New Piano at Wedgewood Hotel's 'Bacchus' Restaurant

VANCOUVER, BC - Bryant Olender - one of the favourite pianists at the Bacchus Restaurant- enjoyed his first evening at the keys of the new W. Hoffmann grand piano on Friday the 16th of December, 2011!  The W. Hoffmann piano was a welcome sight for the pianist as the previous piano had been in the restaurant for more than 20 years!  

The Bacchus Restaurant is often rated the 'most romantic restaurant in the city' and is one of only 5 establishments in BC to receive the coveted 'Relais & Chateaux' recognition!

The W. Hoffmann grand piano is a brand that is owned and produced in Europe by the famous German C. Bechstein.   Larry Fine, author of the book "Piano Buyer Guide" writes that the brand is "Great Value for the Money", and yet others hail it as being "the most outstanding value for the money in the piano world".

W. Hoffmann pianos have quickly become bestsellers around the world and is recognized as being the best European alternative to instruments from Asian manufacturers.

Showcase Pianos is a store with 2 locations that deals primarily with European brands of pianos, and is the official dealer for the highly acclaimed Fazioli piano from Italy.   Visit Showcase Pianos on the web at: http://showcasepianos.com 

Paolo Fazioli Visits First Fazioli Piano to Arrive in Victoria

Flown directly to Victoria, Italian ‘Fazioli’ piano is hailed as ‘World’s Finest’

VICTORIA, BC – Before heading over to Vancouver to do some piano shopping, a Victoria-based physician and his wife consulted ‘The Piano Book’ – an in-depth guide to purchasing pianos by piano-guru Larry Fine.   In it they came across an Italian brand of pianos called ‘Fazioli’ that the book describes as being “impeccably prepared”  and “combining both great power and great warmth in a way that few other pianos can”.  The book rates the Fazioli in class ‘1 A’, which is the highest possible rating for any piano.   The factory was founded 30 years ago by Paolo Fazioli – a pianist and an engineer that set out to make the finest piano in the world.

Needless to say, their curiosity was piqued.  Knowing that even the smallest Faziolis are just under $100,000 meant that they had only planned to just see one to satisfy their curiosity and then they were going to continue their shopping.  But things didn’t exactly turn out that way.

Amazed by the beauty of what they saw and heard, the Victoria couple ordered a 6 foot long Fazioli that was priced at $110,000.  All Fazioli pianos are made to order and are tested by the company’s founder Paolo Fazioli before they leave the factory.   Each one takes more than 1000 hours of highly specialized hand work to make, which means that if a buyer is not taking one of the pianos the store has in stock, then their piano will come 3 or 4 months after the order has been placed.

Factory founder Paolo Fazioli himself took at detour on his way to Calgary to stop in Victoria, and was interviewed by both the Times Colonist and Oak Bay News, two local newspapers that we excited to meet the famed piano maker at a media event where pianist Daniel Chow performed.   Having only a few hours in BC, Fazioli flew back to Vancouver by helicopter.

Read TIMES COLONIST article here

Read OAK BAY NEWS article here

Today, a growing number of professional pianists are convinced that Fazioli makes the finest pianos available in the world – including jazz legend Herbie Hancock, and the world's leading interpreter of Bach music Angela Hewitt.  Only around 100 pianos are made each year in this small factory just north of Venice.  Fazioli pianos feature many innovations – the sum of which has caused the pianos to be hailed as the absolute 'pinnacle' of the piano world.  They have many parts plated in 18K gold to prevent corrosion, and at the heart of each Fazioli lies a soundboard that is taken from the same trees in northern Italy where Antonio Stradivari once carved his wood for his famous violins.  Their ‘F308’ model is the world's largest piano in production at staggering length of 10 feet and 2 inches. 

 

Grand Opening of All New Aberdeen Centre Location!

Richmond, BC - On the 25th of November, Showcase Pianos hosted a short visit by Italian piano maker Paolo Fazioli as they celebrated the opening of their new store and academy in Richmond's beautiful Aberdeen Centre.

Dr. Robert Silverman to conduct Masterclass at new Showcase Academy

RICHMOND, BC - Recognized as one of Canada's premiere pianists, Robert Silverman has reached a level of musical and technical authority that can only be accomplished after years of deep commitment to the instrument and its vast literature. Many aspects of Silverman’s playing are frequently noted: a polished technique, an extraordinary range of tonal palette, an uncanny ability to sing his way into the heart of a phrase, and probing interpretations of the most complex works in the repertoire.

Robert Silverman resides in Vancouver where he was a faculty member at the UBC for thirty years, served a 5-year term as Director of the School of Music in the 1990s, and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters in 2004.  He now devotes himself full-time to concertizing and recording.  He is frequently heard on the CBC English and French radio network; and he has recorded for EMI, Stereophile, Marquis Classics, OrpheumMasters and CBC Records.

On Sunday the 13th of November he will conduct two masterclasses at the all new Showcase Academy on the 3rd floor of Richmond's Aberdeen Centre.   Masterclasses are 2 hours long and open to the public, but seating is limited.  Only 4 students are allowed per masterclass and for a cost of $100 each student is given 30 minutes.  To enroll please call Rachel or Julie at (604) 270-8861 or contact them by email: info@showcaseacademy.com 

Tribute Dinner to Dr. Thomas Fung at Pan Pacific Hotel

VANCOUVER, BC - Enjoy a great night for a great cause in honour of a great man.  Join the LIVERight Gala in paying tribute to philanthropist and entrepreneur Dr. Thomas Fung at the Pan Pacific Hotel on Friday November 18!  Click HERE for the details, or email info@showcasepianos.com 

New Academy and Piano Showroom Opens in Richmond

Highly sought after pianist will teach at new Academy in Aberdeen Centre

RICHMOND, BC - Much like celebrity chefs that come to Vancouver open fine dining restaurants, Seattle resident Dr. Sasha Starcevich is the Artist Director of a new piano school opening in Richmond's Aberdeen Centre: Showcase Piano Academy.

Concert pianist Sasha Starcevich received his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from Yale University in 2003 and continues to thrill audiences around the world with his performances in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Windsor Castle, Tchaikovsky Hall, and Wigmore Hall in London.

Perhaps you remember reading about some young performers from the local area - Tristan Teo, Evgenia Rabinovich, and Tim Zhang.  They all had one thing in common: their teacher was Dr. Starcevich.

Dr. Starcevich is in frequent demand as a performer, adjudicator and presenter of Master Classes throughout North America, Russia and China. He will come to Vancouver once a month to teach master classes at the new Academy, and coach other teachers.   Master classes are open for public viewing, and aspiring pianists of any age can pay $100 to be one of four students in a two hour long master class.

"At $200 an hour his rate is one of the highest in the city - or maybe even the highest," says Academy Manager Rachel Lam, "so I wasn't sure how long it would take to fill up his schedule, but I'm happy to say that the response has been excellent - probably due to his fantastic reputation in Vancouver.  We've had a number of students that have asked to be booked for every single upcoming master class with Dr. Starcevich."

The new school accepts students of all ages and also has some other well known teachers such as Bogdan Dulu, Lay Tuan Tan, Clare Yuan, Ross Salvosa, as well as the current president of the Richmond Association of Registered Music Teachers: Mimi Ho.  Children as young as three and a half years of age can learn music together with one parent in the very successful 'Music for Young Children' program that is endorsed by famed Canadian concert pianist Angela Hewitt.

Call to arrange a lesson at 604-270-8861 or email info@showcaseacademy.com 

China Musik Messe in Shanghai

SHANGHAI, CHINA - Every year piano manufacturers are invited to at least 3 main shows to display their instruments for retailers and industry professionals to see.  The largest and most important of these shows has now become the one in Shanghai, China.  This year it started on Tuesday the 11th of October, and Showcase Pianos cashed in all of it's airline points to send a representative on their behalf to have a look. 

 

Angela Hewitt performs on Fazioli in GuangZhou

GUANGZHOU, CHINA - Showcase Pianos owners Manuel and Judy Bernaschek traveled to China for the first time in October of 2011, and stopped in GuangZhou on the way to the Shanghai Music Messe Exposition.  Canadian concert pianist Angela Hewitt happened to be performing at a local concert hall to a sold out audience.  This was the first time a Fazioli piano was used in a performance in GuangZhou.

Rise of the Piano of the Apes

Showcase Pianos provided the small old upright piano that appeared in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes". Although the movie was set in San Francisco, many of the scenes were filmed in Vancouver. One Vancouver home near Cambie Street and West 13th Avenue was re-created at Mammoth Studios in Burnaby, where a piano was used in the bedroom of Charles Rodman, the character played by Oscar nominee John Lithgow. The movie also showed a large old upright on the main floor of the same house, but Showcase Pianos didn't provide the piano for that room.

Aryo Wicaksono in Concert on Sunday August 21

Sunday August 21, 2011 at 1:30pm

Showcase Pianos | FAZIOLI store Aberdeen Centre, Richmond

RICHMOND, BC - Hailed by the Arizona Daily Star as a pianist with “technical prowess, balletic grace, warm tones, and unwavering devotion to the score,” pianist Aryo Wicaksono has performed in many venues and festivals throughout the United States. Internationally, he has been a featured soloist in St. Petersburg, Russia; Dubai and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates; state of Sonora, Mexico; and throughout Indonesia.He has performed with the Nusantara Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg State Symphony, United Arab Emirates Philharmonic Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Tucson, Tucson Symphony, Arizona Symphony Orchestra, Arizona Wind Ensemble, and Arizona Percussion Ensemble, performing concertos and new works ranging from Liszt, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky to Philip Glass. As a musical director and pianist for the musical “Elegies – Looking Up” by composer William Finn, he won the Arizona Daily Star’s “Mac Award” 2006 for Best Musical in Tucson, and the Tucson Weekly “Best of Awards” Best Musical in Tucson for 2006-2007. Recent highlights of his performances are Prokofiev 3rd Piano Concerto with Nusantara Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Hikotaro Yazaki, Prokofiev 1st Piano Concerto with UAE Philharmonic Orchestra under Philipp Maier, a solo recital debut at the prestigious Embassy Series in Washington D.C., and a sold-out orchestral debut with the St. Petersburg State Symphony in St. Petersburg, Russia, performing Prokofiev’s 1st Piano Concerto. As the first Western classical music artist to hold a visiting Artist-in-Residence position at the American University of Sharjah, in Sharjah, UAE in November 2009, he presented his UAE solo recital debut, master classes and lectures. Recent tours include Prokofiev 3rd Concerto in Tucson AZ, Liszt Totentanz in Indonesia, East Coast Tour with the Dance Theatre of Harlem in the Fall of 2010, and recital debut and residency at SouthWestern College in San Diego, among others. Upcoming concerts will include San Francisco and Vancouver Recitals and residency, and another tour of Indonesia in Fall 2011. As a composer, he has made scores for short independent Japanese film “Dream of an Hour”, and has some of his music set into ballet by Teatro Jaguar Luna and other ballet schools in the U.S. and abroad. He was pianist-composer in residence for the American Academy of Ballet School this July 2011. For more information, press reviews, and touring schedule, please visit Aryo’s website at http://www.aryo-wicaksono.com. He lives in NYC and works for NYU Tisch Ballet School and 92^nd Street Y Harkness School.

RECITAL PROGRAM

Toccata in F-sharp minor BWV 910

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Etude in C-major Op. 10 no. 1

Waltz in c-sharp minor Op. 64 no. 2

Etude in c-sharp minor Op. 10 no. 4

Nocturne in c-minor Op. 48 no. 1

Etude in c-minor Op. 10 no. 12

Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)

Portrait of a Lady (Vancouver premiere) – c. 2010

Joshua Saulle (b. 1979)

Tembang Alit

Jaya Suprana (b. 1949)

Etude Tableaux in D-major Op. 39 no. 9

Sergey Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)

Isolde’s Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde

Wagner, arr. Liszt (1813-1883)

Mephisto Waltz no. 1

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

Enroll for piano lessons before August 31!!

RICHMOND, BC - The new Showcase Piano Academy in Richmond's beautiful Aberdeen Centre is offering to waive the $35 registration fee for new students that sign up for piano lessons before August 31!

Sign up by calling (604) 270-8861 or emailing juliec@showcasepianos.com For more information, visit showcaseacademy.com

Registration Opens for new piano school in Aberdeen Centre

RICHMOND, BC - Registration for piano lessons has now begun as excitement builds for the new piano school that is due to open at the end of August in Aberdeen Centre! The new school offers both Private and Group Lessons.

The Artistic Director for the school is none other than the highly acclaimed Dr. Sasha Starcevich whose passion for teaching has earned him a tremendous reputation throughout North America. Teachers for private classes include two teachers for advanced students who are currently studying for their Doctor of Musical Arts degree under Jane Coop at UBC. The school also offers lessons for beginners and intermediate players, as well jazz lessons. Click HERE for more information on the teachers.

The school also offers special group lessons through the MYC (Music For Young Children) program where children as young as 3½ years old enjoy instruction together with their parents. Click HERE for more information on the MYC Classes.

Enroll today! Call Julie at (604) 270-8861 or email at: juliec@showcasepianos.com