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(UK) Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichordist

“Praised by The Times as ‘exceptionally gifted’ and by Early Music Today for his ‘sensitivity and vibrance,’ the Iranian-born Mahan Esfahani (b. 1984) is quickly establishing himself as the leading concert harpsichordist of his generation. He was the first harpsichordist to be named a BBC New Generation Artist and to be awarded a fellowship prize by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust. Recent highlights have included performances of of Kalabis’ Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra (1975) with the BBC Concert Orchestra, Martinu’s Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra (1935) with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Jiri Belohlavek, and Poulenc’s Concert Champetre (1928) with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Last season, he also gave his solo debut at the Wigmore Hall (broadcast on BBC Radio 3) – about which the Daily Telegraph exclaimed ”the harpsichord comes out of hiding…magnificent” – and appeared at the City of London and York Early Music Festivals. In addition, his recording of the Poulenc concert was selected as a CD of the month for the May 2010 issue of BBC Music Magazine, and he has been featured as a “Hot Property” by Classic FM magazine.

Further highlights of the upcoming season include a May 2011 appearance at the Wigmore Hall with the countertenor James Bowman, and directing the Manchester Camerata, the Arion Baroque Orchestra (Montreal), and The English Concert at the 2011 Lufthansa Festival. Further afield, he will return to the United States for solo recitals and make his concerto debut in the Far East with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in March 2011.

As a soloist and guest director Esfahani has appeared with The English Concert, the Manchester Camerata, and the Seattle Baroque Orchestra; His series and festival appearances include the BBC Proms, Tage Alter Musik Regensburg, the Goettingen Handel Festival, the Settimana Mozart of Milan, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the San Francisco Early Music Society.

Esfahani studied as a President’s Scholar at Stanford University where his principal mentor was the musicologist George Houle; he went on to pursue his performance studies under the supervision of the Australian harpsichordist Peter Watchorn (Boston) and the Italian organist Lorenzo Ghielmi (Milan) before settling in the United Kingdom in as Artist-in-Residence at New College, Oxford. In the autumn of 2010 he was further elected an honourary member of Keble College, Oxford.”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Category: Ensembles/Performers/Associations/Societies / Keyboards

Added on: Nov 25, 2011 | Hits: 4458

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(IR) Ray Sloan, Irish Uilleann Pipes & Scottish Smallpipes

" Ray Sloan vividly remembers the day he first heard bagpipes other than the ubiquitous Great Highland Bagpipes. It was in 1964 as an 11 year old at school in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne when his Art Teacher emerged from the store room strapped in to an instrument driven by a flapping arm attached to bellows, that instrument was the Northumbrian Smallpipe. He remembers being absolutely smitten by the sound of the pipes at a time when the Beatles and Rolling Stones were the preferred sound of his generation, little did he know that 16 years later history would repeat itself when Ray himself became an Art Teacher and Piper/Pipemaker. That experience as a young boy never left Ray but it was not until as a young man of 24 that he was financially able to achieve his dream and buy a set of pipes.

It was as a fine maker of Northumbrian Smallpipes that Ray first established himself as a Pipemaker of International repute, but what really changed his life further was his introduction to the traditional music of Ireland played by the likes of ‘The Bothy Band’, ‘Planxty’ and ‘The Chieftains’, more specifically the wonderful and compelling sound of the Uilleann Pipes. After 10 years or so experience in making Smallpipes he embarked upon the next stage of his journey as a Pipemaker and started to make the Irish Uilleann Pipes eventually choosing to make these in preference to anything else.

Ray gave up Teaching to become a full-time professional Pipemaker in 1988 and to this day continues to develop his style and design in pursuit of perfection. The importance of his experience and training in Art & Design cannot be underestimated when it comes to making Pipes as his visual skills and attention to detail and design shine through in every aspect of his work. While being uniquely his own the design of his Uilleann Pipes is eclectic and broadly based upon the traditions and styles set by the old masters such as Coyne, kenna, Rowsome and Reid. Ray approaches each set of pipes he makes as completely individual and different in some small way to the previous, which means that you as a client will receive a set of Pipes hand-made for you personally.

Ray currently lives in SW France and is preparing to move to the West of Ireland this year – 2008. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Category: Builders/Restorers/Suppliers / Wind Instruments

Added on: May 04, 2008 | Hits: 4042

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