Miller Theatre Continues Bach Series with Mahan Esfahani's Goldberg Variations

An introductory aria undergoes thirty singular transformations in Bach's Goldberg Variations. Since its publication in 1741, the work has gained a reputation for presenting the performer with a monumental artistic challenge, requiring not only prodigious technical skill, but the emotional sensitivity to interpret the delicate nuances of mood and demeanor that give each variation its distinct character.

Miller Theatre is excited to present the brilliant young harpsichord star Mahan Esfahani (born in Tehran in 1984), whose recording of the Goldberg Variations was released last year by Deutsche Grammophon to great acclaim. "Everyone wants to record Bach's Goldbergs, but not many show as much piercing insight as harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani," raved The Guardian. "Even music-lovers who normally hate the sound of the harpsichord find themselves mesmerized by Mahan Esfahani. He seems to have a magic touch on the instrument, coaxing out an extraordinary range of colour and articulations," wrote BBC Music Magazine.
ARTIST
Mahan Esfahani, harpsichord

Mahan Esfahani, harpsichord

www.mahanesfahani.com Mahan Esfahani was born in Tehran in 1984 and received his first guidance on the piano from his father before exploring an interest in the harpsichord as a teenager. He went on to study musicology and history at Stanford University, where he was mentored by George Houle, before studying intensively with Peter Watchorn in Boston and completing his formation with the celebrated Zuzana R?ži?ková in Prague. He was a BBC New Generation Artist from 2008-2010, a Borletti-Buitoni Trust prizewinner, and in 2014 Mahan was on the shortlist for both the Royal Philharmonic Society Instrumentalist of the Year and Gramophone Artist of the Year. In 2015 he was honored with the BBC Music Magazine 'Newcomer of the Year' award and was nominated in three categories for the Gramophone Awards - Best Baroque Instrumental, Best Instrumental, and again Artist of the Year.

Since making his London debut in 2009 he has worked tirelessly to establish the harpsichord in the mainstream of concert instruments in classical and contemporary repertoire. This mission came to significant public attention when Mahan played the first harpsichord recital in the history of the BBC Proms in 2011.

Following two successful albums for Hyperion Records, Mahan Esfahani signed as an exclusive artist with Deutsche Grammophon. His first album for DG/Archiv, 'Time Present and Time Past' was released in Spring of 2015, garnering a 'Choc de Classica' in France. He also has recorded Byrd and Ligeti for Wigmore Live, winning yet another Gramophone nomination. Following a stint as Artist-in-Residence at New College, Oxford, he now continues his academic activities as professor of harpsichord at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Early Music
October 28, 2017, 8:00 p.m.
Church of St. Mary the Virgin (145 West 46th Street, New York, NY)

Orlando Consort: Loire Valley in Song

The Laborde Chansonnier is one of the finest surviving French song collection manuscripts, containing over a hundred songs by Binchois, Busnois, Dufay, Ockeghem and other 15th century masters. Set with stunning illuminations and constructed with supreme skill, the Chansonnier-or songbook-was clearly produced for royal hands, eyes, and ears. England's Orlando Consort sings a montage of the collection's most striking selections, complementing the pictorial magic of this magnificent Renaissance artifact.
PROGRAM
Gilles Binchois: je ne vis onques
John Bedingham: Mon seul plaisir
Guillaume Dufay: Se la face ay pale (song and music from the Mass)
Guillaume Dufay: Malheureux cuer
Walter Frye: Ave regina (motet and music from the Mass)
Antoine Busnois: Ja que li ne s'i attende
Hayne van Ghizeghem: De tous biens plaine
Johannes Ockeghem: Ma maistresse (song and music from the Mass)
Johannes Ockeghem: Fors seulement (song and music from the Mass on the same tune by Jacob Obrecht)

ARTIST
Orlando Consort

Orlando Consort

www.orlandoconsort.com Formed in 1988 by the Early Music Network of Great Britian, the Orlando Consort rapidly achieved a reputation as one of Europe's most expert groups performing repertoire from the years 1050 to 1550. Their work successfully combines captivating entertainment and fresh scholarly insight; the unique imagination and originality of their programming together with their superb vocal skills has marked the Consort out as the outstanding leaders of their field. The Consort has performed at many of Britain's top festivals (including the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival) and has in recent years made visits to France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, the USA and Canada, South America, Singapore, Japan, Greece, Russia, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Portugal, and Spain.

The Consort's impressive discography for Saydisc, Metronome, Linn, Deutsche Grammophon, and Harmonia Mundi USA includes a collection of music by John Dunstaple, 'The Call of the Phoenix', their CDs of music by Compère, Machaut, Ockeghem, Josquin, 'Popes and Anti-Popes', 'Saracen and Dove', and 'Passion'. Their 2008 release of Machaut's 'Messe de Notre Dame' and 'Scattered Rhymes' was short-listed for a BBC Music Magazine Award. The 'Dart of Love' (January 2015) is their second recording in a series for Hyperion exploring the polyphonic songs of Guillaume de Machaut; the first release ('Le Voir Dit') was selected by The New York Times critics as one of their favorite classical CD releases of 2013. Their most recent releases are a second anthology of music by Loyset Compère - shortlisted for a Gramophone Magazine Early Music Award.