Poster ZOFO piano duo
Eva-Maria Zimmermann and Keisuke Nakagoshi comprise the piano duo ZOFO.
courtesy the artists

ZOFO celebrates Terry Riley's 80th Birthday

ZOFO celebrates Terry Riley's 80th birthday

American composer Terry Riley is known as one of the fathers of a musical style called minimalism.

His 1964 piece titled In C is considered one the first "minimalist" compositions, and it changed the landscape of classical music in the 20th century.

Terry Riley turns 80 on Wednesday, June 24, and during this hour of Learning to Listen, you'll learn more about minimalism. You'll also hear from the piano duo ZOFO, who just finished recording Terry Riley's complete collection of piano duets.

The pianists in ZOFO are Eva-Maria Zimmermann and Keisuke Nakagoshi. ZOFO means "twenty-fingered orchestra": ZO looks like the numeral 20, and FO stands for "Fingered Orchestra."

Over the course of his career, Terry Riley composed about 45 minutes worth of music for piano duet. To fill out the recording, ZOFO arranged other compositions Riley wrote for string quartet, Half-Moon Dances Mad In Moonlight and G Song.

Riley's iconic In C consists of 53 musical phrases, each of which is numbered. The first recording of In C had 11 musicians, although it can be played by more than 100 people at a time. This video of In C features Bang on a Can.

Program Playlist

Terry Riley
Tango Doble Ladiado
ZOFO
Sono Luminus 92189

Terry Riley
Cinco de Mayo
ZOFO
Sono Luminus 92189

Terry Riley
G Song
ZOFO
Sono Luminus 92189

Terry Riley
The Cusp of Magic: Royal Wedding
Kronos Quartet
Nonesuch 360508

Terry Riley
Etude in the Old Country
ZOFO
Sono Luminus 92189

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