Aldo-López Gavilán and his brother, violinist Ilmar Gavilán, starred in a fascinating musical odyssey in Boston.

July 23, 2022

The Gavilán Brothers, violinist Ilmar alongside pianist and composer Aldo-López, starred in a fascinating musical odyssey. PBS has just premiered a film about the brothers called Hermanos who were separated for decades due to the political situation in Cuba and only recently reunited to perform and record together for the first time, came to The Breakers on Saturday.

Aldo opened with a world premiere. Newport commissioned American composer Shawn E. Okpebholo for a piece that would reflect part of the history surrounding historic Rhode Island, and that would speak to our time. The result, Okpebholo's Crooked Shanks, develops a melody of the same name composed in the mid-1700s by a former slave, Newport Gardner, who lived in Newport. Gardner was born as Occramer Marycoo, possibly from Sierra Leone, and at age 14 was transported and sold as a slave to the captain of a Newport ship, Caleb Gardner, who gave the young Occramer the name Newport and legally adapted the surname as his own. Gardner received training in English, French, and music. He purchased his freedom in 1791 and obtained a house in Newport, where he became a music teacher. He composed several melodies, of which Crooked Shanks appeared in English dance melody books as early as 1768. For more information about Newport Gardner, click here.



Okpebholo's free adaptation of Gardner's melody produced a symphonic poem of immense beauty infused with Afro-Cuban flavors. It was written specifically for Aldo López Gavilán, who performed it with sensitivity and dynamic energy. The Crooked Shanks melody was not easily identified, as its original conception as a dance melody in 6/8 was never present. Only the notes of the theme were hinted at, rising gradually from an impressionist haze, perhaps with reminiscences of a thick sea mist, emerging gradually at dawn. After a long dramatic pause, the second section began with a primitive rhythmic course, evoking in spirit something like Bartók's Allegro Barbaro but using infused African American and Cuban rhythms, some associated with 'rag-time' music, and building in speed and intensity. Some of the phrases took on a character of improvisation, while others became increasingly chromatic, until everything settled back into the dreamlike mists of the opening.

Aldo's compositions performed by his brother Ilmar on violin and himself on piano formed the balance of the concert. Many of the romantic and nostalgic themes recalled past and intoxicating days of Havana, sometimes the writing became expansive and overwhelming, other times energetic and virtuosic, infused with the timeless rhythms of Cuban dances and African-inspired folk music. Aldo feels at home in both jazz and classical language, and is a skilled jazz improviser with impressive technique, all of which merged in the compositions, while Ilmar's violin soared above the fray with memorable melodies, and occasionally the brothers executed very fast unison passages with exacting precision.

Some songs deserve special mention. Caipiriñame brought us not only the rhythm of Cuba but also of Brazil and Bossa Nova, with an extensive and brilliant piano solo, while Eclypse was an intimate slow jazz ballad that incorporates elements of improvisation woven within its moving themes, an expression of the separation the brothers had to endure during an important part of their lives. Related to that was the song Hermanos, which is also the title of the PBS film about the brothers and the title of their debut album as a duo. Ilmar described this piece as "intimate and moving".

Quick Tune contained underlying rumba rhythms in virtuosic violin writing and an exciting piano solo reminiscent of a toccata, culminating in a tour de force unison finale. This earned one of the many standing ovations the brothers received throughout the evening. Several of the works told stories. Momo's Tale was inspired by a girl who recovered stolen time, from a children's novel by German writer Michael Ende, while Viernes de Ciudad depicted a day in London, beginning in a Middle Eastern district at dawn, with themes and sounds that reflected the sounds of Persian instruments, which included finger-plucking on the bass strings with an open pedal to create the sound of a santur (the Middle Eastern equivalent of the hammered dulcimer). Suddenly we find ourselves at noon dancing in the streets of an Irish neighborhood, and the day concludes with all the hustle and bustle of a cosmopolitan city, ending in London's pubs to the sound of melodies reminiscent of the Beatles.

The closing, Pan con Timba (Bread with Whatever), offers a humorous look at Cuba today, with memories of Old Havana and the unique, complex, and iconic rhythm of Cuban son and salsa called tumbao. All combined to create an evening of unforgettable memories and melodies.