kwaadham 52, 9000 gent | (+32) 9 233 80 59 | [email protected] | www.quatremains.gent 1/1 the choice of great masters FAZIOLI Pianos has been producing grand and concert grand pianos since 1981, when the company was founded by the engineer and pi- anist Paolo Fazioli. Passion for music, great ar- tisanship, continuous technological research and strict material selection: these are the elements required for building a Fazioli piano. FAZIOLI refuses any industrial approach to manufactu- ring and pursues the objective of uncompromi- sed quality. The factory is located in Sacile, in the Province of Pordenone (60 km Northeast of Venice) in an area boasting an ancient and pres- tigious tradition in the art of woodworking. kwaadham 52, 9000 gent | (+32) 9 233 80 59 | [email protected] | www.quatremains.gent 1/1 mission & vision The FAZIOLI factory was born out of a challen- Almost 40 years later, FAZIOLI strongly believes ge: demonstrating that the piano is not an in- to have carried out this mission coherently, thus strument passively and indissolubly anchored inspiring the whole acoustic piano manufactu- to tradition. On the contrary, the company has ring sector. always assumed that the piano, like any other work of the human intelligence, can and has to be subject to technological development and aesthetical improvement, without betraying the glorious past that wrote its history. Since the very beginning, FAZIOLI has consistently brought forward its philosophy, which can be summarized in few, however important, points: • producing exclusively grand and concert grand pianos, destined to the professional market • excluding any imitation process and pur- suing the idea of a FAZIOLI sound inspired by the Italian “Bel Canto” • individually handcrafting each piano (eve- ry FAZIOLI instrument is unique), refusing every industrial process • using only the best materials and cut- ting-edge manufacturing techniques • constantly carrying on scientifi c research through an internal “Research and Deve- lopment” department and the collaborati- on with academic research institutions and external private subjects • meeting the demand of those who wish to acquire a unique and aesthetically ful- ly-customized instrument (Art Case & Home Design collections). kwaadham 52, 9000 gent | (+32) 9 233 80 59 | [email protected] | www.quatremains.gent 1/4 history 1944 - 1977 Paolo Fazioli was born in Rome in 1944, into a family depth study of contemporary grand piano producti- of furniture makers. From a very early age, he had a on, analysing their structure and performance while keen interest in music and especially in playing the consulting researchers and experts in the fi eld. piano. He consequently started taking piano lessons and 1978 - 1981 continued his piano studies through his high school and university years, broadening his knowledge by At the end of the 1970s, Paolo Fazioli’s expertise in visiting manufacturing and restoration workshops traditional piano manufacturing, coupled with his and reading the most authoritative literature on the research, experience and creativity, fi nally brought subject. about the establishment of a new business. The Fa- In 1969, he graduated from the University of Rome zioli Piano Factory was established within the Sacile with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and in furniture plant, about 40 miles north of Venice. 1971 he received a degree in piano performance This choice of location fulfi lled a number of organi- from the G. Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro, under sational and production needs: materials were clo- the guidance of Maestro Sergio Cafaro. At the same se to hand, as were research and analysis laborato- time, he earned a Master’s degree in Music Compo- ries and, most importantly, specialised craftsmen. sition at the St Cecilia Academy in Rome, where he In 1979, he started designing his fi rst prototype studied under the composer Boris Porena. for a baby grand piano. He was assisted by a small team consisting of Professor Pietro Righini, an ex- Paolo Fazioli joined the family company after gradu- pert in musical acoustics, and Professor Guglielmo ation, honoring his management skills as a produc- Giordano, an eminent wood technologist, as well tion planning manager fi rst in Rome and then at the as Virgilio Fazioli and Lino Tiveron. Turin factory, while at the same time developing his The prototype of the F183 model was completed expertise in wood processing. in June 1980, followed at the end of the year by However, he soon left the family business in order the prototypes of two other models, the F156 and to pursue his dream of designing and building new the F278. In 1981 work began on the prototype of pianos. He began by devoting himself to the in- the F228 model. kwaadham 52, 9000 gent | (+32) 9 233 80 59 | [email protected] | www.quatremains.gent 2/4 history 1982 - 1986 In February 1982 all four models – the F156, F183, for his concert at the Teatro Goldoni in Venice. F228 and F278 – were exhibited at the Frankfurt Mu- Toward the end of the year, Alfred Brendel chose sikmesse.The production area within the MIM facto- the Fazioli pianos for his Italian tour. ry was expanded to reach 600 square metres, thus increasing production to 2 pianos a month. 1994 - 1996 In 1983, the company began collaborating with Zel- tron (Zanussi Institute for Research) with the aim of In 1994, Fazioli Pianoforti exhibited at the NAMM studying and further improving tonal quality. The show in Anaheim, California for the fi rst time, thus company started reaping the fi rst artistic successes: consolidating its position in the North American in 1984 and 1985, when renowned pianists like Aldo market. Ciccolini, Alfred Brendel, Martha Argerich, Vladimir In the same year, the company displayed at MUSIC Aschkenazy, Lazar Berman, Nikita Magaloff, Michel CHINA in Shanghai, thus opening the way to suc- Beroff, Annie Fischer, Louis Lortie and many others cess in the Far East. started to play on Fazioli pianos. A number of impor- A concert grand piano was installed in the Sydney tant concert halls purchased the F278 concert grand Town Hall in Australia and its debut performance and the fi rm started exporting to major European featured a concert attended by Australian Prime countries and the United States. Minister Paul Keating. Fazioli pianos were also cho- The demand for an instrument having even greater sen for the Gina Bachauer Piano Competition in Salt power and richness of tone, to be used in large con- Lake City, USA. cert halls, inspired the concept of the F308 model, In 1995, the F308 model was unveiled at the NAMM which is still the longest piano available on the mar- Show and subsequently used for concerts in Los An- ket. Alongside this project, work began on a new geles and Salt Lake City. In June, the F308 model was model to complement the existing line, the medi- presented in China, leading to the purchase of one of um-size F212 with a length of 212 cm. these instruments by the Beijing Conservatory. In 1996, a Fazioli was chosen for concerts in the Wie- 1987 - 1993 ner Musikvereinshalle by Ingeborg Baldaszti, Markus Schirmer, Jasminka Stancul and Elisabeth Leonskaya. The prototype of the fi rst F308 received its fi rst pu- The unique Brunei concert grand was built on order blic performance in 1987, at the Teatro Comunale in for the Sultan of Brunei, featuring inlays of precious Monfalcone, with French pianist François Joël Thio- stones, mother of pearl and exotic woods. In addition ller performing both Tchaikovsky piano concertos. to standard black instruments, the company develo- Later that year, Lazar Berman used the F308 piano ped a series of special art case models to cater to its at Carnegie Hall to perform Liszt’s Second Concer- most exacting customers. to. Murray Perahia also requested the same model kwaadham 52, 9000 gent | (+32) 9 233 80 59 | [email protected] | www.quatremains.gent 3/4 history 1997 - 2000 2004 - 2006 In 1997, Fazioli pianos were used for the fi rst In 2004, large orders were placed and produc- time at Umbria Jazz, one of the world’s most tion fi nally exceeded the 100 units. That same renowned jazz festivals, both for the summer edi- year, the company moved to its new offi ces and tion in Perugia and the winter companion festival the Fazioli Concert Hall was completed. in Orvieto. Through Umbria Jazz, a number of Equipped with variable acoustic devices, the eminent jazz artists have since become admirers hall is ideal for instrument testing, concerts and of Fazioli pianos, including Herbie Hancock, Mar- recordings. tial Solal, Brad Mehldau, Chucho Valdez, Michel In November 2006, the company celebrated its Camilo, Uri Caine, Kenny Barron, Stefano Bollani, 25th year in business with a ceremony attended Enrico Pieranunzi, Danilo Rea etc. by dealers, staff and a number of the most de- In 1998, the company purchased an area of ap- voted pianists. proximately 14,000 m2 next to the existing fac- tory, leading to the construction of a new plant 2007 - 2010 capable of producing approximately 150 instru- ments per year. The new facility includes a labo- The cooperation with prestigious universities on ratory for acoustic research and a concert hall research and development projects is testament where new instruments can be tested. to the company’s continuous commitment to quality and the improvement of its products. 2001 - 2003 The famous Juilliard School, New York - among the most important institutions in the world for In 2001, the new factory was fi nally opened. high level musical training - broke the mono- Production edged closer to the target of 100 pi- poly that had been bonding the institution with anos per year. The company’s relationship with another historic brand for more than 80 years by pianist Angela Hewitt became even more pro- purchasing a Fazioli concert grand.