What is Tampa Bay? Florida Orchestra’s season opener seeks an answer

Friday’s opening night portrayed Tampa as a melting pot, delivering diverse pieces pulled from around the world. | Concert review

Music director Michael Francis leads the Florida Orchestra in the Star-Spangled Banner on Friday during the season-opening program at the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa. [JAY CRIDLIN | Tampa Bay Times]

By Jay Cridlin
Published Sep. 28

If you had to summarize Florida, and Tampa Bay especially, in just a few words, you could do worse than the three Michael Francis chose Friday night: “Eclectic and unique.”

Sure, that’s one way to put lipstick on a grouper. The Gulf Coast is a tough place to sum up, especially in the lyricless realm of classical music, where the word Margaritaville rarely comes into play.

But that was the mission of the Masterworks program opening the Florida Orchestra’s 2019-20 season, performed Friday at the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts.

Francis, the orchestra’s music director, curated a diverse global program aimed at portraying Tampa Bay as a cultural melting pot. But with no Florida composers on the program — nor even a single Gasparilla pirate shanty — how Tampa could this program really be?

It opened with George Gershwin’s Cuban Overture, which was promising, a silly, cinematic slice of Havana in the ’30s. There is no evening that can’t be enlivened through that little Latin loony tune. Just like Gershwin preferred, Francis had four percussionists (maracas, bongos, claves and a guiro) come right down front to infuse the rhythm with minty little clicks and clatters. And right off the bat, the crowd got its dose of vintage Ybor City.

Cuban pianist Aldo Lopez-Gavilan came out next to lead Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto, earning a standing ovation after just the first movement (“Two more!” a grinning Francis yelled above the crowd). He performed with superhuman dexterity, his higher keys twinkling like glass wind chimes, the fluff of his Sideshow Bob hairdo bouncing and flouncing as the force of his fingers pushed him up off the bench.

Cuban pianist Aldo Lopez-Gavilan welcomes an ovation after performing Friday with the Florida Orchestra at the
David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts. [JAY CRIDLIN | Tampa Bay Times]

Lopez-Gavilan’s Cuban heritage aside, the Grieg didn’t have much of a tonal link to Tampa. Nor, at first blush, did Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3, the first of many Beethoven selections this season and next.

Leonore comes from Beethoven’s only opera, the not-widely-loved Fidelio. In spotlighting that aspect of the great composer’s life, Francis cast a light on an area often overlooked by the rest of the world — a sensation to which more than a few Tampans might relate. With its playful string volleys and Rob Smith’s faraway trumpet solo emanating from the balcony lobby, Leonore built to a furious finish, with Francis up on his toes, tuxedo tail flailing out behind him.

The night closed with numbers new and old. The new: American composer Mason Bates’ Mothership, an innovatively orchestrated piece that made creative use of percussion, harp and improvised trombone, trumpet, xylophone and E-flat clarinet solos. It sounded like the score to a sci-fi thriller. The old: Maurice Ravel’s Bolero, a slow-building cycle through variations on a theme: Sultry, whimsical, noble, exotic. Principal percussionist John Shaw deserves an Ironman medal for the dogged discipline of his 15-minute snare-drum crescendo, rising from barely perceptible taps to a crash-boom-bang finale.

So you had a Frenchman from the northern Basque (Ravel) leaning into the sound of neighboring Spain; a Brooklynite (Gershwin) borrowing from the Caribbean; a hearing-impaired German (Beethoven) dabbling in the one discipline where he wasn’t considered a master. Did it all add up to Tampa in 2019?

Look, it’s all kindling for the fire that melts the stuff in the pot. Distinctions of backgrounds and borders may not matter. Just look at Lopez-Gavilan, who, upon crushing Grieg’s Norwegian folk masterpiece, brought in yet another cross-cultural perspective, encoring with an off-book number of his own.

“I know there is a lot of history between Tampa and Havana,” Lopez-Gavilan said, introducing Espiral, a marvelously upbeat song “inspired by this relationship.”

Did it scream Tampa Bay like a Cuban with salami? Not especially. But it was eclectic and unique. And if that’s not this town in a nutshell, what is?

This article was published at:
https://www.tampabay.com/arts-entertainment/arts/stage/2019/09/28/what-is-tampa-bay-florida-orchestras-season-opener-seeks-an-answer/?fbclid=IwAR1yNu3uvGMkJXOf26GdnBHNwONj23WWvolpoCy3RBtvRFCjI7EWY8UcOW8

New York, August 30th — Two of today’s most gifted Cuban musicians have reunited after decades of separation under the artistic name “Gavilan Brothers.” The product of their collaboration is now available, a richly layered, much-anticipated album, “Brothers.”

The siblings were born in Havana, Cuba in a family of very well-known musicians, but at the age of 14, Ilmar, the older brother and a violin child prodigy, was sent to the former Soviet Union to study. He later moved to the United States via Spain, where he studied with Glenn Dicterow, earned a Doctorate in musical arts, co-founded the Grammy award-winning Harlem Quartet, and collaborated with such greats as Itzhak Perlman, and Chick Corea.

Aldo, also a child music phenomenon, began studying the piano in Cuba but early on won a scholarship to continue his education at the prestigious Trinity College Music Conservatory in London, England. He later returned to Cuba where he established himself as an acclaimed pianist and composer to perform in many of the most prestigious venues around the world.

Their very busy and successful careers, as well as the strained Cuba-US relationship, kept them apart for many years, and it was only until very recently that they had the opportunity to perform together in the USA, during a series of concerts that brought them to many prestigious concert halls.

It was very clear for the brothers, that they couldn’t wait any longer to record an album together and as soon as their last tour finished, they booked studio time in New York and got to work on it.

The result is an amazing album comprising 11 tracks, all composed by Aldo. While some of the compositions were previously recorded and appear on Aldo’s previous records, this is the first time they have been arranged by Ilmar for just piano and violin and recorded for this intimate format.

“Brothers,” the album’s title is a new composition and also the main piece of a documentary’s soundtrack (“Los Hermanos/The Brothers“) that narrates the story of them and has been slated for release in 2020.

Buy the album Brothers here now

For more information, please contact:

Graffiti Music Group Ltd.
Tel.: +1 416 854 3448
gavilanbrothers (at) aldomusica.com

La Habana, June 26th, 2019

Rising-star Cuban pianist and composer Aldo López-Gavilán has been invited to perform his 2017 concerto “Emporium” with the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra at the Macky Auditorium on November 3rd.

Founded in 1958, the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra is creating a new model for American orchestras through dynamic performances that reflect their community’s own values, creativity, and sense of place. Voted “Best of Boulder” for the past six years in a row, today’s Boulder Phil is bucking national trends with growing, enthusiastic audiences under the vision and leadership of Music Director Michael Butterman.

Emporium had its world premiere last year when the talented pianist performed it with the Classical Tahoe Festival’s orchestra conducted by maestro Joel Revzen. A recording of the live performance was later broadcasted by PBS radio and since, the artist has received many praises about his first concerto, as well as several invitations to perform it with other well know orchestras in Cuba, Colombia, France, and the United States.

Tickets for this concert can be purchased at: https://boulderphil.org/season-overview/2019-20-season-announcement

Havana, May 18, 2019

The outstanding pianist and composer Aldo López-Gavilán, will return to the Martí Theater of the capital on Sunday, June 2 at 5 pm. On this occasion, in addition to his band’s musicians (Julio César González on bass, Ruy Adrián López-Nussa on drums and Alejandro Calzadilla on saxophone and clarinet); he has invited other renowned musicians to share the stage with him; in what promises to be another memorable concert.

The Chamber Orchestra of Havana, conducted by Maestra Daiana García, Harold Lopez-Nussa and the young Rodrigo García on the keyboards, the Ensemble Vocal Luna choir, conducted by Maestra Wilmia Verrier, Mayquel González on the trumpet, Yaroldy Abreu on Afro-Cuban percussion and Rodrigo Mompellier on guitar; will accompany López-Gavilán and his band to perform some of his most popular compositions, but also new works, such as Divagación, his first choral creation.

Since his last concert in the beautiful theater in Havana, three years ago, the pianist has performed almost a hundred presentations in the United States, along with some of the major orchestras in that country, as well as participating in other prestigious events such as world-famous Aux Jacobins Piano Festival in Toulouse, France, where he received as a prize the recording of an album that will soon be released under the label of the festival itself.

Another important milestone of his recording career has been the recording of the “Brothers” album, earlier this year in New York, together with his brother the virtuoso violinist Ilmar López-Gavilán, which includes arrangements for piano and violin of some of his most popular compositions such as: Carpenter Bird, City Friday and Trees in the Air; in addition to Hermanos, a specially composed work for the documentary with the same name, that the production company Patchworks Films of San Francisco has made about the life and artistic career of Cuban musicians.

Tickets for the concert will be on sale starting Tuesday, May 28.

Good morning Mr. Gavilan,

I am writing to you because on Saturday, January 5, 2019, I attended a concert with the Florida Orchestra in Saint Petersburg Florida. George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue was featured and because I am very much an obsessed admirer of Mr. Gershwin and his music, I never miss a live performance if I can attend.

I own probably more than 40 recorded versions of Rhapsody in Blue and I have attended dozens of live concerts where the piece was featured. I also was able to play a reasonable facsimile of it in my younger piano playing days.

But I can tell you without hesitation that your interpretation on that Jan. 4 concert was for me the absolute number one I have ever heard. I fully understand that Gershwin is a very unique composer who still to this day is not easy to categorize especially when it comes to his more extended compositions. However, more often than not, musicians and orchestras tend to toss off those pieces as mere Broadway based entertainment. But your performance (and the orchestra’s) was a true very serious interpretation of the piece. Even your personal “cadenza” was of the utmost taste and respect.

In other words I was totally enchanted and came out of that concert with only two wishes: that somehow your interpretation could be made available on CD and that someday we may have the pleasure of hearing your interpretation of Gershwin’s Concerto in F.

Your talent is truly amazing and I can only wish you continued success and thank you for that marvelous concert!

Best regards,

Michel (Mike) LeBlanc

Toulouse, France, September 22^nd ,2018

Piano aux Jacobins is one of the most celebrated Piano Festivals in Europe. Founded in Toulouse, back in 1979, the event has welcomed some of the best-known pianists in the world, such as: Sviatoslav Richter, Alfred Brendel, Martha Argerich, Gonzales and Murray Perahias.

The festival is a rendezvous of musicians of classical training but also nurtures and celebrates the jazz genre. The festival has also extended to China, with editions in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as in other major Chinese cities, and to Japan (Tokyo and Gifu).

Aldo Lopez-Gavilan is the first Cuban pianist to take part in this prestigious festival and his concert at the gorgeous Auditorium Saint-Pierre des Cuisines on September 21^st was one that received many praises from both: the audience and the organizers.

With a program mainly comprised by his compositions (“Un Cubano En Londres”, “Espiral”, “Memorias de un abuelo”, “Oddudua”, “Maracujá”, etc.) but that also included some standards (“Solar” and “Some day my prince will come”), the very talented pianist offered an amazing recital that he appeared to enjoyed as much as the audience in the hall.

His outstanding performance gained him an invitation from the organizers to come back to Toulouse to record an album next year.

—-versión en español—–

Aldo López-Gavilán impresiona en Toulouse, Francia

Toulouse, Francia, 22 de septiembre de 2018

Piano aux Jacobins es uno de los festivales de piano más famosos de Europa. Fundado en Toulouse, en 1979, el evento ha acogido a algunos de los pianistas más conocidos del mundo, como: Sviatoslav Richter, Alfred Brendel, Martha Argerich, Gonzales y Murray Perahias.

El festival es un encuentro de músicos de formación clásica, pero también nutre y celebra el género de jazz. El festival también se ha extendido a China, con ediciones en Beijing y Shanghai, así como en otras ciudades chinas importantes, y en Japón (Tokio y Gifu).

Aldo López-Gavilán es el primer pianista cubano que participa en este prestigioso festival y su concierto en el magnífico Auditorio Saint-Pierre des Cuisines el 21 de septiembre recibió muchos elogios de ambos: el público y los organizadores.

Con un programa compuesto principalmente por sus composiciones (“Un Cubano En Londres”, “Espiral”, “Memorias de un abuelo”, “Oddudua”, “Maracujá”, etc.) pero que también incluía algunos estándares (“Solar” y ” Algún día vendrá mi príncipe “), el pianista muy talentoso ofreció un recital increíble que parecía disfrutar tanto como la audiencia en el salón.

Su destacada actuación le hizo ganar una invitación de los organizadores para volver a Toulouse para grabar un álbum el año que viene.

Cuban pianist lights a fire with South Florida Symphony

By David Fleshler

February 17 of 2018, Havana | Office of Aldo López-Gavilán

Aldo López-Gavilán, the multi-award-winning Cuban pianist, and composer will make his debut with the Florida Orchestra with three major concerts on February 23, 24 and 25 in the Florida cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater, respectively.

The Florida Orchestra celebrates its 50th anniversary with an exciting program and for the debut of the young Cuban pianist has chosen ” Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini ” by the Russian composer, pianist and conductor Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943). The composition of Rachmaninoff is based on ” 24 Caprices for solo violin”, the most significant work of the virtuoso violinist and Genoese composer Nicolò Paganini (1801-1807). Other great masters like Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms, were also inspired by this work to write their own compositions.

In the spring of 1934, Rachmaninoff, another great virtuoso, canceled a concert tour that he had planned to dedicate himself fully to the Rhapsody in Lucerne, composing in a single movement, three sections that group the variations 1-10, 11-18 and 19 -24. The result is one of the best works of Rachmaninoff. It premiered in Baltimore, on November 11, 1934, with Rachmaninoff himself as a soloist.

This will be the first time that the Cuban pianist plays the famous Rhapsody with a symphony orchestra.

For these three concerts, the Florida Orchestra will be conducted by Michael Francis, who has quickly established himself internationally, conducting in Asia, North America, and Europe. Known for maintaining a diverse repertoire while paying particular homage to the composers of his native Britain, Francis. Last season, Francis debuted with the Atlanta and Montreal symphony orchestras and Cincinnati’s May Music Festival, and he returned to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra with Emanuel Ax. Abroad, he appeared with Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken, Komische Oper Berlin, Dresden Philharmonic, Tampere Filharmonia, and Trondheim Symphony Orchestra.

After these important concerts with the Florida Orchestra, López-Gavilán will continue his extensive tour of the USA. UU next to the Harlem Quartet and in April he will return to Florida to make his debut with the South Florida Orchestra, performing the Concert for Piano in G major by Ravel.

Celebrated young composer to perform world premiere of his first concerto for piano and orchestra, Emporium, at Classical Tahoe on July 29

HAVANA, Cuba – July 10, 2017 – Renowned Cuban pianist and composer Aldo López-Gavilán continues his foray onto the U.S. music scene with sold-out headline performances at two prominent summer music festivals in California: Festival Napa Valley and Classical Tahoe. Both by-invitation appearances feature López-Gavilán’s original compositions, including the world premiere of his first concerto for piano and orchestra, Emporium.

Back by popular demand after dazzling the Festival Napa Valley audience last summer, López-Gavilán returns to join violinist Joshua Bell for his Seasons of Cuba concert on July 15 at Far Niente Winery. The concert also features soprano Larisa Martinez and the Havana Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Daiana Garcia. He will later headline Festival Napa Valley’s Hot Havana Nights show at the Blue Note Jazz Club on Tuesday, July 18, where the audience will get an up-close look at his virtuosity and genius for improvisation. Lopez-Gavilan joins a superstar Festival Napa Valley lineup that includes vocalists Danielle deNiese, Paulo Szot, Angel Blue and Lester Lynch, conductors Stéphane Denève and Joel Revzen, actor Bill Murray with cellist Jan Vogler, and the lead actors from the Hamilton National Tour.

The artist continues his Northern California tour with back-to-back sold-out performances at Classical Tahoe. Under the baton of maestro Joel Revzen, the Classical Tahoe Orchestra will join Lopez-Gavilan on Saturday, July 29, to perform the world premiere of his Emporium, a concerto for piano and orchestra dedicated to Lopez-Gavilan’s twin 9 years old daughters Andrea and Adriana. López-Gavilán will perform the popular Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin with the Classical Tahoe orchestra on Friday, July 28.

Lopez-Gavilan continues his US tour with performances with the Harlem String Quartet in Edgartown, Mass., Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., Houston, TX, Muskegon, MI and Big Rapids, MI.

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About: Aldo López-Gavilán was born in Cuba to a family of internationally acclaimed classical musicians. His first international triumph was at age eleven, when he won the Danny Kaye International Children’s Award, organized by UNICEF. He made his professional debut at age twelve with the Matanzas Symphony Orchestra. Parallel to his classical abilities, López-Gavilán developed remarkable improvisational skills. He was invited to perform in the world-famous Havana Jazz Festival with legend Chucho Valdés, who called López- Gavilán “simply a genius, a star.” In 1999, López-Gavilán recorded his first CD, En el ocaso de la hormiga y el elefante, which won the 2000 Grand Prix at Cubadisco. He was also invited by Claudio Abbado to perform as soloist in a special concert dedicated to the two hundrhundred-fiftieth anniversary of Mozart’s birth, in which he was accompanied by the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. The following year, Abbado invited him to perform Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 1 in Caracas and Havana. López-Gavilán’s remarkable professional career also includes composing original music for award-winning films and arranging his own compositions for international orchestras, as well as performing in some of the most prestigious music venues of the world.

For more information and booking inquiries, please visit Aldo López-Gavilán’s official website: www.aldomusica.com

Cuban pianist and composer Aldo Lopez-Gavilan makes his highly-anticipated return to the Northwest, joining members of the Sinfonietta for an unforgettable evening of music!  Dubbed a “formidable virtuoso” by The Times of London, Lopez-Gavilan excels equally in the worlds of classical, jazz, and chamber music.  His spirit of collaboration has made him a key figure in promoting the cultural exchange between the United States and Cuba.  In April 2016, he was part of a group of musicians who collaborated in Cuba with such renowned U.S. artists as Joshua Bell, Dave Matthews, and Smokey Robinson.

Rooted in classical music, Northwest Sinfonietta seeks to serve diverse audiences, to strengthen its community connections through education and collaboration, and to broaden its influence in the artistic and cultural fabric of the region.

Northwest Sinfonietta recently switched to The Artistic Partner model, which is used successfully by some of the top chamber orchestras in the world; including Academy of St. Martin in the Field, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. The two key components of the model are 1) engaging a small group of rotating Artistic Partners; and 2) sharing artistic decision-making with our musicians. Artistic Partners are not just guest conductors – they will be with us for multiple seasons on a rotating basis, and will collaborate with NWS musicians on both programming and artistic quality.

In 2012 and 2013, NWS was only the third American orchestra to tour and perform in Cuba since the 1959 revolution, prompting Governor Christine Gregoire to proclaim Northwest Sinfonietta as “Washington State’s international cultural ambassador.” In 2014, they became the fifth professional chamber orchestra in the world to adopt the Artistic Partner leadership model.  Their 2015-16 season celebrated the 25^th anniversary for the orchestra, as well as the Governor’s Arts Award as an outstanding organization in Washington State.  The Sinfonietta’s 2016-17 season builds on its history of excellence, with three stellar Artistic Partners, world-class soloists, and exciting collaborations with other arts organizations throughout the Puget Sound region.