Luxury cars, fashion and real estate are all the norm in Metro Vancouver. Now Vancouver is the number one seller of a piano so expensive most of us could never afford it. It’s the Fazioli, starting at about $150,000.
More were sold here in 2015 than the whole United States, all of Germany and all of China.
There’s a lot of money in Vancouver and talent as well, like eight-year-old XinYi Wang, whose parents bought her a $190,000 Fazioli to play. Now she needs no encouragement to practice. In just four years XinYi has mastered the instrument and won awards. Her picture sits on display in the show room of Showcase Pianos in Richmond.
"The parents want to give them the best tool possible for success," explained Showcase owner Manuel Bernaschek.
Last year, Showcase sold 14 Fazioli’s, making the store the number one seller in the world. There is still one that rare $535,000 Bernaschek that hasn’t sold. The Fazioli grand sits behind a red velvet rope.
"It's completely covered in 24-carat gold leaf," Bernaschek said.
So what makes the Fazioli so special? One of Bernaschek’s customers, award winning Calgary pianist and periodontist Thomas Yu, summed it up for CTV News.
"Its ability to create color in all levels of sound. So, it's not just a piano that can play soft and loud,” said Yu. "It's just perfectly balanced top to bottom."
The pianos are handcrafted and custom made in Sacile, Italy, by pianist and engineer Paulo Fazioli. He’s been making the grand and concert grand pianos since 1981.
They use the finest materials. The soundboard wood comes from the same forest in Italy where Stradivarius got his wood for his violin, so acoustically it's the most superior soundboard wood in the world," Bernaschek added.
However, you don’t have to be rich or famous to get a chance to play a Fazioli. There’s a Fazioli grand at the Telus Garden in downtown Vancouver and we’re told the public can play it as long as it’s treated with respect.
