Gheorghe Zamfir, born April 6, 1941, in Găești, Romania, is a world-renowned pan flute virtuoso, often dubbed the “Master of the Pan Flute.”
Initially trained in accordion at the Bucharest Music Lyceum, he switched to pan flute under Fănică Luca’s guidance, expanding the instrument from 20 to 30 pipes for greater range.
Zamfir’s career took off in the 1960s when Swiss ethnomusicologist Marcel Cellier recorded his folk performances, introducing his haunting, lyrical sound to the West via Le Rois du Pipeau (1969). He blended Romanian folk with classical and pop, collaborating with orchestras and artists like Ennio Morricone.
His 1976 hit “Doina de Jale” and the 1977 film score The Tall Blonde Man with One Black Shoe brought global fame. Zamfir’s work includes over 300 compositions, with sales exceeding 120 million records, notably The Lonely Shepherd (1982), featured in Kill Bill: Volume 1.
Despite political exile during Romania’s communist era, he returned post-1989, earning accolades like France’s Knight of Arts and Letters. Now in his 80s Zamfir’s innovative pan flute artistry remains a cultural treasure.
54 recordings by Gheorghe Zamfir you can hear on Instrumentals Forever:
(Everything I Do) I Do It for You • A Whole New World • Adagio (Albinoni) • Adagio 8 • Another You, Another Me • Ave Maria (Schubert) • Beauty And The Beast • Bilitis • Black Rose • Cavalleria Rusticana • Cavatina • Cent mille chansons • Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in A (K622) • Concerto For Flute And Orchestra In C (Grétry) • Don’t Cry for Me Argentina • Duet from ”The Pearl Fishers” (Bizet) • Elsha • Elvira Madigan • Féerie (Zamfir) • Floral Dance • For Your Eyes Only • Forest Dance (Zamfir) • Going Home • I Know Him So Well • I Will Always Love You • Laryssa • Looks Like Suicide • Maria • Méditation from ”Thais” • Nadjenka • Once Upon A Time In The West • Only Love • Out Of Africa • Recuerdos • Rêverie (Schumann) • Romance No 2 In F (Beethoven) • Rumanian Waltz (Zamfir) • Run to Me • Serenade • She • Sirba [From “Le Grand Blond Avec Une Chaussure Noire”] • Sleepy Shores • Summer Of ’42 • Tara’s Theme • The Art Of The Violin (Locatelli) • The Lonely Shepherd (Der einsame Hirte) • Themanuel • Theme from ”Limelight” • Theme from ”Summer of ’42” • To My Son Theo • Unchained Melody • Where Do I Begin • Wild Theme • Winter from ”The Four Seasons” (Vivaldi) •
