The Great Flute Concertos

Great all around - especially Mozart

Every concerto/piece for flute and orchestra presented here can stand as the very pinnacle of performance and interpretation. Rampal and friends play with all the logic and song of the French school. I would like to commend the Mozart G Major concerto in particular, as Rampal's is the best performance I know (I've heard a better one, but that was on internet radio and I wasn't able to find out who performed it - I'm still searching). I have heard 10 other G Majors, all by worthy soloists with the likes of the VPO or LSO accompanying, and none can outdo Rampal's passionate yet low-key style with the absolutely glorious Israel Philharmonic (you might never have heard them - and you'll wonder why!) with a reasonably alert Zubin Mehta at the helm. The balance is wonderful, with the delicate middle string parts coming through clearly (shame on you, DG and Decca). If only Karl Boehm had been around to wave the stick for these Mozart recordings (The D Major and C Major here are also magnifcent, by the way), this would likely be hands-down the only set of Mozart concertos you'll ever need. Nevertheless, they are pretty darn close.

Every piece on these discs is wonderful, and I urge you to get them as quickly as possible. The style and wit of these recordings are not to be missed at any cost. As the English flutist William Bennett, whose recordings you should look into if you play flute, once told me, "Be a light person - like Jean-Pierre Rampal!" June 30, 2005

Rampal: master flutist of the 20th Century

The late Jean-Pierre Rampal, whom I had the pleasure to meet and chat with in the 1980's, is a "triple threat" man, in analogy to the football term. Some fine players impress with their technique. I am swept along by Rampal's renditions in a way that makes me forget all about technique - except for miraculous nuances every now and then that remind me that Rampal recreates every work with a creative, perceptive mind. For example, in Vivaldi's "Goldfinch" concerto Rampal, as almost afterthoughts, puts in exquisite little embellishments that literally makes a little bird come to life. It's a miraculous sound. Too bad Antonio Vivaldi couldn't have heard it.

Rampal has other qualities that stand out in his recordings. He was well aware that most of the best flute music was composed in the Baroque and Classical eras, and sought out the very best, well known or rare, in these genres - while not being limited to these periods.

Finally, Rampal was picky about the ensembles he played with and the recording companies who did the technical work for his recordings. The ensembles might be famous or little known, but always high-quality cooperators. The result is nearly always, as in this case, brilliant, clear, and balanced.

Five stars gets used frequently in recording reviews - it's too little for this recording. August 16, 2003

great!

i play the flute in my high school band and i love flute music, this cd is so beautiful! i highly reccomend this cd to any flutest! January 3, 2001

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