News

Monday, January 23rd, 2023

Mahan Esfahani awarded Wigmore Hall Medal, July 2022

Mahan Esfahani Becomes the Youngest Ever Recipient of the Wigmore Medal 38-year-old Iranian-American harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani has become the youngest ever recipient of the Wigmore Medal. In recognition of his outstanding musical achievements and contribution to Wigmore Hall, Esfahani received the medal on Saturday 16 July 2022 from Wigmore Hall director John Gilhooly. The presentation […]

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Tuesday, November 13th, 2018

BBC Radio 3: The story of Franck’s Violin Sonata in A major

Andrew McGregor, presenter of BBC Radio 3’s ‘Record Review’, presents a special podcast edition of ‘Building a Library’. In the show, he invites Mahan Esfahani to compare recordings of Franck’s Violin Sonata in A major, dating back as far as the 1930s. In the process, Mahan reminds us why it was written in the first place.  […]

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Tuesday, October 31st, 2017

“Building a Library” on BBC Radio 3

I’ve started developing my ‘side gig’ as a media presenter and recently wrote and presented a show on the d-minor Symphony of Cesar Franck (1889) and made a pick amongst recordings.  You can start accessing my documentaries and shows for the BBC on my Facebook fan site.  You can listen to the show on Franck’s […]

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Tuesday, January 10th, 2017

‘Mahan Esfahani is hot’ (!)

There’s a piece by the Dutch Merlijn Kerkhof in Nieuwe Rotterdamse Courant about Mahan’s work in Bach and contemporary music. As usual, he is perhaps a bit naughty in his responses. Read it here.

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Saturday, January 7th, 2017

“Making the Harpsichord Modern Again” (New York Times)

  The New York Times ran a feature on Mahan’s championing the harpsichord in new music, in conjunction with his August 2016 appearance at the Lincoln Center Mostly Mozart Festival. The piece was also featured in the International New York Times edition. Read the entire feature here.

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Sunday, August 16th, 2015

‘How to Annoy your Dad: Play the Harpsichord’

I had a whale of a time talking with Robert Siegel from NPR’s All Things Considered. You can listen to it here.  

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Tuesday, March 3rd, 2015

“Pianists who slam it should be ready to talk” – feature on Mahan Esfahani in the Independent

Michael Church of the Independent on Sunday published a feature on Mahan Esfahani’s work with advocacy of the harpsichord, new music, and bringing the instrument into the mainstream of classical music. You can read this quirky and fun article here. 

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Tuesday, March 3rd, 2015

Mahan Esfahani named to New York Times’ Critics List for 2014!

Mahan Esfahani’s album of Rameau’s complete keyboard works was selected in the New York Times’ Critics List of Best Classical Recordings of 2014. You can read this article here.  This is an enormous honour for the harpsichord which is seeing a day-to-day resurgence in respect and mainstream respectability. This is a first in many years […]

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Monday, October 13th, 2014

Mahan Esfahani signs to Deutsche Grammophon

  Welcoming Mahan Esfahani to the Yellow Label’s roster of artists, Deutsche Grammophon President Mark Wilkinson said: “Mahan is a dynamic, daring musician who thinks way beyond the conventional boundaries of his instrument, and is well placed to add excitement to and find new audiences for the harpsichord.” “I am proud to become part of […]

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Friday, January 10th, 2014

BBC Radio 4 ”Front Row”

I appeared recently on BBC Radio 4’s ”Front Row” with presenter John Wilson, discussing my new disc of C.P.E. Bach’s ”Württemberg” Sonatas (1744) for Hyperion Records.

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