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Maybe we've seen too many episodes of the freshly canceled Sally Jessye (or was it David Cronenberg movies?), but really -- are twins supposed to get along this well? Through thick and twin
The Padilla brothers harmonize
their lives and their musicBy Scott Vogel
svogel@starbulletin.com"When we were finishing school, we wanted to get new violins," said Duane Padilla, 27, a mere 5 minutes younger than brother Dan. "We couldn't really afford old stuff but we figured we wanted to do something special, so we conned a violin maker into making us two fiddles from the same block of wood. If you look on the back, the grains of wood are identical."
As are, needless to say, the twins, whose upbringing in Los Angeles gave way to virtually identical resumés (undergrad stints at Northwestern, grad school at Yale) and identical gigs as members of the Honolulu Symphony string section. Both are here on one-year contracts -- thanks to a pair of HSO violinists on maternity leave -- and both are eagerly awaiting news on whether said contracts might be renewed. In the meantime, they'll not only finish out the orchestral season but also give voice to their double lives, headlining as the Gemini Duo, which performs tomorrow evening at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu.
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"Our experience in Hawaii has been quite interesting. It's been a lot different from living in Connecticut (where Yale is). We're Filipino, so we hadn't seen another Filipino for like four years, and then we came to Hawaii and a huge Filipino community."These days, the voyage to a satisfying classical music career can be difficult at best, and it helps to have the support of one's community. Then again, the Padillas have always been able to count on each other, their partnership apparently based to a remarkable degree on a similarity of personality.
"Some twins try to find their own separate ways," said Duane, "but with us, we've always supported each other. We kind of fill in the gaps. When one of us has a weakness the other guy just fills in. Even when we were growing up we were very much like that."
Credit for this concordance should go to the Padillas' mother, who "was also a twin, so she got into the twin thing really a lot" -- dressing the boys alike and encouraging their mutual dependence. And it's this foundation of security that's allowed her sons to fearlessly attack some of the more demanding and rarely played pieces in the repertory, including a sonata for two violins by Miklos Rosza, a composer better known for scoring such classic films as "Ben Hur" and "Double Indemnity." ("It's really a virtuoso-type piece with lots of double stop chords.")
At Saturday's concert, which is being presented by Pacific International Concert Artists, the Padillas will indeed be playing the Rosza piece, along with other violin duos by Prokofiev and Leclair. Audience members who are hoping for a Hawaii connection (and are willing to strain a little) may find it in a piece by Charles DeBeriot, a 19th century French violin virtuoso whose original compositions aren't often played these days.
Where: Lutheran Church of Honolulu, 1730 Punahou St. The Gemini Duo
When: 7:30 p.m. tomorrow
Cost: $15; $10, students, includes post-concert reception
Call: 394-0788
"We don't really have a Hawaiian repertoire, but the DeBeriot opens with lots of pizzicato, so it's kind of like a ukulele. And it has a very friendly, 'aloha' kind of spirit."
Not unlike the brothers Padilla, who've taken to their home like fish to water and who consistently maintain -- despite persistent questioning from an incredulous reporter -- that they're "best friends" and ultra-harmonious collaborators.
Well, OK, there was that one incident with the TV.
"In the general case, whoever has the melody is the boss (during concerts), but we've been known to get in a few arguments. Once before a competition, Dan picked up a TV because he didn't agree with my interpretation and was threatening to throw it at me."
Hallelujah -- they're human!
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