• In celebration of flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal’s 100th anniversary on January 7, 2022: The first ever release of his complete recordings CBS, RCA and Sony Classical on 56 CDs

• Released in collaboration with the Association Jean-Pierre Rampal and its director Denis Verroust, who contributed a new essay to this set.

• Release of his complete recorded legacy of flute music on all streaming platforms, including 6 albums for the first time on CD/digital

Before Jean-Pierre Rampal appeared on the music scene in the 1950s, wind players were rarely hired as soloists with an orchestra. This legendary French flute virtuoso broke through that barrier with his astonishing talent, flair, and commanding stage presence, attaining the kind of visibility previously enjoyed only by pianists and violinists. He regularly filled the world’s largest concert halls for his recitals and chamber performances. Rampal was the father figure of the flute renaissance in the 20th century which restored the instrument to the exalted position it held during the 18th.

He also became one the world’s most recorded artists, commanding all the essential repertoire of his instrument but equally embracing previously unknown works, his own discoveries, jazz, pop, folk and contemporary works. Virtually anything written for the flute or plausibly adapted for it was grist for his mill. In his autobiography Rampal referred to the discography that brought him numerous prizes and awards as being so enormous that not even he could keep track of it. In 1969, he began recording for CBS, and in 1979 he signed an exclusive contract with the label. To mark the 20th anniversary of his death, Sony Classical releases in a 56-CD box set the first complete edition of Jean-Pierre Rampal’s recordings for CBS, RCA and Sony Classical.