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.