Osvaldo Golijov

Osvaldo Noé Golijov (born December 5, 1960)^[1] is a Grammy award–winning composer of classical music.

Biography

Osvaldo Golijov (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈɡolixof]) was born in and grew up in La Plata, Argentina,^[1] in a Jewish family that had emigrated to Argentina in the 1920s from Romania and Russia.^[2][3]

Golijov has developed a rich musical language, the result of a lifetime of experience with various types of music. His Romanian Jewish parents exposed him to the traditional Klezmer music and liturgical music of their faith. Growing up and going to public school in Argentina showed him the many musical styles of his family's adopted country, including the tango. Once Golijov traveled abroad to continue his studies, the influences of other people and other styles became part of him. What is considered so remarkable about his musical language is that, rather than a pastiche of styles, it is wholly cohesive. It is thought of as vibrant and alive, growing and changing as he does.^[4]

Golijov's mother was a piano teacher, his father, a physician. He was raised "surrounded by chamber classical music, Jewish liturgical and klezmer music, and the new tango of Ástor Piazzolla," according to his official website. He studied piano at the local conservatory in La Plata and studied composition with Gerardo Gandini.

In 1983, Golijov moved to Israel, where he studied with Mark Kopytman at the Jerusalem Rubin Academy. Three years later, he moved to the United States of America with his wife, Silvia. There he studied with American composer George Crumb at the University of Pennsylvania before receiving his doctorate.^[1]

Golijov is the recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship^[1] and the Vilcek Prize, among other awards and commissions.^[1] He collaborates closely with conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya; vocalists Luciana Souza and Biella de Costa; cellists Yo-Yo Ma, Alisa Weilerstein, Maya Beiser and Matt Haimowitz; the Kamanchech virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor and percussionist Jamey Haddad; ensembles including the Atlanta Symphony, the Boston Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, Silk Road Ensemble and eighth blackbird; the artist Gronk, playwright David Henry Hwang, and directors Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Sellars. He has been composer-in-residence at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Merkin Hall in New York, the Spoleto USA Festival, the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Music Alive series, Marlboro Music School and Festiva, Ravinia Festival, and several other festivals. In 2010, he composed a commissioned work for 35 American orchestras titled Sidereus, dedicated to legendary arts administrator Henry Fogel and honoring the seventeenth century Italian astronomer Galileo.^[5]

Golijov is Loyola Professor of Music at the College of the Holy Cross at Worcester, Massachusetts, where he has taught since 1991.^[6] He is also on the faculty of the Boston Conservatory.^[1] He has three children.^[7]

Golijov's music

Golijov and composers Sofia Gubaidulina, Tan Dun, and Wolfgang Rihm were commissioned by the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart to write pieces for the Passion 2000 project in commemoration of Johann Sebastian Bach. Golijov's contribution was La Pasión según San Marcos (The Passion according to St. Mark).

He has also composed and arranged works for the Kronos Quartet and the St. Lawrence String Quartet.^[1] He frequently works with Venezuelan conductor Maria Guinand, who conducted the world premieres of Oceana (commissioned by the Oregon Bach Festival, 1996) and La Pasión según San Marcos (Stuttgart's European Music Festival, 2000), classical and Klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer, and American soprano Dawn Upshaw, who performed premieres of his new opera, Ainadamar (and Arias and Ensembles derived from it) at the Santa Fe Opera Festival in 2005, London's Barbican Arts Centre in 2006 and Opera Boston in 2007. His first movie soundtrack experience was for Sally Potter's 2000 film The Man Who Cried. More recently he composed for Francis Ford Coppola's movie Youth Without Youth,^[8] and original music for Coppola's films Tetro^[9] and Twixt.^[10]

Golijov received two Grammys in the Grammy Awards of 2007—the Best Opera Recording for Ainadamar: Fountain of Tears and Best Classical Contemporary Composition for the same opera.^[11] Golijov also received a Grammy nomination in 2002 for Yiddishbbuk.^[12]

Cornish College of the Arts (Seattle) is currently featuring a retrospective on Osvaldo Golijov featuring the ODEONQUARTET on April 22, 2011. The program includes "Tenebrae", " Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind" (1994), for clarinet and string quartet, "Lullaby and Doina" (2001), for flute, clarinet, string quartet and double bass , "Lúa Descolorida" (2002), for soprano and string quartet and "How Slow the Wind" (2001), for soprano and string quartet.

Deadline controversy

Golijov came under scrutiny in 2011 for a series of high-profile commissions that were either delayed or cancelled. A violin concerto written for the Los Angeles Philharmonic was not completed in time,^[13] and had to be replaced on the program. This followed a similar cancellation in 2010, when a song cycle that was scheduled had to be removed from the program when it was not complete in time.^[14] The March 2011 premiere of a new string quartet for the St. Lawrence Quartet was also delayed due to a missed deadline.^[15]

Discography

• Tetro (soundtrack) (Deutsche Grammophon, 2009)
• Youth Without Youth (soundtrack) (Deutsche Grammophon, 2007)
• Oceana (Deutsche Grammophon, 2007)
• Ainadamar (Deutsche Grammophon, Dawn Upshaw, Robert Spano, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra)
• Ayre (Deutsche Grammophon CD 00289 477 5414)
• La Pasión según San Marcos The Passion according to St. Mark (Hänssler Classic 98404, 2001)
• La Pasión según San Marcos The Passion according to St. Mark (two versions: live performance on DVD, Holland Festival, Amsterdam, 22 June 2008 and studio CD, Caracas, both performances are on Deutsche Grammophon B0014008-00)
• Yiddishbbuk (EMI Classics 57356-2)
• The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind performed by the Kronos Quartet (Nonesuch 79444)
• Nuevo arrangements for the Kronos Quartet (Nonesuch 79649)
• The Man Who Cried (soundtrack) (Sony Classical SK 61870)^[16]
• Caravan arrangements for the Kronos Quartet (Nonesuch 79490)
• Voices of Light Golijov's composition Lúa Descolorida sung by soprano Dawn Upshaw (Nonesuch 79812)
• Night Prayers Golijov's composition K'vakarat on recording of the Kronos Quartet (Nonesuch 79346)
• World to Come Golijov's composition Mariel played by cellist Maya Beiser (Koch Int'l Classics B0000CABC4)
• Goulash composition Oración Lucumí on recording by the cellist Matt Haimovitz (Oxingale)
• Anthem Golijov's composition Omaramor on recording by cellist Matt Haimovitz (Oxingale 1238)
• Klezmer Concertos and Encores composition Rocketekya on recording of klezmer music (Naxos B0000C508L)
• Borromeo String Quartet Living Archive February 29, 2004 (CD/DVD/VHS) Golijov's compositions Yiddishbbuk and Tenebrae
• Voices of Our Time – Dawn Upshaw (DVD) Golijov's composition Lúa Descolorida (TDK VTDU)

Film composer

• The Man Who Cried (2000)
• 11'09"01 September 11 (2002)
• Youth Without Youth (2007)
• Tetro (2009)
• The Oath (2010)
• Twixt (2011, with Dan Deacon)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "Osvaldo Golijov: Biography". http://www.osvaldogolijov.com/bio.htm. Retrieved 2011-07-28. 
2. ^ Terauds, John (2010-02-25). "Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov follows his intuition". Toronto: thestar.com. http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/article/770499--argentine-composer-osvaldo-golijov-follows-his-intuition. Retrieved 2010-02-25. 
3. ^ "Osvaldo Golijov: La Pásion según San Marcos". laphil.com. http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/piece-detail.cfm?id=2929. Retrieved 2010-03-15. 
4. ^ "Official website of Osvaldo Golijov". osvaldogolijov.com. http://www.osvaldogolijov.com/wd45n.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-09. 
5. ^ Horsley, Paul. "HOMAGE TO HENRY: Orchestras, League commission top composer to honor visionary leader". Kansas City Independent. http://www.kcindependent.com/2011/03/7053/. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
6. ^ "Osvaldo Golijov Named Loyola Professor of Music at Holy Cross". http://www.holycross.edu/publicaffairs/features/2007-2008/golijov_loyolaprofessorship. Retrieved 2008-05-27. 
7. ^ Beggy, Carol; Shanahan, Mark (2006-10-27). "Newton composer bowls over Bowie". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2006/10/27/newton_composer_bowls_over_bowie/. Retrieved 2006-12-03. 
8. ^ Youth without Youth at the Internet Movie Database
9. ^ Tetro at the Internet Movie Database
10. ^ Twixt at the Internet Movie Database
11. ^ "Yahoo! Music 49th GRAMMY Awards Winners in the Classical Category". http://music.yahoo.com/promo-25023071-101-20051208-114. Retrieved 2006-02-12. 
12. ^ "YIDDISHBBUK NOMINATED FOR TWO GRAMMY AWARDS". St. Lawrence String Quartet. http://slsq.com/news/yiddishbbuk-nominated-two-grammy-awards). Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
13. ^ http://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddisc/2011/03/golly_flunks_on_the_dude.html
14. ^ "Los Angeles Philharmonic hit by Wave of Cancellations by Artists". Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/03/los-angeles-philharmonic-hit-by-wave-of-cancellations-by-artists.html. Retrieved 2011-03-15. 
15. ^ Kozinn, Allan (2011-03-09). "St. Lawrence String Quartet At Zankel Hall Review". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/arts/music/st-lawrence-string-quartet-at-zankel-hall-review.html. Retrieved 2011-03-15. 
16. ^ Crebo, Anna (2002-11-01). "Osvaldo Golijov: A busy composer finds it all a little 'scary.'". American Record Guide. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-26724701_ITM. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 

External links

• Official website of Osvaldo Golijov
• Interview with Osvaldo Golijov, 2008, from Habitus: A Diaspora Journal
• Osvaldo Golijov discusses his opera, Aidanamar from WGBH Radio Boston
• Osvaldo Golijov at the Internet Movie Database
• NPR's Tom Huizenga names La Pasión Según San Marcos one of the classical recordings of the decade
• The Passion of Osvaldo Golijov
• Osvaldo Golijov @ Boosey & Hawkes

Persondata
Name	Golijov, Osvaldo
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Date of birth	1950
Place of birth
Date of death
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