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first time – with the legendary recorder virtuoso
Michala Petri. That concert, which was a Pharos
initiative, marked the beginning of an exciting
collaboration between the two musicians with
concerts all over Europe and the recording of two
albums. On 24 May, Mahan returned to The Shoe
Factory for another great performance as part of
this year’s International Pharos Chamber Music
Festival. The recital, which was supported by the
Embassy of Iran, included an all-Italian baroque
programme that was perfectly suitable for the
Foundation’s Graziano Bandini harpsichord.
“…the brilliance and artistry of Mahan Esfahani,
who, despite his young age, played with the mu-
sicality and virtuosity of a master.”
Keyboard
Magazine
Hailed as the ‘’leading harpsichordist of his gen-
eration’’ (Opera Today), Mahan Esfahani (born
in 1984) is the first harpsichordist to be named
a BBC New Generation Artist (2008-2010). In
2009 he gave his solo recital debut at theWigmore
Hall, about which the Daily Telegraph exclaimed,
“the harpsichord comes out of hiding…magnifi-
cent,” thus launching a major career as a recital-
ist, concerto soloist, and more recently, conductor.
His recording of the Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc
harpsichord concerto was issued inMay 2010 with
BBC Music Magazine, and he has been featured
as a “Hot Property” by Classic FMmagazine.
In July 2011 he played the first solo harpsichord re-
cital in the history of the Proms, selling out London’s
Cadogan Hall with Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and
he made a return to the Proms in 2012 with his or-
chestration of Bach’sArt of Fugue for theAcademy
of Ancient Music. Recent and future highlights in-
clude appearances with the Academy of Ancient
Music, the Hamburger Sinfoniker, the Prague Sym-
phony chamber concerts, the Istanbul Bach Days,
the Hanover Band, the BBC National Orchestra of
Wales, the Festival of Flanders at Bruges, Utrecht
Oude Muziek, New York’s Frick Collection, and
at the major recital halls of Cologne, Vienna, Van-
couver, London, Tokyo and Nagoya. In 2013 he re-
corded the completeWürttemberg Sonatas of C.P.E.
Bach for Hyperion Records, as well as a recital disc
of Byrd, Bach and Ligeti forWigmore Hall Live.
Esfahani studied as a President’s Scholar at Stan-
ford University under the guidance of the musi-
cologist George Houle; later he went on to study
harpsichord and organ with Peter Watchorn and
Mahan Esfahani
