To those who knew and worked with him, flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal — who died in Paris on Saturday — was more than just a celebrated performer and a masterful technician.

"He was probably the most gifted flute player of his generation — and of a few generations after that, and a few generations before, too," said James Galway, a world-class flutist in his own right. "And he was a very gracious person, and a kind person. And all these qualities showed in his playing."

Rampal, who is credited for reviving interest in the flute as a solo recital instrument, died of a heart attack. He was 78.

"A flute has gone silent, and the silence of grief and regret is already taking its place," said French President Jacques Chirac in a statement eulogizing the musician.

And while the world quietly mourns, some of Rampal's colleagues are starting to share their recollections of the qualities that made him one of the classical music world's most beloved musicians.

"I feel a great loss at the passing of Jean-Pierre Rampal," said violinist Itzhak Perlman from Japan. Perlman performed with the gifted flutist on several occasions. "He was a real gentleman and a great artist, a man who single-handedly put the flute on the map as a major solo instrument."

Rampal made more than 400 recordings and performed more than 4,000 concerts in his 50-year career. And although best remembered for his virtuoso interpretations of the Baroque masters, Rampal performed everything from jazz to English folksongs, as well as contemporary classical flute music.

"It was such a joy for me to write two pieces for him and record them in the early '80s," said sitar player and composer Ravi Shankar, Rampal's friend since 1972. "In one of them I played the sitar, and the other one was with harp.

"Jean-Pierre Rampal was the greatest flutist I have known in the West. The world has lost an extraordinary musician with his death," Shankar said.

Galway fondly recalls the first time he heard the elder Rampal perform. "When I was 13, I heard this guy play the flute one day on the radio, and I thought wow, this is something different," he said while on tour in the UK. "It was the first recording that he made with the French Wind Quintet, and it was just terrific flute playing by any standard."

But what made Rampal truly special as a performer, Galway said, was not merely the masterful technique he displayed to audiences on his trademark solid-gold flute; it was also the warmth and spirit of the solid-gold heart that lay behind it and came vibrantly through in his music-making.

Audiences and artists alike will keenly feel the absence of this remarkable musician — and man.