Review: Mahan Esfahani and Manchester Collective, Leeds Town Hall, Tuesday, May 18, 2021

A ROAR of applause from a socially distanced audience greeted the members of Manchester Collective as they took their places on stage at Leeds Town Hall.

It was an emotional moment for these musicians, facing an audience for only the third time since March 2020: the two previous occasions having been in this very Hall last September and October.

The joy and integrity of the group’s music making has been sorely missed. Last week’s eagerly awaited concert was quintessential Manchester Collective: a bold, perception-challenging programme of rich textural contrasts, every note illuminated by these incomparable musicians.

Coin Op Automata, a brand new piece by British composer Laurence Osborn is scored for string quartet and harpsichord. Osborn describes his piece as a series of little mechanical tableaux grouped into two movements. Henryk Górecki’s dynamic and vigorously rhythmic Concerto for Harpsichord and Strings was written in 1980; the same year as Joseph Horovitz’ Jazz Concerto. These modern works were deftly interleaved by a two sets of canons and fugues from Bach’s The Art of Fugue, arranged by Mahan Esfahani. He clearly recognises the unique mixing qualities of Bach’s timeless masterworks.

The Tehran born harpsichordist has built a career around the unfamiliar, the unlikely, and the virtuosic. Esfahani brings his unique musicianship to a far broader repertoire than one might usually associate with his period instrument.

Austrian born British composer Joseph Horovitz celebrates his 95th Birthday this week. Horovitz wrote his sensational Concerto for Harpsichord, Strings and Jazz Kit as a fusion of Baroque continuo and modern Jazz textures in 1965 for harpsichordist George Malcolm. The final movement is, at Malcolm’s behest, a continuous group of semi-quavers played without a break.

This was the scintillating climax to a memorable evening. The good news is that Esfahani and Manchester Collective are planning future projects into the 2021-22 Season and beyond.