Ryan Wang & Ray Zhang perform at Fazioli Concert Hall, tour piano factory

VENICE, ITALY - Five year old Ryan Wang and six year old Ray Zhang traveled to the Fazioli piano factory in Italy this summer to perform at the Fazioli Concert Hall.  Forming part of the entourage of the 2 boys were their two mothers, their piano teacher FaFan Xiao and her husband Don, two of Vancouver's best videographers - Guy Roland and Dave Hamilton, and also myself.

Coming off the plane we were greeted by transportation arranged by the Fazioli factory.  The pianists and their mothers arrived the night before, the videographers came in just a few hours earlier on the same day - and then I arrived together with the piano teacher FaFan Xiao and her husband.  We were happy to see the Fazioli sign and were delighted that we didn't miss an important connection in JFK.  Although we had an hour to change to the next plane which was literally the next gate over, we still had to clear customs and go through security again, leaving us to run and make it just in time to the next plane.

Our arrival at the Venice airport meant that we still had to travel north another 35 minutes by car to the small town of Sacile where the Fazioli piano factory is.  Sacile has a population of 20,000 people, and it is where the Fazioli family had their original furniture factory.

This trip to the factory allowed us to have a sneak peak at the custom made Fazioli F308 that has a case designed by renowned Vancouver architect Ernest Collins.  Made mainly from Red Elm, the piano also has - among other things - 24k Gold Leaf, inlays of Satinwood and sections Mother of Pearl.  

Our videographers filmed Ray and Ryan's performance in the concert hall, as well as an interview with Mr. Fazioli as he discussed the construction of the special F308 concert grand piano.  Mr. Fazioli also toured our group through the factory being followed the entire time by the videographers.  Mr. Fazioli also arranged for his little 6 year old daughter to be brought to the factory to meet both of our little pianists.

Our tour of the area finished in Venice itself, where we stayed in the Gritti Palace hotel.  Since I visit Venice regularly to go to the piano factory, I try different hotels to see which one I like the best - and this was going to be a new one for me.  The Gritti Palace had recently undergone an enormous renovation, and the results are spectacular.  It's definitely the finest hotel I've ever stayed in Venice.  

Since the videographers were planning to interview me as part of the documentary on  the special F308, I suggested that this be done in the Gritti Palace Hotel.   We wrote to the hotel manager to let them know of our intentions, and they upgraded my room to a beautiful suite that has an antique harpsichord in the living-room area.  When we checked in, they called out the manager to come and meet Ryan Wang in person.

After only two nights in Italy, I had to head back to Vancouver right away.  Although I needed 3 flights to get home, I used up all of my airlines points to upgrade my last flight from JFK to YVR to first class.  Since it's a rare treat, I took a photo of my self in the enormous chair.  Flight attendants hand out pyjamas to everyone, and also put an extra mattress on your seat for extra comfort.   Now I'm spoiled.

- Written by Manuel Bernaschek

5-year old West Vancouver Prodigy Ryan Wang Plays Fazioli on Ellen Show

WEST VANCOUVER, BC - Ryan Wang is the five year old student of FaFan Piano Studio in Vancouver, and on Monday the 27th of May, 2013 he appeared on Ellen TV.   The talk show is hosted by Emmy award winning comedian and actress Ellen DeGeneres.

A rare hand-made Italian Fazioli F278 Concert Grand was brought in especially for Ryan Wang.  The Fazioli piano is quickly becoming the favourite of many talented artists around the world and can be seen in top universities and performance halls.

Watch the video here:

YuJa Wang Performs on Fazioli

SACILE, ITALY - On Friday the 3rd of May, 2013 international concert pianist YuJa Wang performed at the Fazioli Concert Hall in Sacile, Italy.

Wang comes from a musical family. She entered Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music at age seven and studied there for three years. At age 11, Wang was accepted as the youngest student in the Morningside Music Bridge International Music Festival at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Canada.  After several summers of participating in the program, Wang moved to Canada at age 14 to continue her studies at the Mount Royal University Conservatory.

In 1998, Wang won 3rd prize in the Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists, in Ettlingen, Germany. In 2001, she won Third Prize and Special Jury Prize (awarded to an especially superior finalist of less than 20 years in age, prize money of 500,000 Japanese Yen) in the Piano Section at the First Sendai International Music Competition in Sendai, Japan.

In 2003, Wang made her European debut with the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich, Switzerland, playing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 under the baton of David Zinman. She made her North American debut in Ottawa in the 2005/06 season, replacing Radu Lupu performing the Beethoven concerto with Pinchas Zukerman conducting.

On September 11, 2005, Wang was named a 2006 biennial Gilmore Young Artist award winner, given to the most promising pianists age 21 and younger. As part of the award, she received $15,000, appeared at Gilmore Festival concerts, and had a new piano work commissioned for her.

Starting at age 15, she studied for five years with Gary Graffman, who was also Lang Lang's teacher, at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and graduated in May 2008. She is increasing the number of concerts she is playing, and has "developed a novel reputation" of replacing sick pianists, yet going on "to deliver a knockout performance."

In 2006/2007, she performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Houston Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, and San Francisco Symphony, the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Japan, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic in the Netherlands, the China Philharmonic in Beijing and the Guangzhou Symphony and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.

Did pop superstar Wanting Qu 曲婉婷 blow up a $280,000 Fazioli in her new MV?

VANCOUVER, BC - A new video by Chinese-Canadian pop superstar Wanting Qu features a $280,000 Fazioli concert grand piano that appears to spontaneously catch on fire and explode.  The video was filmed in Vancouver and premiered on MuchMore.ca on Thursday the 2nd of May, 2013.

Wanting Qu (曲婉婷) is a Chinese-Canadian pianist, singer and songwriter based in Vancouver and born in Harbin, China.   In 2009 she became the first Chinese artist to be signed to the Nettwerk label and is managed by Terry McBride.  Her first album, “Everything In The World” went platinum in China within its first week on sale, and her singles "You Exist in My Song" and "Drenched" were used in the soundtrack for the Hong Kong film “Love in the Buff”.   Earlier this year she became the first ever tourism ambassador for Vancouver, with the intention of raising Canada's profile among destinations for Chinese visitors.

The Fazioli piano she used in the video was the F278 Fazioli which is 9'2" in length and made by hand in Italy.  Fazioli pianos have recently received much attention among top level pianists in the world and is hailed among them as being the finest piano currently in production in the world.   The factory - just north of Venice - produces only 10 pianos a month, and each one is hand-crafted over a period of 3,000 man hours.

View the video here.  More stills below.

Local Mini-Celebrities Ryan Wang & Ray Zhang to Perform at Kay Meek Centre

WEST VANCOUVER, BC - At 5 years old, pianist Ryan Wang has received more publicity than many pianists receive in their whole life.  In the last two months, not only has Wang been interviewed by CBC's "The National", Global TV, the Vancouver Sun, and SingTao Daily - but he has also had the great privilege of performing at the illustrious Carnegie Hall together with 6-year-old Ray Zhang, after winning the American Protégé International Music Talent Competition.

On Sunday the 9th of June, Ryan and Ray are teaming up again to hold a benefit concert at the Kay Meek Theatre in West Vancouver.

All proceeds from this performance will go to the Sarah McLachlan School of Music, a non-profit school that provides free music education to underserved and at-risk youth. This concert is only part of their short world tour, which also includes a performance at the Fazioli Hall in Italy and another concert together with a symphony orchestra in Shanghai, China.

Click HERE to buy tickets through KayMeekCentre.com

Learn more about Ryan Wang by clicking HERE

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FAMED ITALIAN PIANO MAKER DEDICATES UNIQUE $300k FAZIOLI PIANO IN TORONTO

TORONTO, ON – On Friday the 5th of April, world renowned Italian piano maker Paolo Fazioli made a pit-stop in Toronto to dedicate a one-of-a-kind Fazioli piano custom made for the Shangri-La Hotel.   Professional pianists consider this brand to be the “crème-de-la-crème” of the piano world, and only a handful of Faziolis have made it to the greater Toronto area.

If you've never seen or heard one, you can see this special piano at the newly opened Shangri-La Hotel on University Ave in Toronto where it sits as the centerpiece of their lobby.  The hotel has arranged for talented pianists from across the country to come and perform in the Lobby Lounge, and the hotel staff welcomes all to sit and order a drink while listening to the beautiful singing tone of the $300,000 piano.   

This Fazioli is completely finished in light Oak and highlights the culture of great Canadian artists, which could not be represented more purely than Joni Mitchell.   Her album Blue released in 1971 is regarded as one of the most iconic albums of that era and the song “My Old Man” in particular, showcases her compositional talents on the piano.  Joni Mitchell was gracious enough to allow the hotel’s developer to engrave the opening stanza of “My Old Man” on the piano lid, with the sheet music embroidered on the piano cover.

At a media event on Friday the 5th of April, Vancouver based 5-year-old Isabelle XinYi Wang performed on the piano.  Wang is a piano prodigy that will also perform at Carnegie Hall later in the same month.   

About FAZIOLI pianos:

Fazioli pianos are made by hand in Italy and are considered to be the finest piano available in the world.  The company was founded by Paolo Fazioli in 1979, a pianist and engineer that wanted to combine those two worlds of knowledge to make the best pianos known to man.  Today some of the world’s top pianists play on Fazioli, from Angela Hewitt – the world’s leading interpreter of Bach – to jazz legend Herbie Hancock.  In 2011 one of the world’s leading schools of music – Juilliard – that famously only bought one brand of pianos for the previous 80 years, broke from tradition to purchase a Fazioli piano.   In an interview with the NY Times, Steinway VP Peter Goodrich admitted: “[Fazioli] keep us on our toes.”

Each Fazioli takes approximately 3,000 man-hours to make.  At the heart of each Fazioli piano lies the soundboard, which is carved from the Val-Di-Fiemme forest in Northern Italy – the same trees harvested by Antonio Stradivari for his famous violins.  Many of the hinges are plated in 18k gold to prevent corrosion.