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Reviewer: Jed Distler
The fusion of old and new styles characterising harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani’s DG debut unfolds with a sense of continuity and surprise that is closer to DJ culture than to ‘classical’ programming, with La folia as a recurring character. In the Scarlatti La follia Variations, for example, which Esfahani sails through with tasteful bravura – notice how the final variation’s rippling scales and concluding dominant chord assiduously dovetail into the Górecki Concerto’s Allegro molto, where a sustained string cantus firmus underpins the harpsichord’s relentless, machine-like patterns. By contrast, the second movement consists of dissonant, consistently pulsating modules in sequential blocks. If one must play such crude, simple-minded music, it’s best to do so with Esfahani and company’s energy and precision.
Next up is CPE Bach’s quirkily inventive La folia Variations, where Esfahani’s subtle overlapping legato fingerwork and intuitive grasp of the composer’s mood-swings are deeply impressive. While the variations in the Geminiani Concerto (after Corelli’s La folia) stand out for textural clarity and suave tempo relationships, the robust sonorities and wider colour palette distinguishing the Pearlman/Boston Baroque traversal (Telarc, 5/09) communicate more shapely joy. Esfahani’s firmly centred articulation and rhythm make a plausible case for Steve Reich’s Piano Phase as a harpsichord vehicle, even if one misses the cumulative effect of the piano’s resonance.
However, the Bach D minor Concerto faces formidable catalogue competition. Concerto Köln’s rigid phrasing and mannered dynamic calibrations in the slow movement convey all of the perfection of waxed fruit, providing an incongruous backdrop to Esfahani’s expressive and harmonically aware solo playing. Put on the better-recorded Levin/Rilling traversal in Hänssler’s Bach Edition and you’re in another world, where the outer movements sing, dance and breath. I wish DG had included Esfahani’s invigorating Handel Chaconne and Harmonious Blacksmith performances on the physical disc, rather than as downloads only, given the label’s recent propensity for longer-playing discs.
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