In 1709 Cardinal Ottoboni invited George Frideric Handel and Domenico Scarlatti, two of Europe’s most celebrated musicians of the age, to his palace in Rome for a keyboard duel. Both aged 24 and at the height of their powers, Scarlatti reputedly won the harpsichord leg while Handel triumphed on the organ. Sadly there is no record of what they actually performed but Mahan Esfahani, surely the harpsichord champion of our time, has put together a sparkling programme of works by Handel, Scarlatti and their contemporary Marchand in homage to what must have been an enthralling contest.

“Esfahani’s playing is engagingly imaginative and captures the freshness of instrumental texture.”

— The Sydney Morning Herald

Marchand — Suite in D minor (1707)
Scarlatti — Four Sonatas in G K424-427
Handel — Suite in B flat major HWV 434
Handel — Chaconne in G major HWV 435
Scarlatti — Six Sonatas from the ‘Essercizi’ (1738)