Handel's Salon with Nathaniel Mander
Handel Hendrix House showcases the crème de la crème of baroque performers through our ‘Handel’s Salon’ evenings.
Nathaniel is delighted to return to perform an intimate recital of works by Handel himself, complimented this time by music from one of his great admirers; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He first discovered Handel’s keyboard music at the weekly meetings chez Baron von Swieten in the 1780s in Vienna; the baron being an avid collector of ancient music and a loyal supporter of Mozart’s career. In a letter following a particularly inspiring Sunday session Mozart remarked of Handel that ‘…when he chooses, he strikes like a thunderbolt!’.
Nathaniel will perform a set of Handel’s fugues that Mozart was so keen to study along with his personal favourite Handel pieces and a suite Mozart wrote in the old style in homage to the great master.
Nathaniel Mander is a British harpsichordist known for his refined interpretations of early music, particularly from the Baroque and Classical periods. His playing is marked by clarity, expressive nuance, and a deep sensitivity to historical style.
He began his musical education with Richard Lester in Cirencester and later studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London under Carole Cerasi. His training continued with influential teachers including Elisabeth Joyé, Skip Sempé, Pierre Hantaï, and Béatrice Martin in Paris and Rome—experiences that helped shape his stylistic versatility and interpretive approach.
Nathaniel has received several awards, including first prize at the Early Keyboard Ensemble Competition at Fenton House and the Broadwood Harpsichord Competition, as well as the Harold Samuel Bach Prize from the Royal Academy. He held the Linda Hill Junior Fellowship at the Royal College of Music for two consecutive years.
His performances have taken him across Europe, the US, and South America, both as a soloist and ensemble player. He has collaborated with Les Musiciens du Louvre under Marc Minkowski and performed at the Palais Garnier as part of their 2022 opera season. His repertoire spans from Elizabethan keyboard music through to Mozart, Schubert, and early Romantic composers, often performed on period instruments. Recent highlights include a private performance for Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, in the lavish George IV rooms at Windsor Castle and a sold out performance of Bach’s Goldberg Variations at the Valletta Baroque Festival in Malta. |