Mahan Esfahani & Friends: Mahan Esfahani and Tamsin Waley-Cohen

The evening

Sheer 18th-century class, in a series showcasing harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani alongside his closest musical collaborators: a revelatory programme of sonatas from Vivaldi to Mozart.

This beautifully curated programme includes some of the most glorious music from the Baroque and Classical periods, and it delivers a history lesson about the sonata along the way.

Handel and Vivaldi open in a stately manner and save their fireworks for later on in their sonatas. By contrast, Mozart’s two leap straight into the fray with energetic opening salvos followed by movements of a gentler, more reflective nature. As the free spirit of the group, Scarlatti very much does his own thing with a single-movement riff on a pastoral theme: expect the unexpected.

Versatile and pioneering harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani is joined by the exceptionally talented violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen, a perfect duo for this programme of refined, rewarding and occasionally startling sonatas.

Recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3.