One piano, four hands
Since joining forces as a professional piano duo in 2009, Eva-Maria Zimmermann and Keisuke Nakagoshi of ZOFO have electrified audiences from Carnegie Hall to Tokyo with their dazzling artistry and outside- the-box thematic programming for one-piano-four-hands. One of the few duos worldwide devoted exclusively to piano duets, this Grammy-nominated, prize-winning Steinway Artist ensemble is blazing a bold new path by focusing on 20th- and 21st-century repertoire and 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. ZOFO believes that the piano duet is the most intimate form of chamber music, with two musicians playing individual parts on one instrument in a complex, often beautiful choreography of four hands.
ZOFO’s concert programs often incorporate a unifying theme that connects the works both musically and historically. Several of these thematic programs have been released worldwide as critically acclaimed commercial CDs under their multi-disc recording contract with Sono Luminus Records. Their 2013 debut, Mind Meld, was Grammy-nominated for Best Chamber Music and Small Ensemble Performance.
Winner of the Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition, ZOFO made its Carnegie Hall debut in 2010. At the 2011 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition, ZOFO was the only piano duo to be elevated to the final round. Since then, ZOFO has performed across Europe, Japan, Australia and the U.S. Committed to contemporary music, ZOFO has commissioned more than 30 works by noted composers including Pulitzer Prize-winner William Bolcom, Gabriela Lena Frank, Terry Riley, Akira Nishimura, Carl Vine, Pawel Mykietyn, Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, and many others.
The Lied Center commissioned a new work by internationally renowned composer Gabriela Lena Frank in honor of Dave and Gunda Hiebert, which ZOFO will premiere at this recital.
