Mahan Esfahani, Byrd, Bach & Ligeti, Wigmore Hall, 3 May 2013

We were impressed when we first saw the harpsichord virtuoso, Mahan Esfahani, with the English Concert in 2009, when he was infeasibly young – click here or below:

The English Concert, Wigmore Hall, 15 March 2009

In the four years inbetween, Esfahani had become a real name in the early music world and here was an opportunity for us to see a recital of interesting stuff at very close quarters.

Click here for the Wigmore Hall listing for this concert.

All Byrd in the first half – absolutely enchanting. The second half captivated us a little less – mostly familiar material from Bach’s Musical Offering  (played beautifully) – we didn’t really see how the Ligeti fitted in with the Byrd and Bach. We love Hungarian folk music; the style just didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the programme, which was so relaxing. But that’s just us.

The concert was lauded the whole programme. It was recorded for Wigmore Hall live and therefore is available if people want to hear the whole thing – click here or the image below for a link direct to Presto Classical, where you can hear samples or purchase.

We loved this concert – a really enchanting Friday evening at The Wig.

Comments on Ogblog pieces are always welcome - please write something below if you wish.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.