Mahan Esfahani & Friends

This programme includes some of the most glorious music from the Baroque and Classical periods and 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 violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen, a perfect duo for this programme of refined, rewarding and occasionally startling sonatas.

Programme:
Handel Violin Sonata in A major
Mozart Violin Sonata No. 19
Scarlatti Keyboard Sonata in C major, K. 513
Vivaldi Sonata No. 12 in A minor, RV 32
Mozart Violin Sonata No. 22

Performers:
Tamsin Waley-Cohen violin
Mahan Esfahani harpsichord

This programme will be recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3.