Rare and Remarkable Piano to be Debuted at TCU Place

thomas pianoOn Saturday, November 22nd, award winning Canadian celebrity pianist Thomas Yu will perform on a Fazioli piano made by hand in Italy and valued at $260,000. This will be the first time a Fazioli appears at TCU place. The rare piano is being loaned from Lipnicki Fine Pianos in Calgary and transported to Saskatoon for Yu’s guest appearance with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra. World renowned piano technician Michael Lipnicki will travel with the Fazioli to ensure it is in perfect form for Yu’s performance.

Thomas Yu was born and raised in Saskatoon. While studying piano Yu earned his DMD with Great Distinction from the University of Saskatchewan and his Masters Degree in Periodontics at the University of Toronto. He now owns a private practice in Calgary and teaches at the Foothills Medical Hospital. Yu has performed in competitions and recitals all over the world, and now joins the list of great Canadian pianists like Angela Hewitt and Louis Lortie to perform on a Fazioli piano.

The Fazioli piano factory was founded in northeastern Italy in 1979 by pianist and engineer Paolo Fazioli who set out to make the world’s finest pianos in a corner of his parents furniture factory.  Fazioli pianos take nearly three years of person-hours to build, and have many parts plated in 18k gold to prevent corrosion.  The soundboard wood, which is at the heart of the piano, is carved from the same trees in northern Italy that Antonio Stradivari harvested for his famous violins. Today pianists, around the world, are requesting Fazioli pianos for their performances because of the incredible expression and colour in their tone.


Thomas Yu will perform Mozart’s beloved Piano Concerto 21. The concert will be lead by guest conductor Adam Johnson, a longtime friend of Yu. Johnson will also conduct the orchestra in Brahms’s tribute to Haydn and close the evening with Haydn’s delightful “Farewell” Symphony.

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