Emporium: Music of Aldo Lopez-Gavilan [World Premiere Recordings]

Emporium: Music of Aldo López-Gavilán presents world-premiere recordings of orchestral and solo works by the Cuban pianist-composer Aldo López-Gavilán, performed with the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra under Michael Butterman, with López-Gavilán himself as piano soloist and Ricardo Morales as clarinet soloist.

The centerpiece of the album is Emporium, a three-movement piano concerto originally conceived during an improvisation session as a musical gift for the composer’s daughters. The work unfolds as an imaginative “emporium” of musical ideas and colors, symbolizing a place where one can discover beauty from across the world and beyond. The opening movement, marked Allegretto spiritoso, begins with a rhythmic piano ostinato and gradually builds into expansive orchestral textures. The second movement presents a reflective, hymn-like atmosphere before rising to a virtuosic cadenza. The finale bursts with energetic rhythms and exuberant virtuosity, culminating in a radiant return of the work’s central melodic motif.

The album also features a Clarinet Concerto, written as a tribute to the composer’s grandfather, the celebrated Cuban clarinetist Juan Jorge Junco. The piece blends classical orchestral writing with jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythmic elements. Its lyrical central movement takes the form of a jazz ballad, while the energetic finale incorporates playful rhythmic gestures and colorful orchestration.

Completing the program is Hechizos (Spells), a 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, the album highlights López-Gavilán’s distinctive musical voice—one that seamlessly blends classical virtuosity, improvisational freedom, jazz inflections, and Afro-Cuban rhythmic vitality.

Aldo López-Gavilán – composer, piano
Ricardo Morales – clarinet
Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra
Michael Butterman – conductor