In Thursday’s (2/25) Toronto Star, Jon Terauds writes, “Composer Osvaldo Golijov tells of how he was watching a Montreal concert of the music of Astor Piazzolla on DVD. ‘I was looking at him and the musicians,’ he says. ‘There was an inner energy, a state of concentration to their playing. The body language was so beautiful.’ Like when you see someone engaged in the music of Bach or Beethoven, Golijov adds. ‘The rhythm of their music resonates with our physiology.’ …Golijov is sitting in Roy Thomson Hall, listening intently to music director Peter Oundjian lead the first rehearsal of Three Songs for Soprano and Orchestra with American diva Dawn Upshaw. Suddenly, Golijov stands up, makes eye contact with one of the musicians, and amiably mimes some instructions on how he could play his part better. In conversation afterward, the composer is not worried about the Canadian premiere, which takes place Thursday at the opening of the TSO’s sixth annual New Creations Festival. …On Saturday, Torontonians get to hear a section of Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos. It bubbles with South American folk and dance floor energy—think of it as Leonard Bernstein’s Mass crossed with a salsa festival. On March 3, the evening opens with Golijov’s The Last Round, a 14-minute 1996 piece for strings.”
Posted March 1, 2010
