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Hey guys,
I just want to see what everybody thinks about Fazioli Pianos?

Here: https://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubb...ianos...%20Lots%20of%20P.html#Post908949

I posted that 7+ years ago; not sure if anything has significantly changed with Fazioli since.

Fazioli is among several of the finest pianos in the world today. It has a rather distinctive sound that has fans among those who are looking for that sound.

The same can be said of the other top-rated instruments.

Makes me want spaghetti.

They are beautiful pianos with a very clean, cool and clinical sound, a bit too much in that direction for my taste, which runs towards a warmer and more colorful tonal palette.

I would have to agree with sophial. I’ve had the opportunity to play on a couple higher-end Fazioli Concert Grands and, while I found them to have incredible action and touch with the sound being extremely bright, clear and crisp, I also have to admit that, when compared to some of the others I played, the Fazioli was very ‘clinical’. The sound was very loud and clear, with each note being easy to single out. However, it was a little too clear. It seemed to lack warmth and depth. Don’t get me wrong, they are beautiful pianos, and they definitely make amazing performance pianos, but my taste ran more to the warmer and more ‘blended’ sound of the C. Bechstein I was comparing it to.

Still, if I had $170,000 to drop on a piano, the ones I played would definitely be contenders!

What can I say...great pianos !

I had a couple of opportunities to play Fazioli including a concert grand. My impression was a bit of a let down. Maybe I went into it with over-expectations? The sound is very clean, bright, cold, with nice resonances. I really like clean and bright sound, but didn't care for cool palette. Nevertheless, I have a lot of respect for small companies dedicated to absolute quality in today's global-economic mass production world. As far as I know, they are still independently owned, and hopefully will stay that way.

+1
But if someone wanted to give me one for my birthday I wouldn't say no!

I pretty much agree with the above assessments, though my experience with Faziolis is limited. I've only played a few brand-new showroom models.

I do wonder if they change at all once they are played in for a few years, the way many other pianos do. I wonder how they develop tonally.

Yamaha on steroids.

If one listens to Daniil Trifonov playing a Fazioli on some of his YouTube recordings, I think most of the above criticisms disappear very quickly. I think it's very significant that one of the greatest young pianists on the planet sometimes chooses to play a Fazioli.

I was actually privileged enough to play on one for a music festival in Italy. I actually played an F308 with orchestra performing Saint-Saen's 2nd Piano Concerto. What a magical experience. That piano has a remarkable action and incredible power when called upon. I feel that playing it is like painting on a blank canvas. You must decide everything that will come out of the instrument. I see most other pianos as imparting a sort of pre-shading to the tone that I may or may not like depending on what I'm playing.

Long story short, I would buy one in a heartbeat over almost everything if I could afford it

I've only played one bad one. That was years ago at the Colburn School in Zipper Hall. It sounded overly bright and just bad. Whoever was taking care of the pianos at that time was doing a pretty bad job...

The tone of the Fazioli makes me think of the Stonetone pianos. These are pianos that have been modified by using a bridge made of solid granite (solid rock).

Here is a Story and Clark that has had this modification done. (Poor man's Fazioli?)

[video:youtube]Kr4gd7JWSzs[/video]

I had a chance to play a number of Faziolis. I'd agree with many of the comments. The build quality and action is superb and the consistency between pianos is quite remarkable. As pointed out they are prepped so they are very clear and the treble in my mind is often too bright. Of the models I prefer the 278 to the 308, the 278 seems to hang together better and from the ones I've played it seemed like it had more power and colour. I've liked a number of the 218s I've played, especially if they've received some local service work to balance the wonderful bass with a richer treble. While the pianos are all prepped in a very specific way, it appears as if they can be prepped across a wide spectrum. As many have stated, they wouldn't be my first choice - but I wouldn't complain if someone wanted to gift one to me :-).

Not to me. I tuned a 308 and a CFIIIs the same afternoon once, and I preferred the Yamaha. The Fazioli had a nice action, though.

I should have said Yamaha C series on steroids.

Among concert grands, I've probably played the Fazioli F278 more than any other, and it's second only to the Bösendorfer Imperial 290 in my estimation (though they're very different beasts), in terms of what it feels like to play, its responsiveness to touch and basically, what I can do with it. However I've never had the chance to play the F308.

Steinway D has its own coloration and character which is almost ubiquitous because most concert pianists play it, but I prefer the Fazioli's purer tone with its stronger fundamentals; however, it's easy to understand that people brought up on the Steinway sound may find the Fazioli's relative lack of 'built-in color' somewhat disappointing. But listen to a great pianist play it and you'll see what it can do. Nikolai Demidenko recorded his first Bach/Busoni CD on Steinway D and his second on Fazioli F278 for Hyperion: listen to both and you'll understand why he changed piano for the later recording......

Off Topic, but here is the exact same model of Story & Clark, no Stonetone, with a moderate effort at prep. Had we recorded more low bass, the recording would have revealed more limitations of this piano, but I think it does show that it is hard to demonstrate a single "feature" on any machine as complicated as a piano.
[video:youtube]WbgD2KM6GOY[/video]