Gavilan Brothers

Ilmar Gavilán, violin
Aldo López-Gavilán, piano
Musician brothers Aldo López-Gavilán and Ilmar Gavilán grew up together as young prodigies in Havana in the 1970s. At 14, Ilmar was sent to the former Soviet Union to continue his violin studies, eventually settling as an adult in New York, where he founded the Grammy-winning Harlem Quartet. Younger brother Aldo remained in Cuba after training in London, and was mentored by the island’s revered jazz and classical piano masters, his significant talent achieving renown internationally but eluding wider recognition in the States due to the 60-year-old US embargo on Cuba.

Reunited (and the subject of a 2020 documentary film, Los Hermanos), the brothers form a duo like no other, defined by a sweetly delicate lyricism one moment, and an infectious rhythmic energy the next. They play compositions by Aldo, recorded on their duo release Hermanos, that weave together dreamy chamber sonorities with Afro-Cuban jazz and folk forms. “[López-Gavilán is] a terrific composer, with range, imagination and technique…[his] superb pianism rock[ed] the house as well” (The Washington Post).

This event is part of our Illuminations “Place and Displacement” programming for the 2021–22 season.

Related event: Film screening of Los Hermanos/The Brothers; details to be announced.