iPalpiti Orchestra
Acclaimed by the press for its “beauteous string playing”, “lustrous, polished tone,” and “vocal quality”, iPalpiti (ee-PAHL-pit-ee is Italian for “heartbeats”) is a consortium of prize-winning young professional musicians from around the globe, where each member is considered a soloist.
“Eduard Schmieder, the founder of the admirable iPalpiti… is a serious and resourceful podium personality…he goes in for intense expression and dug-in string sonorities…”
– Los Angeles Times
Under his direction, iPalpiti has performed to sold-out audiences in prestigious venues such as Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Mozarteum Grosse Hall (Salzburg), Nikkei Hall (Tokyo), Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), YMCA Jerusalem, Carnegie Zankel Hall (New York), and has been invited as ensemble-in-residence at festivals in Slovenia, Israel, Carinthia, Belgium, and Italy, as well as the Martha Argerich Festival in Beppu, Japan.
iPalpiti has since grown to an ensemble of international recognition, establishing a summer residency in Beverly Hills, California in 1999. iPalpiti Festival of International Laureates in Los Angeles—presented annually since 1998—is one of the nation’s significant music festivals and the subject of international accolades. The prestigious STRAD magazine devoted numerous enthusiastic features and reviews, and the Los Angeles Times acclaimed the Festival’s ”take-your-breath-away demonstrations of musicianship and technique,” where artists are encouraged to find their “own voice,” performing as iPalpiti Soloists in solo and chamber ensemble concerts.
Referred to as a “Musical Peace Corps,” iPalpiti has created an international cultural network of hundreds of classical artists, forging life-time associations and friendships that transcend the conflicts of our time. The orchestra’s players (ages 19-32) are all winners of prestigious international awards and represent countries worldwide. iPalpiti alumni have established solo and chamber ensemble careers and have taken up leading positions in major international orchestras such as the Chicago, Tokyo, Jerusalem, Monte Carlo, Bavarian State and Munich Symphonies, London, Berlin and Israel Philharmonics, Dresden Staatskapelle, etc.
Several have exclusive recordings with labels like Decca, Telarc, and Supraphon records, and are considered among the premier musicians of their generation. iPalpiti’s performances have been acclaimed by critics throughout the world. In 1996 Noord Holland Dagblad proclaimed “[iPalpiti’s] performance can be called righteously overwhelming.” John Ardoin of the Dallas Morning News raved “iPalpiti sprang to life as a single, singing voice. It was the natural, ‘vocal’ quality that stayed with me long after the final notes of the concert were sounded,” while the Los Angeles Times hailed the group’s performances as “an astounding demonstration of seamless and beauteous string playing…memorable, luminous, deeply moving performance” (Daniel Cariaga 2000) and as a “cool display of virtuosity…unified to an often startling degree” (2006).
The New York Times noted that “…ensemble was particularly noteworthy for its unity of purpose and blend. It was as if the musicians’ hearts were beating to the same buoyant rhythm…lustrous, polished tone and graceful phrasing.” (2007) iPalpiti has released 20 CDs issued on TELOS, YAI/iPalpiti and BCM+D Records.
Performances are broadcast by Classic Arts Showcase nationally to over 62 million viewers on PBS/Art Channel and other public television channels, in Philadelphia on WRTI, New York on WQXR-FM.