Osvaldo Golijov grew up in an Eastern European Jewish household in La Plata, Argentina. Born to a piano teacher mother and physician father, Golijov was raised surrounded by classical chamber music, Jewish liturgical and klezmer music, and the new tango of Astor Piazzolla. His blending of genres and seamless integration of voices speak volumes about his approach and style, a musical language that can only be termed “Golijovian.”

Since the early 1990s, Golijov has enjoyed collaborations with some of the world’s leading chamber music ensembles such as the Kronos Quartet and the St. Lawrence String Quartet; in addition to relationships with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Dawn Upshaw, and Robert Spano; and orchestras including the Atlanta, Boston, and Chicago symphony orchestras. In 2000, the premiere of Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos (St. Mark Passion) took the music world by storm. The Boston Globe called it “the first indisputably great composition of the 21st century.” Golijov has also received acclaim for groundbreaking works such as his opera Ainadamar and the clarinet quintet The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind.

In recent years, the Silkroad Ensemble has toured Golijov’s Falling Out of Time, including a 2022 performance at Carnegie Hall. The 80-minute song cycle, based on the novel by David Grossman, is available on In a Circle Records. The recording was nominated for a Latin Grammy and met with widespread critical acclaim. The Guardian called the work “a Kindertotenlieder for our fragile present.”

Golijov recently composed the soundtrack for Francis Ford Coppola’s film, Megalopolis, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024. He has also composed music for Coppola’s films Youth Without Youth, Tetro, and Twixt. Other recent works include The Given Note, a violin concerto for soloist Johnny Gandelsman and The Knights; LAIꓘA for countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, which premiered with The Met Orchestra Chamber Ensemble at Carnegie Hall; Ever Yours for string octet, premiered by St. Lawrence String Quartet and Telegraph Quartet; and Um Día Bom for string quartet Brooklyn Rider, available on In a Circle Records.

This fall, The Metropolitan Opera presents a new critically acclaimed production of Ainadamar by Olivier Award-winning choreographer and director Deborah Colker, co-produced by Detroit Opera, Opera Ventures, Scottish Opera, Welsh National Opera, and The Metropolitan Opera.

Golijov served as the Debs Composer’s Chair at Carnegie Hall during the 2012–13 season. He is Composer-In-Residence at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, where he has taught since 1991.