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Keisuke Nakagoshi :: 88+ Piano Series

May 22, 2027 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Keisuke Nakagoshi closes our  88+ Contemporary Piano Series 2026-27 season with more than seventy years of American piano music. In Mason Bates’s hands, the piano conjures fragments of blues before we hear a field recording made by Alan Lomax himself. Morton Feldman, best known for the extraordinary length of his later works, offers a surprise in his early Nature Pieces. All five movements together last about 15 minutes.

Samuel Adams draws on Schubert and explores how several rhythms can ripple across the keyboard at once. The evening ends with Samuel Barber’s headlong fugue, its voices chasing one another to the final chord.

Mason Bates (b. 977) — White Lies for Lomax (2007) culturaldistrict-
Morton Feldman (1926 – 1987) — Nature Pieces (1951, approx. 15 minutes)
Samuel Adams (b. 1985) — Études (2023)
Samuel Adams (b. 1985) — Impromptu No. 2: After Schubert (2015)
Samuel Barber (1910 – 1981) — Piano Sonata in E-flat minor, Op. 26 (1947–1949)

Pianist Keisuke Nakagoshi studied with Emanuel Ax, Gilbert Kalish, Menahem Pressler, and Paul Hersh and has performed on concert stages across the US, including the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and the Hollywood Bowl. In 2009, Mr. Nakagoshi and Swiss pianist Eva-Maria Zimmermann formed the piano duo ZOFO, and their first CD was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble. He made his solo debut with the San Francisco Symphony performing Ingvar Lidholm’s Poesis with Herbert Blomstedt conducting. Mr. Nakagoshi is currently Pianist-in-Residence at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and serves as pianist on the production team for Opera Parallèle and West Edge Opera, and he is also a member of San Francisco Contemporary Music Players.

88+ Contemporary Piano Series.

From December through May, seven pianists present five programs exploring what one or two pianos can do. The series focuses on contemporary American music, with room for two-piano duets, the percussive sounds of John Cage’s prepared piano, and works in which the pianist’s playing shapes the images on screen. Our intimate studio, home to Bösendorfer and Baldwin concert grands, lets you experience it all up close.

All performances begin at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, December 5, 2026 — Cahill-Myers Duo
Sarah Cahill and Regina Myers open the series with the world premiere of Theresa Wong’s Bodywork (2026), alongside works by Meredith Monk, Juan Sebastián Cardona-Ospina, Eleanor Alberga, and David Borden.

Saturday, January 30, 2027 — Clara Yang
Clara Yang pairs her own music with works by Reena Esmail, Lee Weisert, Stephen Anderson, Liliya Ugay, Philip Glass, Allen Anderson, and Christopher Cerrone.

Saturday, March 20 & Sunday, March 21, 2027 — Hadley McCarroll
Hadley McCarroll performs John Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano (1946–1948). Choose either evening to hear the complete work.

Saturday, April 24, 2027 — Vicki Ray & Aron Kallay
Vicki Ray and Aron Kallay share a duo program featuring works by Dylan Mattingly, Paul Dresher, and John Luther Adams.

Saturday, May 22, 2027 — Keisuke Nakagoshi
Keisuke Nakagoshi closes the series with a solo recital of works by Mason Bates, Morton Feldman, Samuel Adams, and Samuel Barber.

Ticket Options:

Choose an individual performance or a discounted series pass at checkout. The five-concert pass includes December 5, January 30, one Hadley McCarroll performance of your choice (March 20 or 21), April 24, and May 22. Select the March date when choosing your pass.

Individual tickets are available for all six performances, including separate tickets for Hadley McCarroll’s March 20 and March 21 concerts.

 

Location: Dresher Ensemble Studio, 2201 Poplar Street Oakland, CA United States