I think, you know, for someone who does play, let's say, old music or, you know, Baroque music or Renaissance music - and you know, and I do play a lot of that, obviously - engaging with new composers, engaging… — Mahan Esfahani Copy Share Image
I think in Baroque music, especially in the case of Bach, what really transformed Bach's musical language, what changed it for him was hearing Vivaldi, hearing the sort of manipulation of small cells of information and patterns in order to… — Mahan Esfahani Copy Share Image
Well, within a phrase. And with a series of phrases, you can certainly create the effect of diminuendo and crescendo, no question. — Mahan Esfahani Copy Share Image
I mean to me, the harpsichord has a huge dynamic range. And I always say to people, come and listen to it. You know,… — Mahan Esfahani Copy Share Image
And it totally has transformed my relationship with someone like, say, Bach. You know, Bach is born 330 years ago but, you know, gosh,… — Mahan Esfahani Copy Share Image
Gorecki, you know, there's a kind of personal thing there for me. I had, you know, kind of become obsessed with that sort of Soviet Bloc period. And actually, a lot of composers in the Soviet Bloc - Gorecki's not the only one - are writing for the harpsichord as a sort of reaction against enforced Soviet realism, expressionism, sort… — Mahan Esfahani Copy Share
When I say that there's commonality, I mean more in terms of the sort of techniques by which we perceive Baroque and minimalist music… — Mahan Esfahani Copy Share Image
The harpsichord was actually ideologically considered a very questionable instrument in that period, much like I think it's ideologically considered suspect today in some… — Mahan Esfahani Copy Share Image
I think, you know, for someone who does play, let's say, old music or, you know, Baroque music or Renaissance music - and you… — Mahan Esfahani Copy Share Image
I think in Baroque music, especially in the case of Bach, what really transformed Bach's musical language, what changed it for him was hearing… — Mahan Esfahani Copy Share Image
One of the tracks that I have is Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach - by the way, that's Bach's second son - Emanuel Bach's variations… — Mahan Esfahani Copy Share Image
Well, harpsichord is kind of a big guitar, isn't it? I mean, it is plucked, after all. — Mahan Esfahani Copy Share Image
As long as there's a place for sundials and gardening and beautiful things, there's a place for the harpsichord. I completely reject the idea… — Mahan Esfahani Copy Share Image
Bach, of course, was my first love. He still is. I mean, he's the man of my life, that's for sure. And when I… — Mahan Esfahani Copy Share Image
