Luca Fazioli Visits Lewis & Clark College

Luca Fazioli, son of piano maker Paolo Fazioli, visited Lewis & Clark’s Agnes Flanagan Chapel in June 2022 to inspect the aging process of our 2012 Fazioli piano.

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Luca Fazioli plays Lewis & Clark's Fazioli piano in the Agnes Flanagan Chapel

Accompanied by Mitch Paola, owner of Portland Piano Company, and Music Department Chair Susan Smith, Luca removed the piano’s keyboard, and thoroughly inspected each hammer, as well as the piano’s soundboard. Luca also polished the brass emblem on the side of the piano, and then played the instrument and listened to its dynamic sound.

The Fazioli company produces around 140 highly-coveted pianos per year, showing great care and attention to detail with each instrument. The soundboard of the Fazioli piano is made with Italian Red Spruce, which grows very slowly and therefore straight, allowing the sound to travel smoothly through the grain of the wood.

In 2015, the Department of Music purchased the instrument from Portland Piano Company (which was the first 9’ Fazioli sold in Oregon), with the help of a generous gift by a trustee. The iconic concert grand piano has been played in countless recitals, ensemble concerts, and weddings, as well as masterclasses by Angela Hewitt (2019) and piano duo Stephanie & Saar (2022).