Mahan Esfahani (born 1984 in Tehran) is an Iranian-American harpsichordist based in Prague, who completed his training as the last student of Zuzana Růžičková and has since become one of the most influential figures on the instrument today. In 2011 he gave the first solo harpsichord recital in the history of the BBC Proms, and he was the first harpsichordist ever to be named a BBC New Generation Artist. His discography for Hyperion and Deutsche Grammophon spans repertoire from the Renaissance to newly commissioned works; he won the 2023 Opus Klassik award for his recording of Czech harpsichord concertos and in 2022 became the youngest-ever recipient of the Wigmore Medal.
Released the album Bach: The Complete Keyboard Concertos (Hyperion) with Britten Sinfonia, which includes his own reconstruction of Bach's unfinished concerto BWV 1059.
Performed as artist-in-residence at BachFest Leipzig 2026, where he gave a total of seven concerts dedicated to Bach's music and contemporary repertoire.
Performed a role specially written for him in Brett Dean's new opera Of One Blood at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich under the direction of Vladimir Jurowski.
Released a recording of Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 (Hyperion), which The Guardian included among the best classical recordings of 2025.
Won the Opus Klassik 2023 award in the concert recording category for an album of Czech harpsichord concertos (Martinů, Krása, Kalabis) with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra.
