Piano duo ZOFO kicks off the spring Horizons Concert Series at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27, in Ashurst Hall.
Since joining forces as a professional ensemble in 2009, internationally acclaimed pianists Eva-Maria Zimmermann and Keisuke Nakagoshi—the piano duo 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 ensemble is among a handful of ensembles worldwide devoted exclusively to piano duos. Zimmermann and Nakagoshi are blazing a bold new path for piano four-hands by focusing on 20th and 21st century repertoire and by commissioning new works from noted composers each year.
ZOFO, which is shorthand for “twenty-finger orchestra” (“ZO” = 20 and “FO” = finger orchestra), also performs 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. Their numerous honors include two Grammy nominations, first prize at the Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition (2010), their Carnegie Hall debut (May 2010) and finalists in the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition (2011).
ZOFO will perform music by Gershwin, Debussy, Corigliano, Urmas Sisask and Carl Vine.
Individual tickets for the Horizons Concert Series are $20 for adults, $12.50 for seniors and NAU faculty and staff, and free for children ages 17 years and younger and NAU students with an ID. For tickets to all events, call (928) 523-5661 or purchase online at nau.edu/cto.