LondonClassicalConcerts

Wigmore Hall, 9-May-2018 / 19:30

• Bach:
  • 6 Little Preludes BWV933-938
  • Sonata in C major BWV966
  • Toccatas in:
    • G minor BWV915
    • C minor BWV911
  • English Suite No. 5 in E minor BWV810

Wigmore Hall, 9-Feb-2018 / 19:30

• Bach:
  • Sonata in A minor after Reinken BWV965
  • Toccata in D major BWV912
  • English Suites:
    • No. 3 in G minor BWV808
    • No. 4 in F major BWV809

Mr. Esfahani performed with Jennifer Pike on the 14^th of October 2017 in the Wigmore Hall.

Wigmore Hall, 12-Sep-2017 / 19:30

• Bach:
  • English Suites
    • No. 1 in A major BWV806
    • No. 2 in A minor BWV807
  • Capriccio in E major BWV993
  • Toccatas in
    • F sharp minor BWV910
    • G major BWV916

Wigmore Hall, 21-Dec-2016 / 19:30

• Bach: Goldberg Variations BWV988

Kings Place, 15-Dec-2016 / 19:30

• Programme included:
• Scarlatti: Sonata in D minor for mandolin and basso continuo, K91
• Vivaldi: Trio Sonata in G minor for violin, lute & basso continuo, RV85 (trans. mandolin & harpsichord)
• Mel Powell: Recitative and Toccata percossa
• Avi Avital: Kedma for solo mandolin
• Beethoven: Andante con variazioni in D, WoO44 No. 2
• Couperin ‘Le Grand’: Allemande L’Ausonienne - Passacaille for solo harpsichord (1717)
• Bach: Sonata for violin and harpsichord in G, BWV 1019 (transc. mandolin)

• Mahan Esfahani
• Avi Avital - Mandolin

Royal Over-seas League, 28-Nov-2016 / 19:30

• Bach: Harpsichord Concerto in D Minor BWV 1052 (1738)
• Gorecky: Harpsichord Concerto op. 40 (1980)
• Bartok: Romanian Folk Dances (1915)
• Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence (1892)

Mahan Esfahani, the Iranian-born harpsichordist virtuoso, performed a stirring programme of baroque and contemporary classics at the Royal Overseas League in London, together with the London-based string orchestra Russian Virtuosi of Europe conducted by Yuri Zhislin.

"I am known to the London public as someone who always has a new surprise in store," said Mr. Esfahani. "You cannot predict what I’m going to play or how I’m going to play it, and with the inclusion of both a modern concerto and a concerto from the golden age of the harpsichord I seek to show how ‘contemporary’ a work by someone like Bach is."

"When the harpsichord was taken over by the Early Music movement its relevance as a solo instrument - particularly for contemporary music - got left by the wayside. It’s something that I lament, and my sense of drive comes from the fact that I’m obsessed with my instrument and I want to share that with others. The harpsichord is as relevant as anything else that’s beautiful for a 21st-century audience."

Born in Tehran in 1984, Mr. Esfahani is an award-winning harpsichordist and musicologist who studied at Stanford University in California. His recordings on Hyperion and Deutsche Grammophon have been welcomed with critical acclaim.

Mr. Esfahani was a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, 2008 to 2010, the first harpsichordist to enjoy this honor. In 2009, he received the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, once again the first harpsichordist to be decorated as such. His Wigmore Hall debut was in 2009, and in 2015 he became a professor of harpsichord at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

The Russian Virtuosi of Europe was founded in London in 2004 by Russian violinist Yuri Zhislin in order to bring together musicians who are passionate about Russia’s classical music heritage and the Western tradition of chamber music. The musicians have earned awards in almost all of the major international competitions.

Wigmore Hall, 19-Jul-2016 / 19:30

• John Bull: Chromatic (Queen Elizabeth's) Pavan and Galliard K87
• Viktor Kalabis: Aquarelles Op. 53
• John Bull: Fantasia XII
• Jean-Henri D'Anglebert: Suite No. 2 in G minor
  • Prélude, Air d'Apollon du Triomphe de l'Amour, Air ancien: Où estes vous allé, Les Songes agréables d'Atys, Passacaille d'Armide
• Axel Borup-Jørgensen: Tarocco per il cembalo Op. 124
• Kaija Saariaho: Jardin Secret II for harpsichord and tape
• Daniel Kidane: Six Etudes
• Scarlatti Sonatas:
  • in F major Kk518 / L116
  • in F minor Kk519 / L475
  • in G major Kk259 / L103
  • Sonata in G major Kk260 / L103
  • Sonata in A major Anh. (Barcelona Ms. MS1964 No. 34)
  • Sonata in E major Anh. (Barcelona Ms. MS1964 No. 31)
  • Sonata in D minor Kk516 / L512
  • Sonata in D minor Kk517 / L266

Wigmore Hall, 18-Feb-2016 / 19:30

• Vivaldi: Trio Sonata in G minor RV85
• Scarlatti: Sonata in G major Kk91 / L176
• Yasuo Kuwahara: Improvised Poem
• Vivaldi: Concerto for 2 Violins in A minor Op. 3, No. 8 RV522 'L'estro armonico' (arr. Mahan Esfahani)
• Bach: Violin Sonata No. 6 in G major BWV1019
• Mel Powell: Recitative and Toccata Percossa for solo harpsichord
• Paul Ben-Haim: Sonata a tre for mandolin, guitar and harpsichord

• Avi Avital - Mandolin
• Mahan Esfahani - Harpsichord
• Sean Shibe - Guitar

Wigmore Hall, 15-Jul-2014 / 19:30

• Couperin: Ordre 26 from Quatriéme livre de piéces de clavecin
• Bach:
  • Toccata in F sharp minor BWV910
  • The Well-tempered Clavier Book I
    • Prelude and Fugue No. 6 in D minor BWV851
    • Prelude and Fugue No. 4 in C sharp minor BWV849
    • Prelude and Fugue No. 23 in B major BWV868
• CPE Bach:
  • Sonata in B flat Wq48 No. 2
  • Sonata in F sharp minor Wq. 52 No. 4
• Benda: Sonata No. 4 in F
• Takemitsu: Rain Dreaming

• Mahan Esfahani - Harpsichord

Kings Place, 18-Oct-2013 / 19:30

• Bach:
  • Harpsichord Concerto No. 4 in A, BWV 1055
  • Cantata 'Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich', BWV 150
  • Magnificat in D, BWV 243

• Mahan Esfahani - Harpsichord
• Choir of New College, Oxford
• Oxford Philomusica / Edward Higginbottom - Director

Mr. Esfahani played Bach's Goldberg Variations, part of the BBC Chamber Proms on the 18th of July 2011 at the Cadogan Hall.

He made his BBC Chamber Proms debut on the 30th of August 2009 also at the Cadogan Hall.