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Cuban pianist-composer Aldo López-Gavilan presents world-premiere recordings of three of his own orchestral and solo works highlighting the composer’s distinctive musical voice—one that seamlessly blends classical virtuosity, improvisational freedom, jazz inflections, and Afro-Cuban rhythmic vitality. The title work is a three-movement piano concerto originally conceived during an improvisation session as a musical gift for the composer’s daughters. The album also features López-Gavilan’s Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra blending classical orchestral writing with jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythmic elements, written as a tribute to the composer’s grandfather, the celebrated Cuban clarinetist Juan Jorge Junco. Completing the program is a performance by López-Gavilan of Hechizos (Spells), his three-movement piano suite exploring magical and dreamlike imagery. Each movement evokes a different mystical atmosphere—from the fluttering textures of Mariposas Nocturnas to the hypnotic landscapes of Hipnosis and the sinister dance-like energy of Conjuros. Recorded live at Macky Auditorium Concert Hall in Boulder, Colorado, Emporium and the clarinet concerto are performed with the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra under Michael Butterman, with López-Gavilán himself as piano soloist and Ricardo Morales as clarinet soloist.

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