A chiral pool based synthetic strategy that leads from the readily available and inexpensive C(2)-symmetric tartaric acids to the chiral O-isopropylidenebenzooxazole--a convenient precursor to the aminocyclitol core of hygromycin A as well as the chiral γ-disilyloxybutyrolactone--a pivotal intermediate to approach to the furanoside of hygromycin A.