme good fortune to meet Rampal once. About 25 years ago, I attended one of his concerts in Los Angeles with a gentleman who was a music critic for a newspaper. After the concert, my friend and I went backstage, as he wanted to interview Rampal briefly. I told Rampal that I was a flutist too, and inquired about the flute that he used onstage. He graciously showed me his Haynes flute with two footjoints. He was warm and friendly and very kind. For me, as a nonprofessional flutist, this was a memorable moment!

Rampal's contribution to music cannot be overstated and he will be greatly missed. The bright spot is that he left his many recordings for us to treasure into infinity.

Andrea Reeder

I have really enjoyed reading everyone's postings about Rampal and how he influenced all of us and touched our lives. I first saw Rampal live when I was a sophomore at Oberlin and he came to do a masterclass. At that time, I was too frightened to play for him, but I did get him to sign my copy of the Poulenc Sonata which has been edited by him. Later, when I was in graduate school at SUNY Stony Brook, he came again and did a masterclass and a concert. This time, I actually played for him. I played the second Telemann Fantasy in A minor from his International edition. I had been studying it with Baron who had changed some of the markings, but he had me erase all that before playing it for Rampal. After playing the first two movements, Rampal said, in his french accent, "Is too slow...is not vivace. Play it like zis." Then he proceeded to play it very fast, much faster than I had ever played it. The audience loved it, applauded, and he took a bow. Then he smiled at me, and said, "Ok, now you do it." This made me mad. So, I took a deep breath and played as fast as I could while Rampal shouted, "Furioso, furioso"! When I finished, the audience applauded for me and I took a bow and smiled at him. Then he said, "Let's go on to ze next movement." His concert that night with Veron LaCroix was wonderful! Unfortunately, the Fine Arts Center at Stony Brook had not yet been completed, so Rampal had to play in the student union auditorium over the bowling alley that only sat 300 people. They sat people all over the stage and turned away hundreds more. When the concert had started, there was a loud announcement over the PA system in an obnoxious Brooklyn accent, "Attention, attention, there are no more seats or standing room available for the Jean (pronounced like the girl's name) Pierre Rample concert. The music ground to a halt and Rampal patiently waited for the announcements to end before starting again. Then, there was some idiot running the lights, who decided to dim the lights every time Rampal played softly. After the first movement of the Bach sonata he was playing, he had to ask, "Could I have some light please?" After the two hour masterclass and very long concert with numerous encores, the flute students gave a big party for him. What did he want to do? "Let's play!", he said. He and Baron and Ransom Wilson sightread trios for most of the evening. This man truly adored the flute!!!!

In 1978, I had the opportunity to again play for Rampal at his summer classes in Nice. Rampal was tireless. Classes went six days a week for about six hours a day! I learned so much! One night, one of his students from the Paris Conservatory asked me to play duets with him in the street for money. However, we did this in a place that was illegal. We got about 80 francs in half an hour and then the police came and made us stop. We took our money and went to Rampal's favorite cafe to enjoy our earnings. Rampal was there and welcomed us and was very interested to learn about our adventure and how much money we had made. When we told him, he said, "I think I ought to try that, but maybe I shouldn't use my gold flute!"

He was truly a great flutist and a great man who lived his life to the fullest!!!!

Katherine Kemler

I am very fortunate to have heard M. Rampal on several occasions, starting when I was a beginning flute student. His stage presence and appearing to be so relaxed and enjoying himself impressed me when I was first starting performing and overcoming nerves.

I remember him performing the Beethoven Serenade with members of the Beaux Arts Trio. There was a cute, curly-haired little girl sitting close enough to the stage to be illuminated by the stage lights. M. Rampal looked at her a lot as he played the lively scherzo movement, dancing a bit. When she smiled at him he winked at her. The auditorium was a small hall and quite a few people noticed his interaction with this girl. He drew the audience into his performances so well.

Another time, I patiently waited with a throng of people including many young flutists to have a word with him after a performance. Many of the people waiting had Rampal LPs they wanted autographed. (Told you this was a while ago.) When my time at the head of the queue came, I begged him to autograph my copy of Moyse's Gammes et Arpeges book. He smiled broadly and asked me how long I had been playing flute. When I also told him my father had also played flute he laughed again, saying his Papa played flute. He asked why I wanted the Moyse signed. I told him he was the inspiration that would make me go at the book for 40 days to get to the end. Seeing his autograph there on the cover each day would be special to me. He enjoyed that. He said in a rather loud voice to those still there and waiting, that perhaps for flute players, autographing printed music or exercises was a better choice. He claimed he sold enough records to non-flutists to be well off.

I've played many, many sets of 40 days through that book. And each time I put it on the music rack I think of how fluid and wonderful Rampal's technique and sound are (were). Those were what I tried to find and strive for playing those sometimes devious little exercises.

I have my wonderful memories of his live performances, and many, many recordings. For these I am thankful, but his influence on flute playing, flute players, and music is such a rich legacy for all musicians.

Adieu et merci beaucoup, M. Rampal

Steve Haaser

I am a little late with my tribute to Jean Pierre Rampal--I've been away from my computer for a couple of days. But I must say I am deeply saddened. He was a true giant in music and his playing will inspire us forever.

Rampal played at least twice for the recital series at Brookhaven National Laboratory where I worked as a physicist for more than thirty years. It was a small intimate setting which seemed to bring out the best in his playing. And he was always very gracious in talking to people after the program. I asked him if I could see his gold flute up close; he generously took out the case which he had already packed and opened it. It was a double case with two gold flutes in it. I was really flabbergasted!

The best playing I ever heard from him in live playing was in a two or three day long set of master classes at the 92nd street Y in New York. It was in the late 60's or early 70's. I took off from work and audited the entire session. It was marvelous. On most pieces, he would take his own flute and demonstrate and the playing was so accurate and musical and he made it appear and sound so effortless. Two pieces I particularly remember were his opening of the Bach unaccompanied sonata and parts of the Khatchaturian Concerto.

I have lots of his recordings. His recordings of the Bach sonatas are great. But I think the recording I've enjoyed the most is the Grand Sonata for flute and guitar of Giuliani. The music just flows so beautifully in that piece.

A great inspiration to all of us.

Mark Q. Barton

I've been away in a class the last few days but wanted to contribute this anecdote about Rampal before the topic was too dated.

Between growing up in NYC and attending a few NFA conventions, I've been priviledged to have met and spoken with many of the famous flute names. I have been at several Rampal concerts (including the Bolling premiere at Carnegie Hall in the 70's) but I never had a chance to chat with Rampal until a few years ago when he played a fundraiser concert with the Houston Symphony. I arranged with a friend in the symphony to let me backstage during the intermission where he would introduce me to Rampal. The concert had 4 pieces on it and Rampal was playing two concertos on either side of the intermission. Prior to the intermission, he played that Bach concerto that is also performed as a harpsichord concerto. After the intermission, he was scheduled to play the Khatchaturian concerto.

During the Bach it was obvious that Rampal was uncomfortable. He had a cold and it looked like he was tired from travelling. The playing wasn't as crisp as I remembered but then again, the guy was in his 70's and sick that night. That he would even attempt something like the Khatchaturian on that night was impressive all by itself.

So my friend leads me backstage to meet Rampal and there he was... chatting with the concertmaster. After a few banalities, I asked him about his flute and why he didn't use a B-foot. I don't remember his exact words but it was something along the lines of "real flutes have C-foots and those other B-foots are some kind of American contraption". So then I asked him how he was going to negotiate the low B's in the second movement in the Khatchaturian? His response... "I just pull out the headjoint and transpose". At the time, I didn't take that seriously.

But surely enough, in the rests before the section of the slow movement with the low B's, he pulls the headjoint out of the flute and shakes out a bunch of spit. Then when he puts it back in the instrument, it's clear that it's not where it normally would be and the whole flute is a couple of inches longer than it should be. He then proceeds to play the next section of that movement transposed up a half step. The intonation was perfect. At the next long rest, he repeated the procedure and put the headjoint back to its original position and finished the concerto.

The guy certainly was amazing.

Evan G. Bauman

Like all of you, I was deeply saddened by the death of this marvelous artist.

Some years ago, Rampal was in Toronto on a concert tour and was interviewed on CBC radio. The interviewer, perhaps not familiar with the flute and its repetoire, asked the rather inevitable question.

"How can you play so many notes so quickly?"

Rampal answered, with what I am sure was typical patience, modesty and humour "Well, you know, the flute is an extremely easy instrument to play."

For some people perhaps.

Dave McRitchie

Please visit Jean-Pierre Rampal to see a beautiful photograpic tribute created by Pryor Dodge.