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Here is the concert that Angela Hewitt gave tonight (London Time) at Wigmore Hall, before a reduced audience (because of Covid-19). Interestingly she is playing a Steinway in this all Bach concert. Last time we saw her at Wigmore, a few years ago, she was playing her beloved Fazioli (destroyed in February).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PlN0k-xOQc

Her Fazioli was destroyed in an accident.

There was some discussion a while back about the Wigmore Hall not allowing pianos to be brought in during the current pandemic, so artists would have to use whatever was already there. I don't know if they adopted that policy, but if so she wouldn't have been able to use her piano anyway.

Thanks a lot Astrotoy for posting this video. What a superb pianist she is! Much appreciated.

Thanks for posting! She is a wonderful pianist and such a sweet person. I loved hearing her live, no matter what piano she played.

I'm curious to know as to how her Fazioli was destroyed...?

In Ms. Hewitt's own words:

I feel ready now to share a very sad piece of news. It happened ten days ago, and has been such a shock to me that I didn't immediately want to share it with the world. For the moment I will just write this, and not comment further. At the end of my most recent CD recording sessions (Beethoven Variations in Berlin), when I was so happy with the results and feeling elated, the piano movers came into the control room (where I was finishing up with my producer) to say they had dropped my precious Fazioli concert grand piano. My very own that I have used for all of my CD recordings done in Europe since 2003 (and of course for many concerts). I couldn't believe it. Well yes, it happened, and unfortunately the piano, now that it has been inspected by Ing. Fazioli and his staff, is not salvageable. The iron frame is broken, as well as much else in the structure and action (not to mention the lid and other parts of the case). It makes no sense, financially or artistically, to rebuild this piano from scratch. It's kaputt. The movers of course were mortified. In 35 years of doing their job, this had never happened before. At least nobody was hurt.

Her quote and the following discussion on PW's Piano Forum can be found in this thread:

http://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/2945742/1.html

Regards,

"Piano Heaven" , 😥 , 💐💐 💐

Thanks Bruce - I had no idea that this had happened. I can't imagine how Hewitt felt hearing that news... I'd be distraught for one! Question is though: how did the movers manage to drop a concert grand?

My guess is that they’re human and made a mistake. Heavy objects like to fall where they may and there is not a lot that can be done when they fall the wrong way. I had to close my eyes when two guys wrestled my light 660lb upright up the steps and into my front door, I can’t imagine wrestling with a lot heavier object like a Fazioli grand. What did it weigh?

"Piano Heaven"?

What do they do to pianos in the Other Place? Seems like a hard performance to encore.

She played a Steinway when I heard her in San Francisco, several years ago, pre-dating the accident. For a single-night engagement on a weekday, she filled up a very large hall. I had hoped to hear her perform on the Fazioli, but figured that for shorter engagements it may not have made much sense to bring it to every venue.

Alas, parting is the way of the world, but, these things happen. I believe she will learn to love her new Fazioli. At that, I am glad it was not she who was dropped by the movers, breaking the frame, case, keyboard, and no doubt, the soundboard and action. That is, if I had to pick one or another.

Angela Hewitt plays pianos other than Fazioli relatively often. Fazioli is her favourite and they will do what they can do get a Fazioli to her if she wants one, but sometimes it's just not feasible to take the piano. It'll depend on many things - the location of the concert, the timetable for the piano movers, the fee for the concert: Yes, Angela Hewitt is a big star who regularly receives a five figure sum or more for her playing, but sometimes she plays for a more modest fee if she's introducing a new programme or she's perhaps just stopping in to a small theatre to run a programme before playing it somewhere else like the RFH, and in that case it's not always worth having a piano delivered to the venue. She played in Scotland quite a bit about 10 years ago, and at that time three or four of the large halls there had just bought new Steinway Ds, and since they were excellent she didn't see the point in taking the Fazioli although she has taken the Fazioli to the Edinburgh Festival but that's different since it's such a major gig usually accompanied by a broadcast of the concert.

The pianos in the Wigmore Hall are actually particularly good, they have Ulrich at Steinway Hall just around the corner who regularly services the pianos, and they're sold on after a maximum of ten years or less, so they're always in wonderful condition, matched nicely to the hall. I know Faziolis have been in the Wigmore before, as have Bechsteins both new and old, but sometimes it's just better to use the house piano if it's a good one.

It's sad that her piano was dropped, but actually 17 years old is getting on for retirement age for a concert grand piano, although it would have been nice if it wasn't destroyed..... It has echoes of Glenn Gould, oddly enough.

Thanks for the details on Angela. When we last heard her in a solo concert at Wigmore, a decade or so ago, she had her Fazioli. However, IIRC, we heard her in a chamber concert at Wigmore maybe five years ago and I don't remember that she played her Fazioli, probably it was a Wigmore Steinway. Makes sense, since it was a chamber concert.

I do recall her taking a Fazioli to the Wigmore once upon a time, and I think I've seen Trifonov do the same.

All of the times I saw Angela play in New York, she had her Fazioli.

Goodness, I wonder how Trifonov’s New York neighbors are holding up under his pandemic practice schedule, lol.

I’m kind of glad we’re out of the NYC apartment because now nobody can complain about the noise. One next door neighbor was all excited we got a new piano, and when I asked if it was loud and she said she could not hear it. Bravo!

Of course, how could she accept to play on a NY Steinway???

I think he moved to Connecticut. Recently had a baby.

Did he? A very talented man!