Fazioli Reinvents the Piano

What sets the Fazioli instruments apart?

Fazioli pianos have arrived in Toronto and will be distributed by Robert Lowrey.
Few Canadians are aware of this wonder, another product of Italian artistic genius coupled with high tech.
The world's first piano was built by an Italian, Bartolomeo Cristofori, in the early 1700s; he called the instrument gravicembalo col piano e forte (harpsichord that plays soft and loud). Nowadays, with production in the hands of Northern European giants - Bosendorfer, Bechstein, Steinway - and technique seemingly at its apex, another Italian took up the challenge of quality and innovation, and he won. Once again Italian talent has accomplished an amazing feat. In order to understand what sets Paolo Fazioli's pianos apart, we interviewed the engineer-cum-pianist during a visit to our offices.
An item like a piano, explained Fazioli, so perfected and refined, would seem impossible to further improve upon. What made this possible, however, was the convergence of three factors in the designer's life, namely, a degree in engineering, the ability to play the piano, and a knowledge of wood.
"I got my engineering degree and studied piano," Fazioli told us, "and I come from a family that owns several furniture factories."
"In order to create this piano," he continued, "I began with an idea, an ideal sound and instrument behaviour that I had in mind but that could not be reproduced by the pianos currently available. Finally I managed to make it."
The piano maker's fascinating tale is yet another example of Italian inventiveness. "First I drew a plan, then I chose the right materials... specific types of wood," he explained. "This is how I made today's pianos, characterized by rich harmonics and fullness of sound that enable musicians to create and develop their art."
The earliest Fazioli pianos were built in 1980 in Sacile, near Pordenone, in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. The secret of its success includes a particular wood from the Alps, a wood so special that Antonio Stradivari used it to make his world-famous violins.
Paolo Fazioli spoke at length of his pianos with us, but he was rather buttoned up when it came to actual data; it was as if we had to uncover a secret. In the end, he told us something interesting, while maintaining his technical/scientific details under wraps. After all, musicians, and particularly pianists, are interested in having an instrument that bends as much as possible to allow for their creativity.
Paolo Fazioli was born in Rome; however, he said, in order to materialize his dream he moved to Sacile, in Northern Italy.
Why was this necessary?
"For several reasons," he replied. "Rome is less central, farther away from the markets. My family had several furniture factories across Italy, but I chose to work in our Sacile plant because working in the north is easier, and foreign markets are close by. Within a 150-300 km radius there are areas where music is much appreciated, such as Salzburg in Austria, or Munich in Germany. Moreover, in Sacile and its surrounding area one can find some 1,000 furniture factories, and this means that highly skilled labour is available, people who truly know how to work with wood. Last but not least, Alpine wood is available; we rely on it for our pianos."
This choice is proved felicitous by the data Mr. Fazioli gave us: "I started production in 1980 and made the first 12 grand pianos. In 2004, our production has reached 100 instruments a year. Overall, we've made 1,250. I must say that most of them are exported. First we reached Northern European markets, then Asia, and finally the United States, which absorbs some 40 percent of our production, or 40 instruments a year."
Fazioli regrets the lack of interest in music he sees lately in Italy. "Foreigners are more interested," he said, "and even here in Canada I've found great interest in music."
How many pianos do you plan to sell in Canada?
"Perhaps 7 or 10 a year. We live on small numbers, niche markets, but great satisfaction," replied Fazioli. "We look at quality above everything else. This must be a pleasure for the maker as well as for the buyers. Actually, our relationship with our customers is one of friendship and mutual gratitude rather than merely a commercial transaction. Money is the last consideration."
Fazioli's strategy is interesting and shows that quality wins. His grand pianos cost between €55,000 ($88,000 Cdn) and €120,000 ($192,000 Cdn).
Can we say that your pianos are the Ferraris of music?
"We want to keep improving them. Our only concern is quality," replied a proud Fazioli, confirming that his pianos have gained appreciation from great musicians and pianists, especially jazz players, such as Herbie Hancock who owns one.
The jazzists' preference for this piano confirms the words of Fazioli about the richness in harmonics. That's what jazz music needs in its constant creativity.
What is beating in the heart of a Fazioli grand piano?
"Its heart is the harmonic table, the wooden part where harmony develops and an artist's genius translates to music. This is made with red fir, a special wood from Val di Fiemme, also called resounding fir. This is the same wood used by Antonio Stradivari (Cremona, 1644-1737) to make his famous violins - 1,000 of them."
One of Stradivari's secrets was the wood, another was rumoured to be a special paint, and then of course the shape.
Can we say that Fazioli harbours the same intentions of Stradivari? Well, at least he's on the same path, as great pianists owning a Fazioni piano have recognized.
Other Alpine woods Fazioli uses for his pianos include larch, sycamore, beech, and hornbeam, but the real secret is in Fazioli's determination to reach ever higher goals.
He was in Toronto both to finalize his distribution deal with Robert Lowrey's Piano Experts, with a store at 943 Eglinton Avenue East, and to advertize the deal.
Of course, musicians and piano lovers wanted to hear the sound of his pianos, so Fazioli sponsored a Mozart concert that took place at the Roy Thomson Hall, titled One... Two... Three Pianos. Under conductor Peter Oundjian, three Canadian pianists performed on three Fazioli grand pianos. André Laplante, Angela Hewitt and Louis Lortie played the Ouverture de l'Impresario; Piano Concerto n° 9 in E-Flat Major, K.271, Jeunehomme; Ouverture of the Marriage of Figaro; Concerto for two pianos in E-Flat Major, K.365; and Ouverture of the Magic Flute; and Concerto for three pianos in F Major, k.242.
"The problem was to get three grand pianos here in Toronto," said Fazioli. "Our importer only had two small ones and one grand. So we had to find two more here in North America. One came from New York City, and the other we borrowed from a Montreal pianist who had bought it from us 17 years ago."

Publication Date: 2005-01-23
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4864