It was not always thus. Before Rampal, the flute held only minor status in 20th Century perceptions, considered a soft-spoken member of the orchestra and little more.

One of the few certainties in the classical concert world is that when Jean-Pierre Rampal gives a flute recital, the house will be packed, the stage will have extra seating and the mood will be ...

Jean-Pierre Louis Rampal (7 January 1922 – 20 May 2000) was a French flautist. He has been personally "credited with returning to the flute the popularity as a solo classical instrument it had ...

If Jean-Pierre Rampal’s parents had had their wish, the celebrated flutist would have become a doctor. But his love of the flute, which he began playing at age 12, was so strong that he turned ...