Osvaldo Golijov - Azul (Yo-Yo Ma; The Knights)

Information

1. Siamak Aghaei - Ascending Bird
2. Antonín Dvořák - Rusalka, Op. 114: Song to the Moon (arr. Jesse Diener-Bennett)
3. Osvaldo Golijov - Azul: I. Paz Sulfúrica
4. Osvaldo Golijov - Azul: II. Silencio
5. Osvaldo Golijov - Azul: III. Transit
6. Osvaldo Golijov - Azul: IV. Yrushalem
7. Karlheinz Stockhausen - Tierkreis: Leo (Arr. Shaw for Ensemble)
8. Sufjan Stevens - Suite from Run Rabbit Run (arr. Michael P. Atkinson): I. Year of the Ox
9. Sufjan Stevens - Suite from Run Rabbit Run (arr. Michael P. Atkinson): II. Enjoy Your Rabbit
10. Sufjan Stevens - Suite from Run Rabbit Run (arr. Michael P. Atkinson): III. Year of Our Lord
11. Sufjan Stevens - Suite from Run Rabbit Run (arr. Michael P. Atkinson): IV. Year of the Boar

Yo-Yo Ma, cello

The Knights

Eric Jacobsen, conductor

Date: 2017 / 2026

Label: Sony Classical

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Azul, the Spanish word for "blue," rooted in the Arabic and Persian terms for lapis lazuli and evocative of clear skies, serves as the title and central piece of Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov’s contemplative cello concerto on this celestially themed album. Originally commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and premiered in 2006 by world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the work is performed here by Ma alongside Brooklyn’s orchestral collective, The Knights. Led by co-Artistic Directors Colin and Eric Jacobsen, the ensemble delivers a dynamic chamber music sensibility in orchestral form, continuing a collaborative artistic relationship with Ma that spans over two decades.

Born in 1960 in Argentina to an Eastern European Jewish family, composer Osvaldo Golijov synthesizes classical, klezmer, liturgical, and tango influences into a signature "Golijovian" sound. A MacArthur Fellow and two-time Grammy winner, Golijov gained international acclaim with groundbreaking works like La Pasión según San Marcos, the opera Ainadamar, and the song cycle Falling Out of Time. Renowned for extensive collaborations with leading figures like Yo-Yo Ma and the Kronos Quartet, he has also scored major film soundtracks, including Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis. Golijov serves as composer-in-residence at the College of the Holy Cross, where he has taught since 1991.