7/2/2009


This month’s interview proudly highlights IPO piccoloist, Lior Eitan. Surrounded by classical music all of his life, it became a natural choice for Lior to play, starting with piano at the age of seven and piccolo two years later. His love for the piccolo, and the Orchestra, has kept him in the IPO family for over 21 years.

Being a member of the IPO is the dream of every Israeli child who wants to be a professional musician in Israel.
- Lior Eitan

I was born into a very musical family. My mother worked as a music teacher and, although he was never a professional musician, my father is a great music lover. My brother, sister and I learned to play musical instruments at a very young age.

Surrounded by classical music all of my life, it became a natural choice for me to play, starting with piano at age seven and piccolo two years later. My music teacher, who also directed the band, decided to give me the smallest instrument in the orchestra- perhaps because I was a very small kid.

I graduated from the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv in 1985. In the same year, at the age of 22, I was appointed the principal flutist of The Israel Sinfonietta, a small chamber orchestra located in the city of Beer Sheba in the Negev. Although I mostly played the flute, I continued to enjoy the piccolo throughout the years, playing it regularly in youth bands and in the Israel Defense Forces Band. When there was a vacancy in the IPO, I was the right person at the right time and place, with no less then 15 years of experience on the piccolo.

In October, 1988, I started working in the Orchestra. I have been fortunate, throughout the years, to have opportunities to perform with the IPO as a soloist, both in Israel and abroad. In addition, I am very active as a chamber musician and perform regularly with various ensembles.

My love story with the piccolo pushed me to develop as a piccolo soloist. During the last decade I have commissioned and premiered many new works for piccolo by Israeli composers. I have also arranged for piccolo master pieces such as "Rococo variations" by Tchaikovsky and the Sonata for Arpeggione by Schubert. My first solo album as a piccolo soloist was released in 2009 by Meridian records, featuring works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, arranged for piccolo and guitar.

The IPO KeyNote program opened many new opportunities for me, both as a player and as an arranger. My job is to transcribe symphonic works into short pieces for three woodwinds. Trios from the Orchestra play the arrangements for school classes, preparing the children for IPO concerts at the Mann Auditorium where they listen to the “real thing.”

Being a member of the IPO is the dream of every Israeli child who wants to be a professional musician in Israel. Since the Orchestra is a cooperative, each member has the right to make suggestions, criticize and express his own feelings about every possible issue. This makes us one very big family. I can say that after almost 21 years as a member, the audience has become a part of the family. I recognize faces which I see month after month, year after year. It gives me a great feeling – almost like playing for family or friends at home.

Many thanks to American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for its valuable support of the Orchestra and its programs.