Pianist Lang Lang a Sellout

This week I’ve been in the Lower Mainland with my wife Pat as she adjudicates piano examinations for the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto. One evening looking at the local concert listings we lucked out. Only a few steps from our hotel, at the Orpheum Theatre on Granville, the Chinese-born classical pianist Lang Lang (pronounced Long Long) was performing. Getting tickets proved a bit of a scramble. With BC’s large Asian population centred in the lower mainland, anytime the brilliant pianist plays Vancouver tickets are as scarce as hen’s teeth. 

In China Lang Lang enjoys megastar status and is an inspirational icon for over 40-million school age youngsters currently taking classical piano lessons in the country. Add to this total another 90 million learning other instruments, and such figures become staggering when taking into account that the entire population of Canada is pegged at somewhere around 34 million souls. 

Meanwhile in this province we continue treating cultural endeavors as expendable. Government funding for the arts in BC is cancelled at whim, a thoughtless practice that can lay waste an entire generation of talented artists. 

In an interview before Lang Lang’s Vancouver concert, the pianist stated: “a generation ago people used to worry that classical music would eventually die out, but now we know this is definitely not the case. The tradition has been invigorated by Asian performers”. Regretfully the ever-shifting politics governing arts funding in this province will guarantee many of our most talented citizens will not be part of this renaissance. 

My blog last week regarding Glenn Gould’s search for the perfect Steinway piano sparked a number of responses. Reader Don Cox emailed a story about the whereabouts of Glenn Gould’s “other” piano, a small grand made in 1895 by the Boston-based firm Chickering. Purchased by Gould in 1957, he used the piano to practice on for his U.S. debut. He loved the piano’s touch but because of its small size it was unsuitable for the concert stage. 

Don Cox grew up in Port Alberni and after graduating from the ADSS music program he went on to play bass and tuba with Canadian Forces bands across the country. Don wrote that the piano “was given to the Canadian Government, and it’s in Rideau Hall (Gov Gen's residence in Ottawa), in the main Ballroom where all the ceremonial occasions take place. When I was serving with the Central Band of the Canadian Forces (Air Force band in Ottawa) we had a String Quintet (2 violins, viola, cello and piano) and a Jazz Quartet that alternated playing the ceremonial functions in Rideau Hall (and there were a lot of them !!!! ). With either group the Gould piano, as it was known, was used. We never knew who was going to be at these functions. When it had to do with the Arts (awards and such) it was especially interesting to see who would be there.

We had a pretty good piano player with us then, and I remember on one occasion when we were there with the jazz quartet, he looked up after finishing his solos, and there at the end of the piano, sitting in his wheelchair, was Oscar Peterson. Oscar just nodded and said "nice work son" and rolled away. Good thing he didn't know he was there before!”

Sky-Training around the Lower Mainland this week I’ve had the opportunity to play on many different pianos – namely Yamaha and Steinway Grands. However there is a relative newcomer in the high-end piano world. One day I visited the Showcase Pianos store at Aberdeen Centre in Richmond. Showcase Pianos is one of a limited number of outlets in Canada for an Italian made piano called Fazioli. The company was started in1978 by Paolo Fazioli in a village northeast of Venice called Sacile. A trained mechanical engineer as well as a musician, Fazioli set about reinventing the modern piano. Assembling a skilled team of acoustic engineers, wood- workers and piano makers, the first prototype was produced in 1981. Still a boutique business, the company produces only 120 pianos each year entirely by hand.

In producing a superior piano sound, one of the most important parts of the instrument is the sounding board. In Fazioli pianos the wood comes from the same trees as Stradivarius violins - red spruce from Val di Fiemme in the Italian Alps. Over a period of three years, the timber is transformed in a laborious process that includes a natural drying period taking between six months and a year.

As you might guess, such a defined process pushes the price of these high-end pianos into the stratosphere. When the Vancouver dealership opened in 2007, the owner hoped to sell two or three Fazioli pianos each year; instead, he’s managed to sell 30. If cost is a factor, the store suggests you look elsewhere. How does an average price tag of $225,000 (before HST) grab you? Want an even better model? The Fazioli piano below is tagged at $450,000.

PHOTO (above) A Fazioli piano at the Aberdeen Centre in Richmond.  Fazioli built what may be the most futuristic-looking grand piano ever made. The piano is designed to be used aboard a yacht with a unique leg that is permanently fixed to the floor in case of rough seas.

PHOTO (above): For the Olympics last year, Tom Lee Music and Steinway created a one‐of‐a‐kind art project in the form of a Steinway concert grand piano decorated by Haida artist Jay Simeon. The piano named Kuniisii - Music & Mythology is valued at more than $500,000 and joins Steinway’s collection of Art Case pianos, which have been created by artisans the world over since 1857. In this case, Jay Simeon used acrylic paint made from ground argillite – a type of stone found only in the Queen Charlotte Islands of BC. A fitting theme for the piano, his creation features Kuniisii, the supernatural being who gave the Haida people songs and music.

PHOTO (above): Pat has been examining ARCT Performance and Piano Pedagogy exams this week on the Lower Mainland with Toronto colleague Dr. Chris Foley. Chris introduced us to some wonderful Chinese Cuisine in Richmond. 

If you’re a pianist you should check out his blog at

http://collaborativepiano.blogspot.com/ 

Closing Chord: 

As a member of the BC Choral Federation Advocacy Network, I’ve been asked to pass along information regarding the government’s recent decision to prohibit adult performing arts groups from applying for Lottery Grants. Historically, charity has been used as the leverage to gain public acceptance of gambling. It started out simply enough with a few charity bingos and some pull-tab lottery tickets operated and sold by the charities themselves. Later, as most British Columbian’s are aware, the whole process grew and was taken over by the government. Over the years the percentage of proceeds dedicated to charity have shrunk from 100% (1969) to 50% (1985) to 33.3% (1999) to less than 10% (2010). Simply put, as a person who for over 20 years promoted charity gambling in order to raise funding for art’s groups, I feel totally betrayed.

However, it comes as no surprise. Now that we’re in the midst of a B.C. Liberal Leadership race, some of the candidates are promising to restore arts grant funding if elected. I am not holding my breath. One thing I’ve learned about B.C politics in the last few years is that honesty is a rare commodity. 

JAZZ NIGHT: A reminder that The Griffith/Hiltz Trio from Toronto is performing in the Alberni District Secondary School Auditorium on Tuesday evening (Feb 2nd). Student groups get things underway at 7pm. Admission by Donation.