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Mahan Esfahani on Tuesday's Access Utah

Marco Borggreve

When NPR’s Robert Siegel suggested that the harpsichord is viewed as old and not enormously popular, Iranian-American harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani responded: “I think these things would only matter to Americans. 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 that the harpsichord is old and I reject the idea that something old is therefore not good or not popular. Lots of things are old. Lots of traditions are old. I like it because it's beautiful.”

Since making his London debut in 2009, Esfahani has worked tirelessly to establish the harpsichord in the mainstream of concert instruments in classical  and contemporary repertoire.

Esfahani was on the USU campus recently to perform as a part of the Wasserman Festival Concert Series, presented through the USU Caine College of the Arts Visiting Artists and Scholars Series.

We’ll hear the music of J.S. Bach, Scarlatti, Gorecki, and Steve Reich, and talk about everything from period music to Hip Hop.

Tom Williams worked as a part-time UPR announcer for a few years and joined Utah Public Radio full-time in 1996. He is a proud graduate of Uintah High School in Vernal and Utah State University (B. A. in Liberal Arts and Master of Business Administration.) He grew up in a family that regularly discussed everything from opera to religion to politics. He is interested in just about everything and loves to engage people in conversation, so you could say he has found the perfect job as host “Access Utah.” He and his wife Becky, live in Logan.