Impressions of a Fazioli Piano

A brief exploration of my personal impressions of a Fazioli piano.
Interviewer: Lua Hadar, recorded May 2011.
*note: these are solely my personal opinions about and reflections upon the particular instrument in this video (though I have played others), for which I was not compensated in any way.

[@4vrceltic]

It sounds so harp-like! It's Divine. Nice review. Thank you.

[@tama7590]

How a great dynamic range it have.

[@JasonMartineauMusic]

Indeed it does, very wide.

[@IsaacOLEG]

No, those are good comments to describe the tone quality. it is very wide open. A little straight, that mean the tone , particularely in the soprano, is not as enlarged as on pianos with a higher inharmonicity as Yamaha's and Steinways. That makes that tendency to produce a "beam" of sound, that may be less "enveloping" but is perfect for some type of playing and music. The tone projection sound a little vertical, to me (going up,, not so much in circles) choices...

[@SherrisPlace]

Play more on this Fazioli please it's sounds heavenly!

[@JasonMartineauMusic]

:-) Thanks, yes this was a beautiful piano. There are two other videos on my channel with performances on this instrument.

[@paxwallacejazz]

he doesn't mention bloom. and he doesn't mention how the character of a steinway changes in a good way as you play with more weight . From charming to bombastic and ecstatic

[@edoardoferrari1589]

Amazing

[@seiph80]

Hi Jason, after watching this video, I'm SO GLAD that I'm not the only one who loves and is into the exact same style as me: I love those thick and dark chords and you've described my style perfectly. I've always liked the impressionist (Debussy, anyone?) style and somewhat jazzy note arrangements. I like to emphasize chromaticism and augmented chords, even double diminished chords, just letting a few notes hang on their own. I take it you use the sostenuto pedal? Thank you very much. Going to have to check out your other works on here! :)

[@JasonMartineauMusic]

Thanks! Yes I do use the sostenuto pedal often, as well I like harmonically resonant and interesting sonorities. I of course can play also dry/clean/secco, but since this "interview" was spontaneous and unscripted, I did not think ahead to try and cover different types of touch and techniques, nor to optimize the experience (as some comments mention below, like removing the music stand, etc) - this was part of a longer video which included musical performances, just this impromptu part where we discussed the instrument a bit I felt was compelling enough to share on its own.

[@markpettigrew3482]

I played a $90,000 Fazioli at a showroom in Chicago on Michigan Avenue. I loved it. My only negative thing to say about the instrument would be that as far as I know, there is no MIDI sequencing version, the way that the Disklavier is a MIDI version of the Yamaha grand piano. Of course, I believe that the PianoDisc system could be adapted to the Fazioli, and from what I've seen on another KZbin video, a piano outfitted with the PianoDisc is easier to regulate.

[@b-louprint]

Maybe consider putting the music stand down , so you can directly hear it idk

[@MeTheRob]

I would like to hear more without sustain pedal.

[@erichert1001]

Listen to Angela Hewitt's latest Scarlatti disc, she plays a Fazioli on it. And, being Scarlatti, there's not a lot of pedal.

[@MeTheRob]

Thanks. If she used any pedal at all for Scarlatti, she needs a jolly good spanking ! Only joking. Hewitt is my favourite living pianist.

[@JasonMartineauMusic]

Fair enough, here I explore a more Impressionistic use of the pedal due to the type of music I often perform. I nevertheless hope some will find it informative.

[@CostantinoCatenaPianist]

The Sound of Concert Grand Fazioli F278: Costantino Catena plays Debussy and Schumann

[@sparklnkitty]

3:37 wow

[@casperelle1]

not fuziolie it is fat-ci-o-lee.

[@TheGaetanomariadigio]

First: old Steinway, second Fazioli.

[@JasonMartineauMusic]

yes

[@Eristhenes]

Fuzzie-oli?!?

[@tama7590]

Which is the model he is playing?

[@user-iy8gi7fj6c]

Tama Gaucherie probably the 183

[@jasondavies3736]

The factory spends more time "prepping" the instrument.

[@JasonMartineauMusic]

I am not in any way affiliated with Fazioli.

[@yipingyang1095]

Foot on a pedal, at almost all time, WHY ?????? no need for it, you are messing things up.

[@JasonMartineauMusic]

I am demonstrating the sonority and harmonic richness that is possible, as well as the sympathetic vibration of strings. This is why. And yes there is a need for it, if you want to demonstrate that. And no, nothing is being messed up. I always change the pedal when I change the harmony. Maybe Debussy really was messing things up, too? And Chopin? And Scriabin? And Rachmaninoff? And every composer who writes or has written music that requires the use of the sustain pedal? Messing things up? All of them? And what things are they that have been messed up, exactly? Is there truly no need for the sustain pedal? Perhaps we should just remove it entirely! It is fine without it for all music up until the 19th century, sure. Everything that has been written for the piano that features the sustain pedal is truly messing things up, and there is no need for any of it? Most fascinating, I will ponder your opinion, thank you for sharing.

[@charlesbeck6436]

why did you never seem to remove your foot from the damper pedal, except at the very end of a sound sample? you prevented us from hearing the level of the crispness and definition among individual notes. instead ,all i could hear was a mushed-together sound of many string sounding at once, a very muddy sound indeed. as one commentor below said "thick and muddy," a terrible sound in my opinion, and no way a technique that should be used alone to judge the sound and quality of a piano.

[@JasonMartineauMusic]

Thanks for your thoughtful feedback. As you'll note I mention specifically around 2:34 onward, that I was at the time particularly focused on *sonority* with this instrument, for this portion of the impromptu conversation, and thus, the interactivity of sympathetic vibrations, of the strings and the overall resonance the instrument produces, as well as the clarity of the various overtones, which honestly were very impressive. This is an excerpt from a longer conversation. And indeed the sustain pedal is reset at every change of harmony, throughout the entire segment. As to why there is no demonstration of secco playing, it is simply because it was not the topic for this portion of the discussion. I understand if this manner of Impressionism and exploration of sonority are not to your taste, and that's perfectly fine. Likewise I do not see any commentary below using the words "thick and muddy". I see two questions, one in English, one in French, about why I am using the pedal and sustaining tones so often, and the answer is the same for them as for you, as others have posted even on my behalf. There was no deliberate conspiracy to prevent you nor anyone from hearing anything, nor to misrepresent the sum total expressive capabilities of the instrument. And likewise, if you appreciate the music of any of the masters who utilized the sustain pedal to great effect, such as: Chopin, Liszt, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Bartok, Messiaen, Szymanowski, and so many others, as well as innumerable jazz masters as well, then you would be able to appreciate the focus with which I am concerned in this segment. It is by no means meant to be exclusionary to other techniques, nor limiting in terms of demonstrating the instrument's expressive possibilities. I am just as much an ardent adherent to the clarity of counterpoint in Bach as I am to the gestural and nuanced richness of Scriabin. But for the 4 minutes of this conversation, we are concerned mostly with harmonies and sonorities, rich and complex as they might be. If those kinds of tone combinations are not to your taste or understanding, then I can fully appreciate how they might sound "muddy" or "mushed" to you. But indeed they are neither to another for whom such sounds are clear and pleasing (as is mentioned by others in the commentary below). It is simply a question of your personal taste and harmonic sensibilities. Indeed I am sure there are innumerable demonstrations of what you seek available online. The instrument has that expressive power as well, to be sure.