Bristol – \’Bach Doubles\’ – solo recital – 30 October 2015 – St. George’s Bristol – United Kingdom

The spirit of J S Bach permeates, whether by design or by sheer osmosis, the entire course of Western music that follows his remarkable time spent on this planet. Mahan Esfahani, an artist once referred to by the BBC as a ‘harpsichord ninja’ and something of a force of nature himself, has created a programme that looks at ‘doubles’ for Bach’s works and musical language. He starts with pieces penned by Bach’s own sons before fast forwarding to the 20th century to the ecstatic patterns of Steve Reich’s ”Piano Phase” (transcribed for harpsichord with pre-recorded tape) and jazz pianist Mel Powell’s classic “Recitative and Toccata percossa”.