From the archives
Andrew Mcgregor revisits the irresistably charismatic French flautist Jean-pierre Rampal, as recorded by CBS
Without Jean-pierre Rampal, born in Marseille in 1922, the modern flautist’s world would be unimaginable. Jean-pierre Rampal: The Complete CBS Masterworks Recordings (Sony 19439888282; 56 CDS) offers us insights into the artistry that made him such a hugely significant figure. There’s a Mediterranean warmth, colour and passion to his playing, huge tonal variety and effortless virtuosity. ‘He made music the way he breathed, with simplicity and joy,’ says harpist Marielle Nordmann, and their recording of the Mozart Flute and Harp Concerto revels in that joy and generosity.
You’ll need to look elsewhere for Rampal’s earliest recordings; the CBS partnership took off with Mozart Flute Quartets in 1969, and his irresistible rapport with violinist Isaac Stern. Rampal had already redefined what a solo virtuoso flautist could be, and spent the next three decades broadening his appeal – the first Man with the Golden Flute (ahead of his sometime student James Galway) on an 1869 flute by Louis Lot, possibly the closest Rampal came to playing a period instrument. But he was a genuine Baroque pioneer, unearthing and recording a huge variety of repertoire, culminating in the Bach Sonatas for the fifth and final time with Trevor Pinnock in 1984, Telemann Concertos with the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra and the last CBS recording of Boccherini in 1996.
Rampal inspired contemporary composers, even when he wasn’t always keen on the results (a Boulez piece he never played in public). The Poulenc Sonata was written for Rampal; CBS didn’t record it, but the Penderecki Flute Concerto is here. There’s Rampal the crossover pioneer in Claude Bolling’s Jazz Suites; Rampal the classical celebrity in Fascinatin’ Rampal (Gershwin arrangements), In Concert live with soprano Kathleen Battle, A Night at the Opera with Domingo and there’s Rampal the conductor, including symphonies by his beloved Mozart.
Andrew Mcgregor is the presenter of
Radio 3’s Record Review, broadcast each Saturday morning from 9am until 11.45am