Baroque Recital with Mahan Esfahani & Michala Petri

The first concert of the 13th International Pharos Chamber Music Festival is a Baroque recital by two very special artists. Hailed as the ''leading harpsichordist of his generation'' by Opera Today magazine, Mahan Esfahani will join forces with the legendary Michala Petri, who is generally acknowledged as one of the most beloved performers of our times and the leading exponent of her instrument, the recorder.

Mahan Esfahani / harpsichord

“…the brilliance and artistry of Mahan Esfahani, who, despite his young age, played with the musicality and virtuosity of a master.” Keyboard Magazine

Hailed as the ''leading harpsichordist of his generation'' (Opera Today), Mahan Esfahani (b. 1984) is the first harpsichordist to be named a BBC New Generation Artist (2008-2010). In 2009 he gave his solo recital debut at the Wigmore Hall, about which the Daily Telegraph exclaimed "the harpsichord comes out of hiding…magnificent," thus launching a major career as a recitalist, concerto soloist, and more recently, conductor. His recording of the Poulenc harpsichord concerto was issued in May 2010 with BBC Music Magazine, and he has been featured as a “Hot Property” by Classic FM magazine.

In July of 2011 he played the first solo harpsichord recital 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 orchestration of Bach's Art of Fugue for the Academy of Ancient Music. Recent and future highlights include appearances with the Academy of Ancient Music, the Hamburger Sinfoniker, the Prague Symphony 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, Vancouver, London, Tokyo, and Nagoya. In 2013 he will be recording the complete Württemberg Sonatas of C.P.E. Bach for Hyperion Records, and the same year sees a recital disc of Byrd, Bach, and Ligeti for Wigmore Hall Live.

Esfahani studied as a President’s Scholar at Stanford University under the guidance of the musicologist George Houle; later he went on to study harpsichord and organ with Peter Watchorn and Lorenzo Ghielmi. He currently benefits from the teaching and advice of the celebrated Czech harpsichordist Zuzana Růžičková. He was for three years Artist-in-Residence at New College, Oxford, and now makes his home in London.

Michala Petri / recorders

Since her concert debut at the Tivoli Concert Hall in 1969, Michala Petri has established herself as one of classical music’s most beloved performers and the leading exponent of her instrument, the recorder. She has toured extensively throughout Europe, North America, Israel, Australia and the Far East, performing with musicians such as Pinchas Zukerman, James Galway, Joshua Bell, Maurice André, Keith Jarrett, Gidon Kremer and Claudio Abbado and has appeared as soloist with many of the world’s major chamber and symphony orchestras.

Michala Petri has received the highest praise for her astonishing virtuosity in a repertoire ranging from the early baroque to contemporary works, many written especially for her. In 1992, she formed a duo with Danish guitarist and lute player Lars Hannibal, with whom she tours all over the world. In addition to maintaining a vigorous performing schedule, Michala Petri has produced many recordings including her Deutscher Schallplattenpreis winning discs of Vivaldi Concerti, with Vladimir Spivakov and the Moscow Virtuosi (1997), Kreisler Inspirations with Lars Hannibal (2002), two discs of Bach and Handel Sonatas with Keith Jarrett and the critically acclaimed Los Angeles Street Concerto: Michala Petri plays Thomas Koppel (Dacapo), which received the Danish Music Award as Best Classical Album in 2006

In 2006, together with Lars Hannibal, Michala launched OUR Recordings. To date, OUR Recordings has released more than a dozen titles including the 2 Grammy® nominated Movements and Chinese Recorder Concertos and the on-going Dialogue- East meets West series. English Recorder Concertos is the latest instalment of Michala’s contemporary concerto project, featuring both World Premieres and works especially composed for her.

Programme:

G.F. Handel (1685 –1759 )
Sonata in D, HWV 367 for recorder & basso continuo

J.S. Bach (1685–1750 )
Partita in C-minor for unaccompanied alto recorder, BWV 1013

G.P. Telemann (1683–1767)
Sonata in C-major for recorder & basso continuo, from the ''Essercizi Musici''

Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713 )
Sonata in D, Op. V no. 12, ''La Follia''

Interval

J.S. Bach (1685–1750 )
Sonata in F for recorder & basso continuo, BWV 1035

Alessandro Scarlatti (1660–1725 )
Partite sopra la Follia di spagna

J.S. Bach (1685–1750 )
Sonata in G for recorder & basso continuo, BWV 1034

TICKETS
Ticket price: €10
Box Office: Tel. 7000-9304 (daily 9.30-11.30am) / www.pharostickets.org