Programme
Johann Sebastian Bach
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, BWV 846-857
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Czech Chamber Music Society • Mahan Esfahani
We invite you to the first encounter with this year’s curator, Mahan Esfahani. The harpsichordist, known for his wide-ranging repertoire, has chosen a somewhat more conservative approach for Cycles I and II—yet one that is ambitious, artistically refined, and dramaturgically pure. Over two evenings, he will present Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier in its entirety, a cornerstone of the Baroque era, a testament to the art of fugue, and a masterpiece of keyboard music.
Subscription series II | Czech Chamber Music Society
Performers
Mahan Esfahani harpsichord
Rudolfinum — Dvořák Hall
Performers
Mahan Esfahani harpsichord
Mahan Esfahani has made it his lifeʼs mission to rehabilitate the harpsichord in the mainstream of concert instruments, and to that end his creative programming and work in commissioning new works have drawn the attention of critics and audiences across Europe, Asia, and North America. He was the first and only harpsichordist to be a BBC New Generation Artist (2008–2010), a Borletti-Buitoni prize winner (2009), and a nominee for Gramophoneʼs Artist of the Year (2014, 2015, and 2017).
His work for the harpsichord has resulted in recitals in most of the major series and concert halls, amongst them Londonʼs Wigmore Hall and Barbican Centre, Oji Hall in Tokyo, Carnegie Hall in NYC, Sydney Opera House, Los Angelesʼs Walt Disney Concert Hall, Berlin Konzerthaus, and the Leipzig Bach Festival, and concerto appearances with the BBC Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Auckland Philharmonia, Czech Radio Symphony, Orchestra La Scintilla, and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, with whom he was an artistic partner for 2016–2018.
His richly-varied discography includes seven critically-acclaimed recordings for Hyperion and Deutsche Grammophon – garnering one Gramophone award, two BBC Music Magazine Awards, a Diapason d’Or and ‘Choc de Classica’ in France, and an ICMA.
Esfahani studied musicology and history at Stanford University, where he first came into contact with the harpsichord in the class of Elaine Thornburgh. Following his decision to abandon the law for music, he studied harpsichord privately in Boston with Peter Watchorn before completing his formation under the celebrated Czech harpsichordist Zuzana Růžičková. Following a three-year stint as Artist-in-Residence at New College, Oxford, he continues his academic associations as an honorary member at Keble College, Oxford, and as professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He can be frequently heard as a commentator on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4 and as a host for such programs as Record Review, Building a Library, and Sunday Feature, as well as in live programmes with the popular mathematician and presenter Marcus du Sautoy; for the BBC’s Sunday Feature he is currently at work on his fourth radio documentary following two popular programmes on such subjects as the early history of African-American composers in the classical sphere and the development of orchestral music in Azerbaijan.
Born in Tehran in 1984 and raised in the United States, he lived in Milan and then London for several years before taking up residence in Prague.