Baroque Futurism: Mesmerising soundscapes from Mahan Esfahani at the Barbican

Bookending a new harpsichord concerto from Gavin Bryars for the renowned virtuoso Mahan Esfahani, two underrated symphonies are given highly commendable performances in Liverpool.

The harpsichordist brought a highly personal, deeply engrossing interpretation that invited the listener to consider this familiar work anew.

Six pieces, all of them different, all of them new to the Proms, most by living composers, and all played superbly. A great contemporary music Prom.

A varied programme of harpsichord pieces interleaves with songs from Shakespeare and the following century.

To reach the mother lode of Bach's keyboard music, you have to listen to it on harpsichord, and today, no performer embodies that mother lode more than Mahan Esfahani.

Czech harpsichord legend Zuzana Růžičková would have turned 91 on 14 January, making it an ideal night for a tribute concert featuring one of her star pupils, Iranian-American harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani. As he noted in brief remarks sandwiched between rousing renditions of Bach, “When she died, I lost a great teacher. But this country lost part of its history.