Gear: Replica of 1845 Pleyel piano.
Appearing in: “Monsieur Chopin,” Royal George Theatre.
More Top Picks Accommodative Dysfunction Signs Your Childs Eyes Cant Focus
When Hershey Felder set out to portray Frederic Chopin in a one-man play at the Royal George, he knew that he needed a piano that looked and sounded like the 1845 Pleyel instrument played by the Polish pianist and composer.
“They were made out of brown wood and were very delicate and played so lightly that you barely have to breathe on the instrument for it to make noise,” Felder says. He knew, however, that he didn’t want it to sound like Chopin’s original piano today. It’s preserved in Poland.
“I played his instrument in the Chopin Society Museum in Warsaw when I was doing research and it isn’t in very good shape, so the bass sounded higher than the treble,” he recalls.
Felder found an 1845 Pleyel in good condition in Massachusetts–but decided against using it. “The older ones are magical in a small room, but they are so delicate that they have to be tuned every 15 or 20 minutes,” he says. In addition, the contemporary Pleyels are black and the style has changed.
Then Thomas Zoells, president of PianoForte Chicago, suggested a hand-crafted, Italian-made Fazioli piano that had a sound similar to the Pleyel. “Fazioli focuses on producing a long, sustained sound with great clarity and a broad range of volume, and a lot of color and a very responsive action,” Zoells says.
Fazioli only produces 100 of the pianos a year–which would’ve meant a six-month wait to have one custom-made for Felder–but fortunately Zoells lent him one.
Since the Fazioli was black, Zoells suggested covering it with a “skin” that had the look of beautifully grained brown wood.
With the help of a computer, the wood of Chopin’s piano in Warsaw was photographically reproduced on large sheets with a sticky backing. Pieces were cut out and applied to the black Fazioli to create the appearance of a 1845 Pleyel.
“The action of the keys of the Fazioli when you push down with your fingers is a little bit more difficult to manage than with a Steinway, which always reacts the same way, because with the Fazioli you have such a full palette of color options,” Felder explains. “No matter what I do on a given night, I know I can re-attack the next time and make it even better because, with the Fazioli, there is always room to remain creative.”
———-
“Monsieur Chopin,” open run, Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted St., $35-$39.50; 312-988-9000.