VANCOUVER, BC - On Monday the Air Sprint releases their new Legacy 450 Jet. Incredibly beautiful inside and out, and a great concept for Vancouverites. Fractional ownership - like the Uber of private jets!
Guests could also check out two beautiful Bentleys and an Aston Martins, while enjoying music by the Max Zipursky Quartet. Another feature of the evening were the performances by award winning students from the FaFan Xiao Piano Studio.
Photos by the very talented Scott Adolph of Sculptures of Light Photography.
VANCOUVER, BC - On Saturday the 30th of April 2016, Hong-Kong superstar Edmond Leung borrowed a Fazioli from Showcase Pianos to perform a concert to raise money for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
Showcase Pianos was proud to be a sponsor of the event, which in total, the concert raised $53,888 for the foundation.
WASHINGTON, DC - On Saturday the 30th of April 2016, President Obama welcomed Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Esperanza Spalding, Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, jazz icons along with Morgan Freeman, Dame Helen Mirren and others to the White House's International Jazz Day celebration.
After opening remarks from President Obama, which can also be found below, the concert also featured performances from Aretha Franklin, who paid tribute to the late Prince with a rendition of "Purple Rain" (at the 1:14:00 mark). Esperanza Spalding, Buddy Guy, Sting, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Hugh Masekela, Al Jarreau, Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin, and many others also performed. Watch the full 94-minute special via UNESCO:
Carl Bechstein set out to manufacture a piano able to withstand the great demands imposed on the instrument by the virtuosi of the time, such as Franz Liszt. In 1857, Liszt’s son-in-law, Hans von Bulow, gave the first public performance on a Bechstein grand piano by performing Liszt's Piano Sonata in B minor in Berlin.
For over 160 years, Bechstein pianos have held a reputation as among the finest pianos in the world, competing with Bösendorfer and Steinway in construction, performance and tonal quality. The great composers Liszt, Wagner, Brahms, Debussy, and many others remarked on the marvelous tone they produced.
Visit Showcase Pianos today to discover the whole family of Bechstein pianos: C. Bechstein, Bechstein, and W. Hoffmann!
[Pictured above: Showcase
Pianos owners Manuel & Judy Bernaschek]
VANCOUVER, BC – Due to the unmatched quality of materials and workmanship, the Italian ‘Fazioli’ is regarded as being the costliest brand of pianos being produced in the world today. In the 2015 calendar year, more Fazioli pianos were sold in Vancouver than anywhere else in the world. To understand what that represents in the piano world, it can be said in this way: Vancouver as a city received more Fazioli pianos in 2015 than the entire United States, than all of Germany, and all of China. Locally, the Fazioli importer is a store called Showcase Pianos that has a location on West Broadway in Vancouver and in Richmond’s beautiful Aberdeen Centre. Store owner Manuel Bernaschek says that more than 50% of the buyers are Asian – either from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, or Indonesia. Bernaschek started learning to speak Mandarin Chinese almost 20 years ago, and recommends it to all of his local Caucasian friends. “After all, it is the most widely spoken language in the world!”, Bernaschek states proudly. “I’m glad that so many are investing in our economy.” “But not all of our customers are of Chinese origin. We still have many local Caucasian clients.”, continues Bernaschek. “For example, we are very proud of our association with Westbank.” Bernaschek referred to his partnership with the award winning development company headed up by local visionary Ian Gillespie. “Ian shares my passion for one-of-a-kind art case pianos, and the latest example is the Fazioli in the lobby of the Telus Garden building.” The unique piano was designed by architect Gregory Henriquez, who mimicked the support beams of the building in the legs of the piano. “But the best is yet to come”, states Bernaschek, referring to designs for Fazioli piano cases being commissioned by Westbank from some of the world’s leading architects, including Bjarke Ingels, Kengo Kuma, and Bing Thom. The great local enthusiasm for quality products has also allowed Bernaschek to realize yet another ‘Italian’ dream. “In the late summer of 2016, we are opening Canada’s first Stefano Ricci store – a brand of men’s clothing, completely made by hand in Italy, and featuring the finest materials.” Described by some as being ‘über-luxurious’, Stefano Ricci’s eagle head belt buckle has become extremely popular among the world’s elite. Fazioli at Telus Garden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaViUE1qxSo Largest Grand Piano to ever come to BC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQegP7jj57A Music Sounds Better on the World’s Finest Piano: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyF2AhC-dPY Mini-Documentary on Fazioli Pianos in Canada: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU6yRwy1Qe0
VANCOUVER, BC - On Saturday the 13th of February, the World's Only 24k Gold Leaf Fazioli was moved from the Showcase Pianos showroom in Richmond to the stage of the 'De Beers Time To Shine' Fundraiser at the Fairmont Pacific Rim. The event raised $1.7m for the Vancouver General Hospital in just one evening.
The evening featured a performance on the by piano by the extremely talented pianist Herbert Kwan, who dazzled the audience with his own composition. The musical highlight of the evening was a vocal performance by Shannon Chung, who sang Adele's "Hello".
The live auction featured only 4 items, and included a 'Fazioli Experience'. The evening was enjoyed by many of Vancouver's VIPs, including Morni Chang (张晨光) a well-known Taiwanese actor that has made Vancouver his home.
RICHMOND, BC – Local artist Michael Abraham has been described as “Canada’s artistic genius, representing the best of the contemporary scene”. Vancouver’s music lovers will recognize his works as it has appeared in the VSO’s Allegro Magazine, and in the promotional material for the Vancouver Opera’s 2008/09 season.
Abraham has been commissioned to put his paint brush to the canvass for music yet again, but this time it’s not to help sell opera tickets. Showcase Pianos store owner Manuel Bernaschek commissioned Abraham to make a unique painting to go with a unique piano: The world’s only 24k Gold Leaf Fazioli grand piano, priced at just over half-a-million dollars.
Excited to create some attention for the piano, Bernaschek says the one of a kind painting will be a gift to whoever buys the 24k Gold Leaf Fazioli. “The piano is unique and also a fine work of art. It will truly be a stunningly beautiful centerpiece for someone’s home, so it’s appropriate that we have a painting to go with it.”
Special performances on the piano were done by visiting Swedish pianist Carl Petersson and local 8 year old prodigy Isabelle Xin-Yi Wang.
