Gheorghe Zamfir was born in a small town in Romania called Gasti, which is about 40 miles from Bucharest and then moved to Bucharest University where he studied music. While he learned various instruments, he increasingly became fascinated with the traditional Romanian pan flute. It quickly became apparent that he was fond of improvisation and was able to do things with the instrument that had not been demonstrated within living memory, including bending the pitch of notes while playing.

Gheorghe went on to tour Europe and many parts of the world with his own orchestra the "Florian Econonu Orchestra" and in doing so attracted the backing of Swiss producer Marcel Cellier who released Zamfir's work on his own label.

In 1975, his music reached a worldwide high with his contribution of the music to Peter Wier's Australian movie "Picnic At Hanging Rock". With this boost, he hooked up with prolific arranger James Last for a highly successful European tour.

Later on Gheorghe expanded his repertoire into pan flute versions of pop and classical music and found himself in demand for further film music.
For the past decade Zamfir has been one of the most popular musicians outside the U.S., with 60 gold and platinum albums. Now, with his face on TV and sales of his 11 U.S. discs reaching millions, he has conquered North America too. Even if most people know him mainly for his dreamy rendition of Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" or his movie scores for "The Karate Kid" and "Picnic at Hanging Rock," Zamfir, is musically far more complex. When European audiences first encountered him in the '70s, he was hailed as a flawless interpreter of Baroque music and Romanian folk songs. Even today, most of his albums are devoted to rhapsodies, concertos and sonatas of his own composition or works by Bach and Mozart.
Part of the appeal comes from Zamfir's unrivalled skills. He can change moods and octaves merely by altering the angle of his lips. He painstakingly built six bamboo pan flutes himself in order to expand his repertoire: With 7 to 30 tubes apiece; they allow more versatility than simpler models played by other folk musicians.
A Romanian-exile, Zamfir found solace during a visit to Canada, where he now lives outside Montreal.

Artistic Career:
toured numerous European countries as student and won first prize in many international competitions

1969- conductor of "Ciocarlia" (Skylark) Folk Ensemble, in Bucharest

1970 - Professor of Pan-Pipe

1970 - formed his own orchestra

numerous trips to Europe, Australia, South America, Canada and USA

Concerte

1981 - Carnegie Hall, New York

Recordings

Hora Romanilor & Tiganiada

Magic of the Panpipe

Doina din Arges (1990)

Panflute & Organ (1995)

Legenda Romaneasca (muzica populara), Casa de discuri Media services, Romania

Harmony - Zauber der Panflöte (Beliebte Melodien) (1997)

Christmas at Notre Dame Basilica (1992)

Harmony (1987)

The Lonely Shepherd (1988)

Magic of the Panpipes (2001)

Music by Candlelight (1983)

A Return To Romance (1988)

Romance (1984)

Gheorghe Zamfir en France (CD) - popular music

Les Années 70

Mes Plus Belles Doina

Pan d'Amour - Kiss from a Rose

Recording with Gheorghe Zamfir - Archive

official website