ZOFO Piano Duet

Friday, March 21 at
8 pm Cabrillo Samper Recital Hall

Internationally acclaimed solo pianists Eva Maria Zimmermann and Keisuke Nakagoshi together as ZOFO have electrified audiences from Carnegie Hall to Osaka Japan with their dazzling artistry and outside the box thematic programming for piano four hands. This Grammy nominated, prize winning Steinway Artist Ensemble one of only a handful of duos worldwide devoted exclusively to piano duets is blazing a bold new path for piano four hands groups by focusing on 20th and 21st century repertoire and by commissioning new works from noted composers each year.

ZOFO, which is shorthand for 20 finger orchestra (ZO=20 and FO=finger orchestra), also performs heart pumping duet arrangements of famous orchestral pieces such as Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring,” exploring the realms in which many composers first experienced their symphonic visions.

Program:

George Gershwin (1898-1937): Cuban Overture (1932)
Allen Shawn (b.1948): Three Dance Portraits (1994)
Samuel Barber (1910-1981): Souvenirs Op.28 (1951)
Urmas Sisask (b. 1960): The Milky Way
Gustav Holst (1874-1935): The Planets excerpts (Mars, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter)

Eva and Keisuke are sincerely grateful to the amazing fans, family, and arts granting organizations who have made it possible for them to commission and perform new duet works each year, including their first major commissions from acclaimed composers Gabriela Lena Frank and Allen Shawn. Based in San Francisco, California, ZOFO is a fiscally sponsored Affiliate of The San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music.

Dynamic Swiss pianist Eva-Maria Zimmermann maintains a robust career in Europe and the United States, offering performances that are “breathtakingly intense” (Der Bund) and “passionate and deeply expressive” (Berner Oberlander). Her solo appearances involve recitals as well as concerto performances with major symphonies, including the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.

Keisuke Nakagoshi began his piano studies at the age of ten, arriving in the United States from Japan at the age of 18. Mr. Nakagoshi earned his Bachelors degree in Composition and Masters degree in Chamber Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Graduating as the recipient of multiple top awards, Keisuke was selected to represent the SFCM for the Kennedy Center’s Conservatory Project, a program featuring the most promising young musicians from major conservatories across the United States.

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Tickets: $30 general
$25 senior
$20 for students 
$10 for music students