– General Description:
Eva-Maria Zimmermann and Keisuke Nakagoshi became a piano-four-hands professional duo in 2009. Their stage name of ZOFO is shorthand for 20-finger orchestra (ZO=20 and FO=finger orchestra). GRAMMY-nominated and a prize-winning Steinway Artist Ensemble, ZOFO focuses on 20th and 21st century repertoire and commissions new works from noted composers each year. This album is all Terry Riley compositions. Riley is an American composer who helped launch the Minimalist movement in 1964. (Minimalism is a musical form based on interlocking repetitive patterns that change gradually, creating a certain hypnotic effect. This is not a minimalist album.) Riley’s work is also deeply influenced by both jazz and Indian classical music. While working in collaboration with ZOFO, Riley noted that “There is nothing quite like hearing the full 8 octaves of a piano sounding in all its orchestral richness.” This is, indeed, a very rich and absorbing CD – worthy of both your attention and multiple listenings.

– Recommended Tracks: 5, 7

1. (12:46) Etude From The Old Country - very engaging, you can hear echoes of European folk music all through the piece
2. (8:54) Jaztine - very spiral with embellishments
3. (3:11) Tango Doble Ladiado - off-balance tango as though self-correcting your step as you dance
4. (7:08) Half-Wolf Dances Mad In Moonlight - hard-driving, stomping (Arr. Keisuke Nakagoshi - originally composed for the Kronos Quartet)
5. (5:43) Simone's Lullaby - sad, delicate and lovely (Arr. Eva-Maria Zimmermann - originally for solo piano)
6. (9:31) G Song - arpeggiations and a waltz (Arr. Keisuke Nakagoshi - originally composed for the Kronos Quartet)
7. (3:28) Praying Mantis Rag - a bright and skewed rag, a delight to hear (composed especially for ZOFO)
8. (4:32) Waltz For Charismas - fast-paced and off-kilter
9. (12:27) Cinco De Mayo - forceful and almost military with spooky interludes