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Two pianists playing one piano at Coastal Concerts Oct. 21

October 5, 2017

Coastal Concerts begins its 2017-18 season of world-class, classical music with internationally acclaimed pianists Eva-Maria Zimmermann and Keisuke Nakagoshi who perform together as ZOFO at 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 21, at Bethel United Methodist Church Hall, Fourth and Market streets, Lewes.

This electrifying duo has been dazzling audiences from Carnegie Hall to Tokyo with their artistry and outside-the-box thematic programming. They are one of only a handful of duos worldwide devoted exclusively to piano duets, and are 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 The Rite of Spring (which they will be performing at this concert), 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. 

Formed in 2009, ZOFO has received two Grammy nominations, both in 2013, for their debut CD “Mind Meld,” one in the category for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance and the other for Producer of the Year, Classical. ZOFO has been recognized as a Steinway Artist Ensemble, and in 2010 took first place honors in the Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition. 

ZOFO's concert programs often incorporate a unifying theme that connects the pieces, both musically and historically. Several of these thematic programs have been released worldwide as critically acclaimed CDs under Sono Luminous Records. In addition to The Rite of Spring, this upcoming concert will include Prelude to Afternoon of a Faun composed by Claude Debussy and arranged by Maurice Ravel, and works by Gustav Holst, Terry Riley, Keyla Orozco and Urmas Sisask.

Pianist Keisuke Nakagoshi is pianist-in-residence at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Nakagoshi has performed as a soloist to acclaim on prestigious concert stages across the United States, including the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. He has received training from some of the most celebrated musicians of our time: Emanuel Ax, Gilbert Kalish, Menahem Pressler, Robert Mann, Paul Hersh and David Zinman.

Dynamic Swiss pianist Eva-Maria Zimmermann has appeared as a soloist in Europe and the United States. Winner of the prestigious Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship, Zimmermann has appeared at international festivals worldwide, including the Festival Piano en Saintonge in France, the Sommerfestspiele Murten in Switzerland, and San Francisco's Other Minds Festival of New Music. A graduate with highest honors from the Conservatory of Geneva, she has studied with many distinguished musicians: Leon Fleisher, György Sebök, Leonard Hokanson and Dominique Merlet, among others. Zimmermann has been a faculty member of the University of San Francisco and currently teaches in the music program at the Nueva School in Hillsborough, Calif., founded by Sir Yehudi Menuhin.

Tickets are $35, with free admission to young people age 10 to 18 and one accompanying adult with advance reservations made by calling 888-212-6458. Discounted tickets are available for $10 at the door for students 19 and older, and for active-duty and retired career military personnel. Valid IDs are required for student and military discounts.

Coastal Concerts is a nonprofit organization committed to promoting classical music appreciation through live concerts, outreach and educational activities by presenting word-class musicians in public concerts. Coastal Concerts' programs are made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency committed to promoting and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The division promotes arts events on delawarescene.com.

Additional information about Coastal Concerts, its upcoming season, and volunteer opportunities is available at coastalconcerts.org or by calling 1-888-212-6458.

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