Mahan Esfahani

Mahan Esfahani
Born 1984
Tehran
Origin Iranian
Genres Classical music
Occupation(s) Professional musician
Website www.mahanesfahani.com
Notable instruments
harpsichord

Mahan Esfahani (Persian: ماهان اصفهانی ) (born 1984) is an Iranian-American harpsichordist; he is the first harpsichordist named as a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist. As a concerto soloist and recitalist, he has gained an international reputation.[1]

Biography

Born in Tehran, Esfahani grew up in the United States. While at Stanford University, Esfahani studied harpsichord with Elaine Thornburgh[2] in addition to musicology and came most seriously under the influence of the American scholar George Houle. Later, he continued his harpsichord studies with the Australian harpsichordist Peter Watchorn in Boston and with the Italian organist Lorenzo Ghielmi in Milan,[1] and completed his studies with the Czech harpsichordist Zuzana Růžičková. Unlike the mainstream of harpsichordists concertising today he has largely diverged from the school of Gustav Leonhardt, though he does cite him as an important spiritual influence.[3]

Having quickly gained an international reputation without going through the customary competitions, he played in many significant concerts.[4] [5][6] He has been praised as being "exceptionally gifted" (The Times) and for having "the virtuosity of a master" (Keyboard Magazine).[1] he was the Artist-in-Residence at New College, Oxford from 2008 to 2010. He made his Wigmore Hall debut in 2009 as a concerto soloist with The English Concert, and in the same year performed at the BBC Proms' chamber series and made extensive recordings of concerto and solo repertoire for the harpsichord for BBC Radio 3. Further afield, he made his New York debut at the Frick Collection in 2012,[7] and a made a solo tour of Japan in 2013.

From 2008-2010 Mahan Esfahani was a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist. Currently he is the first and only early instrument specialist to have joined the programme.

Respected for gaining attention for the harpsichord as a concert instrument, Esfahani is known for his criticism of what he perceives as the many dogmas of the early music movement, preferring to use many of his own editions and conclusions gained from the close reading of period sources, and works actively with modern instrument players in re-creating the sonic world of earlier music.

Esfahani is managed by Rayfield Allied of London.[8] He was the recipient of a Borletti Buitoni Trust Award in 2009, being the first harpsichordist and first Iranian to do so. He has continued his work in bringing the harpsichord to the mainstream of Classical Music, and in 2011 made history with the first solo harpsichord recital at the BBC Proms.[9]

He also started to make a name as a conductor and director, appearing with such ensembles as The Academy of Ancient Music, The Manchester Camerata, The Hanover Band, The English Concert, and Arion Baroque Orchestra of Montreal. 2012 saw a major project in orchestrating and arranging J.S. Bach's Art of Fugue for the Academy of Ancient Music; this work received its world premiere performance in the BBC Proms.

His recording of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Wurttemberg Sonatas (1744) was released in 2014 by Hyperion Records, and was named the winner of the Baroque Instrumental category at the 2014 Gramophone Awards.[10] The same recording won him the BBC Music Magazine Award's 'Best Newcomer' award the following year. 2014 also saw Hyperion release his two-disc set of the complete harpsichord works of Jean-Philippe Rameau.[11] His relationship with Hyperion ended in 2014, when he signed a contract to start recording with the Deutsche Grammophon label from 2015.

He makes his home in London.

Discography

Solo Albums

Collaborations

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Biography of Mahan Esfahani on BBC Radio 3
  2. ↑ http://creativity-found.org/legacy-prize/entry/mahan-esfahani/
  3. ↑ "Slipped Disc | The inside track on classical music and related cultures". Artsjournal.com. 1914-06-28. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
  4. ↑ "Mahan Esfehani at Wigmore Hall, review". Telegraph. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
  5. ↑ Dreyer, Martin (2011-02-11). "Review: Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord); Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, York University (From York Press)". Yorkpress.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
  6. ↑ Hutchinson, Charles (2010-07-02). "York Early Music Festival, July 9 to 17 (From York Press)". Yorkpress.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
  7. ↑ Vivien Schweitzer (April 2, 2012). "At Some Recitals, It’s All About the Encore". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
  8. ↑ "Rayfield Allied – Mahan Esfahani". Rayfieldartists.com. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
  9. ↑ "Proms Chamber Music 1: Les Arts Florissants". Royal Albert Hall. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
  10. ↑ "Baroque Instrumental". www.gramophone.co.uk. Gramophone Magazine.
  11. ↑ "Rameau: Pièces de clavecin". www.prestoclassical.co.uk. Presto Classical.

External links