I discovered Osvaldo Golijov’s music back in 2008 with his piece for string orchestra called Last Round. This piece is a tribute to his Argentinian predecessor, Astor Piazzola, known for his seductive tangos. It features to quartets opposing each other like fighters (Piazzola know for getting into fistfights throughout this life). This concerto grosso approach with a programmatic twist is one of Golijov’s modus operandi.

Similarly, in Azul, Golijov creates a small group of solo instruments (cello, accordion, two world percussionists) set against an orchestra arranged in quadrants. The result is a cosmos of old and new, multi-regional, multi-genre approach of which Golijov told me over the phone, “this is like Louis Armstrong in outer space.”