Württemberg Sonatas
$45.00
Special Order3 - 6 weeks add to cart
C.P.E. BACH
Württemberg Sonatas
Mahan Esfahani (organ)
[ Hyperion / CD ]
Release Date: Thursday 20 February 2014
This item is only available to us via Special Order. We should be able to get it to you in 3 - 6 weeks from when you order it.
'This Iranian-American has carved out a niche as his instrument's leading champion … his success is founded on remarkable artistry' (International Piano)
'Such virtuosity and disarming presentation suggests that Esfahani could inspire a whole new appreciation of the instrument' (The Guardian)
Hyperion is delighted to present the debut recording of the wonderful young harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani. He was the first harpsichordist to be named a BBC New Generation Artist or to be awarded a fellowship prize by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust.
Here Mahan Esfahani has recorded CPE Bach's six 'Württemberg' sonatas, which were written in 1742-3 and published in 1744, and his thrillingly intense performances make the best possible case for this dramatic, beautifully written, endlessly imaginative but for some reason under-performed music. The sonatas range stylistically from initial stirrings of Sturm und Drang in keyboard music to sublime imitations of the human voice, with nods to the High Baroque and the idiom of CPE Bach's more famous father. Mahan writes in his booklet notes that 'Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach makes the most combative statement possible to assert his new musical language'.
GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD WINNER 2014 - Baroque Instrumental
"Esfahani is at his most expressive in the slow movements...This, his first solo disc, provides a particularly welcome introduction onto the world stage for an artist matching, in expression CPE Bach himself." (Disc of the Month Five Stars BBC Music Feb 2014)
"The sound of his instrument...enjoys a wide-ranging spectrum of timbres in Esfahani's dexterous hands, but it is the verve of his allegros and the affecting pathos of his slow movements that mark him out as a special interpreter of this fascinating composer's music in his tercentenary year." (Sunday Times)
"Esfahani's performances wonderfully convey the sense of the younger Bach flexing his muscles in the new musical language that he was involved in creating.... there's an almost fortepiano-like solidity to the sound, with crisp definition in both the high and low registers that matches its expressive ambitions perfectly." (Guardian)
Gramophone Editor's Choice February 2014
BBC Music Magazine Awards 2015 WINNER - Newcomer
Tracks:
Keyboard Sonata in A minor, Wq. 49/1 (H30) 'Württemberg Sonata No. 1'
Keyboard Sonata in A flat major, Wq. 49/2 (H31) 'Württemberg Sonata No. 2'
Keyboard Sonata in E minor, Wq. 49/3 (H33) 'Württemberg Sonata No. 3'
Keyboard Sonata in B flat major, Wq. 49/4 (H32) 'Württemberg Sonata No. 4'
Keyboard Sonata in E flat major, Wq. 49/5 (H34) 'Württemberg Sonata No. 5'
Keyboard Sonata in B minor, Wq. 49/6 (H36) 'Württemberg Sonata No. 6'
