Duo Zeffiretti was founded in 2019 by Maayan Licht (sopranista) and Guy Maori (harpsichord). The duo specializes in historically-informed performance of music of the 17th and 18th centuries. Their name (translated as "soft breezes") was inspired by an aria which had been composed by Vivaldi and was one of the first pieces that they worked on together. In February 2020, Duo Zeffiretti won both prizes of the Grachtenfestival Conservatorium Competition – the jury prize and the audience prize. As a duo, Maayan and Guy were educated by harpsichordists Menno van Delft, Kris Verhelst and Alessandro Pianu and vocalists Xenia Meijers and Emma Kirkby. Maayan and Guy are studying individually in the Master's program of the Early Music department at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.
The wonders of nature have been an inspiration to art since the beginning of time. In music, nature becomes a frequently used metaphor when referring to beauty, love and divinity. In recent years, the image of nature has been painted rather darkly with the shadow of the climate crisis. This program, celebrating nature, is designed to remind us how beautiful it is, the essential contribution to our lives and our responsibility to care for nature.