Project
The MARIO FENINGER LEGACY PROJECT professionally documents, in video, the extraordinary skill, insights and techniques of the great pianist, Mario Feninger. The result is a package of four marketable, high quality DVDs and Internet downloads that every aficionado, student and teacher of music and piano will want to own.

Funding
This cost of this year-long project is $101,028. It is under the fiscal sponsorship of the Foundation for Advancements in Science & Education (FASE), a Nonprofit Corporation with offices in Pasadena, California. It is FASE’s desire to assist in the preservation of these unique artistic teachings and is consistent with its mission in the area of education. Donations are tax-deductible.

Producer
Mario has selected fellow artist and experienced award-winning documentary filmmaker, Tom Solari, to produce this series of videos. Mr. Solari’s dedication and interest in this project stems from a forty year friendship with Mario and having shared a performance stage with him on many occasions, as well as having a deep respect for Mario the individual and his musical accomplishments.

Purpose of the Project
Though he plays like an amazing young genius, Mario is ninety years old. And while the fact of his age makes his performance all the more remarkable, it has been a concern to him that his lifetime of research and achievement could be lost to posterity if a video documentary project is not undertaken immediately. Further, he sees this project as the key to expanding his teaching, performing and sales of his recordings, so he can continue his work through his later years.

The Idea
Mario wants to do a project which visually documents his insights and techniques, and at the same time provides him with vital promotional tools and additional marketable products. Unless one has the opportunity to view a performance by Mario, one cannot fully imagine the impact of his quality of communication and technical expertise. Students must be able to see the unique physical techniques he demonstrates and describes, and this series of videos accomplishes that.

Market
Born in Cairo, Egypt, Mario is known in Europe and the Far East as well as the U.S. One of his students flies in from Tokyo for lessons. Mario has a reputation among concert pianists as a problem solver, often correcting debilitating errors in technique which, uncorrected, could end a career. With the numbers of piano teachers, schools and students who are now reachable via the Internet, the market is nearly unlimited. During the production phase of this project, a companion project will be engaged in to make Mario and his videos well known and sought after throughout the world.

For the Ages
Mario Feninger has long been recognized as a true Master in his field. He is an extraordinary classical pianist, currently playing with more skill and verve than at any time in his long and distinguished career. He is also a uniquely gifted composer, humanitarian and teacher who, after decades of research and performing, is able to demonstrate and communicate remarkable insights into music, piano technique and life. Benefactors who finance this project will, themselves, secure a place in musical history for having supported this worthwhile and far-reaching endeavor.

Phase One – Video of “Music Research & Piano Technique” will document and demonstrate Mario’s in-depth research into piano technique and the field of music itself.

¨       This video footage will be compiled into an instructional video and made available to music teachers, students and aficionados of music and piano.

¨       Key basics of Mario’s tremendous insights into the subjects of music and piano technique will become available for broad dissemination.

¨       The video will be approximately 60 minutes in length.

¨       Students everywhere will be able to see  the unique physical techniques he demonstrates.

¨       The “Music Research & Piano Technique” Video will be made available via his Website and other appropriate outlets

Phase Two – Video of “Chopin Etudes – Part I” will feature something unique in the world of music.

Mario is one of three or four living pianists who are capable of effectively playing all 27 of the etudes of Chopin.   And he plays them with such mastery, feeling and understanding, that Mario Feninger may well be the foremost living interpreter of these works.

In addition to his masterful rendering of the etudes, Mario introduces each piece with an insightful explanation as to Chopin’s purpose in composing it, each etude being an exercise in, and requiring the development of, a particular piano technique or skill.

¨       This video will be shot in a recording studio, or comparable setting, for maximum sound quality.

¨       It will capture the unique effect of focusing the audience’s attention on the key facet of each individual etude, followed by Mario’s riveting performance of the piece.

¨       Mario’s introduction to each etude places the piece in context, much as if Chopin himself was explaining it to you, greatly multiplying the appreciation and enjoyment of the piece.  

¨       The Chopin Etudes - Part I video will be approximately 60 minutes in length, and will include 7 or more of Mario’s favorites of the etudes.

¨       There will eventually be multiple videos in the Chopin Etudes Collection.

¨       The video of Mario Feninger performing Chopin’s etudes, complete with his enlightening introductions, will be a treasure that every serious student of the piano will want to own, and can also be offered as a staple to music schools and piano instructors the world over.

Phase Three – Video of “Salon Concert” – plus Website Upgrade

A video will be produced of a unique Salon Concert, set in the aesthetic charm of Mario’s own Hollywood home, where he will entertain and perform for a select audience of close associates, friends and admirers.

¨       This work will capture the allure of Mario’s playful personality and remarkable skills, revealing a priceless jewel “hidden in plain sight,” heretofore accessible only to a favored few.

¨       We will discover fascinating stories from his rich life, and see the Maestro in action. 

¨       It will be approximately 60 minutes in length.

¨       It can be utilized for immediate promotional purposes and made available as a DVD or Internet download.

Phase Four – “Mario Feninger” Documentary Video will be a compilation of selected material from the first three phases.  This final documentary will have major promotional value in its presentation of the life and works of this great artist.

¨       It will be 50 minutes in length, suitable for television broadcast

¨       This video will be designed and edited as a life documentary, biographical in nature.

¨       It will feature outstanding performance selections that demonstrate Mario’s astounding abilities as a pianist.

¨       It will include interview footage of Mario, both the man and the artist, giving us a sense of the spectrum of his rich wisdom, humor, humanity and life experiences.

¨       Interview footage of close peers, students, friends and admirers will be included.

¨       It will provide a thrust for Mario into the world spotlight and expand possibilities of concert bookings and continuing sales of Mario’s other Video, DVD, CD and literary products.

¨       It will be available as part of the Mario Feninger Legacy Video Collection.

It is fitting and proper that everything possible be done to express appreciation to this great artist and assist him in attaining his dreams for the culture.