Chicago Classical Music

Osvaldo Golijov: Jewish Influences in My Music
Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, 610 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago

Sunday, April 6 at 2 pm
Tickets: $20 | $15 for Spertus members | $10 for students
Advanced tickets highly recommended.
Call 312.322.1773

“one of the few composers today whose works are profoundly shifting the geography of the classical music world”
— The New York Times

Osvaldo Golijov is a Grammy award-winning composer of classical music, known for his brilliant integration of musical traditions from around the world. Guest host Henry Fogel leads an engaging conversation with Golijov about the development of his work and the ways Jewish influences and experiences have impacted his music. The program will include a live performance of Golijov's Lullaby and Doina by musicians from the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.

Osvaldo Golijov grew up in an Eastern European Jewish household in Argentina, surrounded by classical, Jewish liturgical, and klezmer music, as well as Astor Piazzolla's tango. After studying at the local conservatory, he moved to Israel and immersed himself in Jerusalem’s colliding musical traditions. He earned his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied with George Crumb and was a fellow at Tanglewood.

In the 1990s, Golijov began work with the St. Lawrence and Kronos quartets, the first to project his category-defying style. His recordings with them include Yiddishbbuk with the St. Lawrence String Quartet, and Golijov: The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind, Caravan, and Nuevo with Kronos. Golijov also collaborates with other artists, including Romanian Gypsy band Taraf de Haidouks, the Mexican Rock group Café Tacuba, tablas virtuoso Zakir Hussain, and legendary Argentine musician Gustavo Santaolalla.

A MacArthur Fellow, Golijov has been composer-in-residence at prestigious festivals including the 2007 Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. He is co-composer-in-residence, together with Marc-Anthony Turnage, at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, through June of 2008. Other recent projects include Azul, a cello concerto for Yo-Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony, and the soundtrack for Francis Ford Coppola's film Youth Without Youth.