This Sunday, 19 December, harpsichord wizard Mahan Esfahani will give the world premiere of Daniel Kidane’s new work “Movements for Harpsichord and Strings” with the New World Symphony at the New World Centre in Florida. The work is programmed alongside music by Xenakis, CPE Bach and Górecki.
“Movements for Harpsichord and Strings”, composed 2021, consists of four contrasting movements, "purposely blending old and new ideas that reflect the harpsichord's versatility as an instrument through the ages.”
The composer writes further: “The first movement has hints of a 16th Century fantasia, which then moves to the second movement that has more of a minimalistic flavour. The hushed, more introverted, third movement sets the stage for a more extrovert final movement, which nods at the folia musical theme.”
RA Artist Mahan Esfahani has made it his life's mission to rehabilitate the harpsichord in the mainstream of concert instruments, and to that end his creative programming and work in commissioning new works have drawn the attention of critics and audiences across Europe, Asia, and North America. He was the first and only harpsichordist to be a BBC New Generation Artist (2008-2010), a Borletti-Buitoni prize winner (2009), and a nominee for Gramophone's Artist of the Year (2014, 2015, and 2017).
