Mahan Esfahani, Milton Court, London, review: He's nicknamed one sonata ‘the F*** you one’ because it demands extreme hand-crossing of the harpsichord in both directions at top speed

The harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani performed with and directed the Britten Sinfonia, while also premiering a harpsichord concerto, written for him by Francisco Coll

(Bernard Musil/DG)

The Iranian-American harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani is one of a kind, and his event with the Britten Sinfonia under Thomas Gould’s leadership – plus contralto Claudia Huckle – was fruitfully provocative.

We’re used to pianists taking liberties with Scarlatti sonatas, but the liberties taken by John Woolrich’s new orchestral arrangements paid off brilliantly. We missed the technical keyboard dazzle, but the dramatic contrasts which make these pieces so enchanting were intensified by being translated into instrumental contrasts – oboe and piccolo, marimba and strings. Woolrich has made a discovery, and 547 more of these sonatas now await treatment.

Then Esfahani played four of them on the harpsichord, including the slow B minor one which everybody loves, plus what Esfahani nicknamed “the ‘F*** you’ one”, which demands extreme hand-crossing in both directions at top speed, and which had him theatrically wiping sweat from his brow at the end.

He also premiered a harpsichord concerto written for him by Francisco Coll. This subfusc little piece was successful in creating a new sound-world – its second movement made the harpsichord sound like an oud – but some of its effects could have been better realised with a piano. On the other hand, De Falla’s Harpsichord Concerto, with skeleton instrumentation, worked beautifully. For the finale of this fascinating concert, Huckle dominated the stage with a lovely account of El Amor Brujo.