DESCRIPTION:
Five summers in Greece in my student days, traveling with my gold flute in my backpack, had a profound effect on me as a person and as a musician. This photo was taken in 1969 near the Acropolis of Lindos on the island of Rhodes. The kid goat was attracted by the sound of the flute, approaching me with rapt attention while I played Debussy's "Syrinx" (originally titled "La Flûte de Pan").

"Syrinx" was first performed on December 1, 1913 by flutist Louis Fleury, as offstage music for Gabriel Mouret's play "Psyche". Mouret had asked Debussy to write "the last melody Pan plays before his death". At the time, Debussy himself was dying of cancer.

Greek mythology tells us that Pan is the god who watches over the wilds of nature, and particularly over shepherds and their flocks. Pan has the legs and horns of a goat, similar to a satyr. Legend has it that he was sired by Zeus. One of the myths surrounding Pan explains the origin of his famous panpipes. Known for his amorous exploits, Pan took a fancy to the nymph Syrinx. As the beautiful Syrinx rushed away with Pan in hot pursuit, she was overtaken at a river bank. Calling on the water nymphs for help, Syrinx was transformed into river reeds just as Pan grasped for her. As he breathed a sigh, the air sounding through the reeds produced a mournful melody. Pan consoled himself by making an instrument of reeds, which he named Syrinx. Thus he took possession of his beloved through his music. With his panpipes he became a musician who had the audacity to challenge Apollo with his lyre. Pan is also the only Greek god who is said to have died.