ZOFO to Perform Songs from Newest Album at The Kitchen, 5/10

Grammy-nominated Steinway Artist Ensemble ZOFO performs duet works from their critically-acclaimed album, ZOFO Plays Terry Riley (released May 2015), including pieces written by Terry Riley for four-hands piano: "Etude from the Old Country," "Waltz for Charismas," "Cinco de Mayo," and "Half-Wolf Dances Mad in Moonlight." The duo will also present world premieres of self-commissioned works by rising star composers Katherine Balch and Dylan Mattingly along with work by David Lang and Urmas Sisask. ZOFO has received high praise from The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Baltimore Sun and The San Francisco Chronicle among other major outlets. Additionally, ZOFO Plays Terry Riley was chosen by Gramophone Magazine as one of the publication's favorite recordings of 2015.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at www.thekitchen.org; by phone at 212.255.5793 x11; or in person at The Kitchen (512 West 19th Street), Tuesdays - Saturdays, 2:00 -6:00 P.M. This event is organized as part of "From Minimalism into Algorithm" by Tim Griffin and Katy Dammers.

Since joining forces as a professional duo in 2009, internationally acclaimed solo pianists Eva-Maria Zimmerman and Keisuke Nakagoshi - ZOFO - have electrified audiences from Carnegie Hall to Tokyo 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 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. They believe 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 is at it again, this time with a stunning all Terry Riley album which includes original compositions, arrangements and a special commission by the duet. It is quite evident in this music that the composer and the performers were personally engaged in the making of this electrifying project. From the very beginning, Terry Riley worked in collaboration with ZOFO in the making of this album. Mr. Riley himself said: "There is nothing quite like hearing the full 8 octaves of a piano sounding in all its orchestral richness." He certainly makes full use of the sounds of the piano in the pieces originally written for piano-four-hands, from The Heaven Ladder, Book 5, which include the varying "Cinco de Mayo," "Jaztine," "Waltz for Charismas," "Tango Doble Ladiado,"and "Etude From the Old Country." Keisuke arranged "G Song" and "Half-Wolf Dances Mad in Moonlight," which were originally composed for the Kronos Quartet, and Eva arranged "Simone's Lullaby," originally for solo piano. The arrangements were both challenging and fun to create, but ZOFO managed to keep the transparency and flavor of Riley's originals while exemplifying the unique potential for four-hand piano. The "Praying Mantis Rag" was composed especially for ZOFO, and actively illustrates their vibrant character as a duet.