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Finally played on a Faz yesterday

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Posted on November 22, 2015 at 14:24:46
Chris from Lafayette
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 The Oakland Youth Orchestra was having its annual concerto competition yesterday, and I was playing for four of the eleven competitors. They were all string players, except for one girl playing the Beethoven First Piano Concerto. What was interesting about this was that all the string players played in one location, which, since it didn't have two pianos (one for the soloist and one for me with the orchestral reduction), was not suitable for the Beethoven. So at the end of the string portion of the competition, the judges, the administrators and I all packed our bags and traveled to location No. 2 - Piedmont Pianos in Oakland - just for this one performance.

They had a very nice set-up ready for us: the soloist had a 9-foot Fazioli and I had a 9-foot Yamaha. After the audition, the salesman in charge invited me to play on the Faz myself. The main thing that impressed me was that it seemed to be putting out A LOT of sound. The salesman joked that Faziolis don't make good practice pianos (at least the 9-foot one didn't), because they trick you into believing that you're a better pianist than you actually are! LOL!

They also had two 7-and-a-half-foot Faziolis available, which I also tried. It was certainly an interesting experience. When I asked how much these instruments might set me back, the guy said that the 9-footer ran about $200,000, while the smaller one was about $155,000. Such a deal! ;-)

 

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RE: Finally played on a Faz yesterday, posted on November 22, 2015 at 16:18:10
PAR
 Wow, for the 9 footer that's almost the price of a really top end pair of loudspeakers!! (crankiing the irony meter to 11).

 

As I said, such a deal! [nt] ;-), posted on November 22, 2015 at 16:34:41
Chris from Lafayette
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RE: Finally played on a Faz yesterday, posted on November 22, 2015 at 21:08:21
Amphissa
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 That Faz sounds impressive. How did the young lady do in the competition? Were you impressed by the way the Faz sounded as you played?

I'm not pianist, but in addition to cello, my wife can play some piano. My wife's mother had a very nice Steinway. Not top of the line, but still very nice. It had been handed down by her father who bought it back before WW II. (He was a pharmacist, but also an accomplished musician.) It was beautifully constructed and had a great tone.

Anyway, my wife knew she would be inheriting that piano. When her mother died a few years ago, we just needed to figure out where we were going to put it and how to transport it.

In that span of about 6 months, as we tried to figure that out, their home burned to the ground. The Steinway was a charred hulk. (Her mother's nice organ was also lost.)


"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)

 

Oh man - I am so sorry to hear about that, posted on November 23, 2015 at 00:42:18
Chris from Lafayette
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 That's a real shame about that piano and organ - what a loss!

Re your question as to how I liked the Faz, I liked it a lot, but it was difficult to judge the sound (beyond its very good general quality) in the unusual acoustic of a store - where the pianos are placed out in the open, surrounded by other pianos. Fazioli pianos always seem to sound great on the recordings that I've heard of them. I also felt that I didn't quite have the control over it that I felt I've had with a few other pianos, although perhaps that was just a question of getting used to it.

The two best pianos I've ever played on were the Steinway supplied by ProPiano for the couple of concerts I did with Jon Nakamatsu in 2000-2001, and the Grotrian which was owned (?) by a private organization in Berkeley, The Empire Club, which also had its own hall. I feel that there's not necessarily any "magic" associated with a particular make, and that some of the Yamaha and Kawai pianos I've played on have also been outstanding.

 

RE: Finally played on a Faz yesterday, posted on November 23, 2015 at 06:24:34
krisjan
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 I've only been able to hear Fazioli's via recordings (Angela Hewitt usually plays one; I have a jazz trio SACD that employs a Faz) and I've not cared for the midrange sound. It is sorta "honky" in the midrange as if the upper harmonics are more prominent. It's a distinctive sound and I can almost always "spot" one when I hear it. I have no doubt that there are plenty of fans for that sound profile but I'd take a Steinway D any day over a Faz.

 

Very sorry. But if it makes you feel any better ..., posted on November 23, 2015 at 07:40:59
rbolaw
 According to a well-known piano builder and restorer with whom I spoke at length about these things, if you are looking for a serious musical instrument and not just a piece of fine furniture, a piano must be rebuilt almost completely after about 75 years. The case and frame can be preserved, but most of the rest must be replaced. Not surprisingly, he works mostly on antique Steinways, and a few Mason & Hamlins. It isn't worth rebuilding most others.

I know a piano collector who owns some superb-looking, ornate Steinways from circa 1900 and earlier. He knows well enough how to do basic repairs and tuning to keep them reasonably playable, and he's a good amateur pianist. But no professional would do a serious concert or recording with them.

 

RE: Finally played on a Faz yesterday, posted on November 23, 2015 at 07:55:36
Travis
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Location: La Grange, Texas
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 A couple of years ago, an old friend gave a recital in NYC at a piano dealer (don't know who) and had a choice between the nine footers of Steinway and Fazioli. He told me that he chose the Steinway because the Faz had him playing faster than he thought he should. Probably scared him a little bit.


"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok

 

I agree that they're pretty easy to spot on recording, posted on November 23, 2015 at 10:01:46
Chris from Lafayette
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 I guess I like their recorded sound quite a bit better than you do, but as I mentioned last month, there was a Faz available in Warsaw for the solo rounds of the Chopin Competition and only one competitor used it. I would think this might have something to do with the fact that many of the competitors there were probably just not used to playing a Faz.

BTW, I received an e-mail blurb from Yamaha noting that the winner of the Chopin Competition, Korea's Seong-Jin Cho, who used a Steinway throughout the competition, has been using a Yamaha in many of his post-competition appearances.

 

Interesting - I didn't have that sensation myself, but. . . , posted on November 23, 2015 at 10:09:02
Chris from Lafayette
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 . . . of course each piano, even from the same manufacturer, is an individual work of art in itself and can sound and feel completely different from others, even of the same model and make. Moreover, technicians can adjust various components to affect these qualities too - sometimes in a big way.

 

RE: Very sorry. But if it makes you feel any better ..., posted on November 23, 2015 at 10:58:33
Amphissa
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Location: Zardoz
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I'm not sure if her mother might have had it rebuilt or refurbished when she received it from her father. I know that it sounded pretty damn good in their home music room.


"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)

 

I got to play one note on a Faz..., posted on November 23, 2015 at 12:50:36
Ivan303
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Posts: 48887
Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM
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 I think it was a 'C', for sure it was one of the 'white' keys.

A friend and I were over on the old Alameda Air Station trying to look of an old guy who has a bike building shop there and we were unable to find the right building so I stuck my head into on of the businesses that operate there a low and behold, it's a piano repair facility and there, before my very eyes was a Faz. I ask if I could hit one note on it and they said sure, the owner will never know!

I knew the piano brand only because that's what Taylor Eigsti had played during his Gershwin performance with the Peninsula Symphony a few weeks earlier all with thanks to the generous folks at Piedmont Pianos.

Wish I could remember if it was a 'C' or not. :-(


First they came for the dumb-asses
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a dumb-ass

 

Piedmont Piano, posted on November 23, 2015 at 13:06:42
Jim Treanor
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Posts: 2167
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 If it's the same company, I think they were on Piedmont Avenue some 30+ years ago when my fiancee and I wandered in and I started running my fingers over ("playing" is a stretch for what passes for my level of "skill") one of their used offerings in the front of the shop.

After about ten minutes, the owner walked up and asked me how I'd like to play a Hamburg Steinway he had in a separate room in back. Who could pass that up? He let me have at it for as long as I wanted and didn't try to sell it to me. It was another, and striking, instance of a piano that wouldn't have made "a good practice" instrument. I've never gotten over the feel of that keyboard, what emanated from my ham hands that day, or the owner's willingness to let me indulge myself as he did.




Jim

 

RE: Finally played on a Faz yesterday, posted on November 23, 2015 at 14:28:36
oldmkvi
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Posts: 10581
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 The Faz's I heard at Piedmont Piano were ear-piercers, for sure, in the treble.

 

Was this recently?, posted on November 23, 2015 at 17:10:47
Chris from Lafayette
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 I was wondering if it might be the same piano I played on, since I don't imagine that they sell a bunch of these each month (even with all the wealth in this area)! ;-)

 

RE: I got to play one note on a Faz..., posted on November 23, 2015 at 17:26:25
Chris from Lafayette
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 But at least you remembered what kind of piano it was! I've completely forgotten what kind of piano I played on earlier in the day for the string players in the competition. And one of those kids was the first-prize winner (playing the Vieuxtemps Concerto No. 4, first movement - and since it's standard in these types of competitions to make a cut to just four or so measures right before the soloist comes in, there wasn't very much for me to do once he got started - LOL!).

 

RE: Piedmont Piano, posted on November 23, 2015 at 17:35:11
Chris from Lafayette
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 They're now on San Pablo Avenue, at the corner of 18th Street, and the staff still seems very friendly (quite a contrast with a couple of "audio salons" I've visited!). Friendly, exceptional service like the kind you received can certainly create a lasting impression - maybe even a lifetime impression.

 

RE: Was this recently?, posted on November 24, 2015 at 09:19:14
oldmkvi
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Posts: 10581
Joined: April 12, 2002
 It was in their SF store, a few years ago.
I've tried a few in Oakland, every piano sounds a little ( or even a lot )
different, even the same brand. ( DiscIaimer: I only play Arrangers-Piano...)
I've there for Concerts several times, always check out what's on the Floor.
I don't like the ones with Shards-of Glass Treble, but don't like the Blanketed sound either.
Probably something for every Taste.

Makoto Ozone played a Brand New Model Yamaha a couple of years ago at the SFS. He said he even bought one.
He played Rhapsodie in Blue, with Improv, very good!
He liked the new Yamaha because it was louder, he felt it balanced the Orch better, he could hear himself better.
It Did sound good.

 

ROTFL, posted on December 16, 2015 at 13:22:13
Mike Porper
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 "I think it was a 'C', for sure it was one of the 'white' keys."

 

Pianos Pianos Pianos, posted on December 16, 2015 at 14:11:36
Mike Porper
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Location: Chicago
Joined: December 28, 2009
 This is the most fascinating and engaging post. I really have to find more time to spend on this site. What absorbing information.

God, I love pianos. There's just so much to them. As so many have pointed out here, every piano sounds a different. Add to that how the same piano will be played differently by different hands, and there's almost a lifetime of study just in that right there.

Add to it different pianos of different eras, and the fascination just grows. While I don't personally like the sound of pre-20th century pianos at all, that's just my own opinion, and I completely understand and encourage those who like and pursue the sounds of older instruments.

Then there are details that are so interesting, such as having to rebuild a piano every X number of years to maintain or restore it; I wasn't even aware of that.

I've pointed out previously that on the recordings I've heard, the Faz have sounded so great. Now, I'm dying to hear one live. I can't play, but now I'm going to seek out a piano store here in northern Illinois so that I can walk in and hit a chord or two to hear the thing in person. Usually the salesmen can play, so maybe I can get one of them to do so for me.

For those who dislike the Faz, let me say that there's a difference between being a piano player and an audience member. What sounds "midrangy honky" to you when you're sitting at the keyboard, may come out brilliantly beautiful, clear, full and rich to someone sitting back in the audience. Plus, a sound generous in overtones would have the ability to cut through a orchestra, rather than being swallowed up by it. From my ultra limited experience, I'd say Faz Forever!

The only pianos I hate [and I really hate them] are the muffled sounding ones, with no highs, and weak bass. I've heard many such as that. They had one like that in my old high school auditorium. The hall was reknown for great acoustics [Lane Tech], so it wasn't the hall. It sounded weak even if you stood right on top of it.

But, there are so many great ones. Bucket list: go and hear the giant Bosendorfer, and especially Faz, in person. Yes!

 

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