Simion Stanciu (23 December 1949 - 6 July 2010), also known by his stage-name Syrinx, was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

Pan flute A pan flute (also known as panpipes or syrinx) is a musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasionally girth). Multiple varieties of pan flutes have been ...

player and composer, who lived and worked in Switzerland. Simion Stanciu was born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, into a musical family. His father was a cellist, and his brothers were also instrumentalists. He registered at the Bucharest conservatory, initially studying the violin, but from 14 years of age onwards, he increasingly concentrated on playing the pan pipes. Due to his education in classical music, he was able to make a new repertory accessible for this instrument, which hitherto was only significant in the

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

traditions of various countries and in popular music. He chose his stage name, which not only signifies the

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label= Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ...

Syrinx in ancient Greek mythology, but also the Pan flute itself. The range of Stanciu's repertoire included Baroque and Classical instrumental concerts (

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widesprea ...

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

, Mozart etc.) adapted for the Pan flute, collaborations with rock music artists like

Patrick Moraz Patrick Philippe Moraz (born 24 June 1948) is a Swiss musician, film composer and songwriter, best known for his tenures as keyboardist in the rock bands Yes and The Moody Blues. Born into a musical family, Moraz learned music at a young age a ...

, as well as recordings in the fields of Jazz and light music. He also performed the soundtrack recording for the film ''

Quest for Fire ''Quest for Fire'' may refer to: * '' The Quest for Fire'', a 1911 novel by J. H. Rosny * ''Quest for Fire'' (film), a 1981 film adaptation of the 1911 novel * "Quest for Fire", a song by Iron Maiden from 1983's ''Piece of Mind ''Piece of Min ...

''. Among his recordings : ''Syrinx plays Bach, Mozart, Quantz'', with

Armin Jordan Armin Jordan (9 April 1932 – 20 September 2006) was a Swiss conductor known for his interpretations of French music, Mozart and Wagner. Armin Jordan was born in Lucerne, Switzerland. "Mr. Jordan was a large man, with a slab of a face and a ...

(conductor) and the Orchestre de chambre de Lausanne, 1985 (Erato NUM 75187). Stanciu founded the Pan flute school ''Akademie Syrinx''. He died aged 60 in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

, Switzerland, after a protracted illness.

External links

* *
Official Website
(German/French)

1943 births 2010 deaths Classical flautists Folk flautists Panpipes Romanian composers Romanian musicians {{Romania-composer-stub