Phenomenal debut of Aldo López-Gavilán with Orchestra in the US

Cuban Pianist-Composer Aldo López-Gavilán garners rave review for his US orchestral debut performance of Rhapsody in Blue at Festival Napa Valley!

Original encore dazzles audience!

Conductor and orchestra also provided glorious support for Cuban pianist Aldo Lopez-Gavilan’s shimmering, exciting performance of George Gershwin’s grand “Rhapsody in Blue.” Although this was the Ferde Grofe arrangement for symphony orchestra, this listener kept hearing that soul-stirring rendition by Paul Whiteman and his jazz band from the Roaring ‘20s creep in now and again. And we loved the guest artist’s fiery cadenzas. A young man who captivates in both classical and jazz veins, Lopez-Gavilan captured both the rhythmic invention and the melodic inspiration the composer intended. Orchestra and soloist played as one — a radiant reading under the baton of a man who seemed to enjoy the work as much as we did. The guest artist provided a lagniappe with a dazzling encore, one of his own compositions, titled “Oddudua.”

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